Sarah's Simple Swag Tutorial

Remember the St. Patty's Day swag I made a couple of weeks ago?

Well I stocked up on bias tape and made a few more this weekend. I think picking only 7 fabrics is harder than the whole rest of the process :)

You'll need the following:

(1) 3-yard package 1/2" extra wide double fold bias tape

(7) FQs to cut charm squares from...scraps or leftover charms from charm packs also work great and I know you have some lying around!

Cut fourteen charm (5") squares from your fabrics, cutting 2 from each. You could also go wild and use 14 different fabrics. Go WILD - you know you wanna!

No, I do not have a crock obsession. I dont!
One holds oft-used rulers, one is for trash and the third is for CHOCOLATE!

Place two charm squares with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam around all four sides. I didn't photograph this step but trust me, it has to be 4 sides. Give each of the 7 sewn pairs a light press and move back to the cutting board.

Cut the 7 square pairs into 14 half square triangles by cutting once, from corner to opposite corner.

Trim the points off your triangles and turn them inside out. Be sure to trim the corners first...ask me how I know this! Use a bone folder or stilletto to push out the points and press your triangles flat. I have yet to trim the dog ears in this next photo. This is also a good time to open your tape and give it a good press. Be careful while pressing that you don't stretch the bias tape out of whack.

We are now back to the sewing machine. For my Bernina I am using my stitch in the ditch foot because the bar you see in front will run along the edge of the bias tape. My needle is then moved to the farthest left position.

Find the middle of your bias tape and tuck the first triangle inside the tape with the triangle tip at the mid-point of the tape. Topstitch along the edge of the tape until the edge of the first triangle. Tuck the second triangle into the tape. I don't overlap the triangle tips to eliminate bulk - they just touch within the tape. Continue sewing 7 triangles into this half of the tape and continue topstitching the remaining ~12" of the tape. Move back to the center of the tape and sew the remaining 7 triangles into the other half of the tape.

Admire the pretty colors and shake your head at the white cat fur attached to everything even tho your sniffly QCO didn't even snoopervise this project.

I also used these Black/White/Red fabrics to create another swag. I decided to add an extra red traingle to the center for a total of three red triangles per side and a more symetrical design.

Next up is an Easter swag - I have bunny and egg fabrics to use :)