Making My Own Bias Tape and Floral Silk

I have been very inspired by Amanda and decided from now on to finish my seam allowances with bias tape rather than the zigzag stitch on my machine. For my current projects, I thought I'd make my own bias tape from the extra fabric I had.

The first time I tried to make bias tape was actually over 10 years ago, for a linen dress that I never finished (probably didn't have as much patience back then). I had to fold it all by hand, and burnt myself with the iron many times, never succeeding in getting both sides even and eventually gave up on even sewing it onto the garment...

So with that memory in mind, I was psyched when I discovered the existence of this little gadget and how much easier it would make the whole process.

I went to Dressew and snatched a 2-pack with both the 1/2 and 1" maker for a couple CAD. They didn't have the Clover brand, but I thought the one I got would work just as well...
I was not impressed by the variety of bias tape they had though, not an incredible amount of color and/or fabric to chose from.

I also picked up a measuring gauge for .99 (my first inch-measuring device ! Everything else I have is in cm...) and an adaptable zipper foot for my machine (for $.25 !), that looked thinner than the default one I have and might allow me to sew closer to the zipper for "even more invisible"zippers...

Back to the tape, I am working on 2 different projects at once (photos coming soon). For the top I made bias tape from the same fabric, and for the skirt I used a scrap of black stretchy cotton I had in my stash.
I actually used two different method for the cutting process, the one from Colette Pattern's Tutorials, and this one form Prudent Baby, which makes the whole cutting and sewing much faster...

As a side note, the fabric that most attracted my attention this time around at Dressew was these gorgeous silk chiffon slod for $14.99/m:

I don't think that I am ready yet to try my hands at sewing silk but it would certainly make beautiful dresses or tops, with styles such as these:

BWOF March 2010 and February 2009

BWOF July 2008 and July 2006