Last week we revealed pattern #2 in the Road Trip Pattern Club: Patty Young’s adorable Kimono Wrap! When I was making the sash for my wrap I was super psyched to use my newest favorite tool: The Dritz Quick Turn fabric tube turner.

 

I heard about this tool from one of my students in my Pleated Pillow class at the Mid-Atlantic Mod Retreat and I had to get one right away! It comes with 3 sets of basically tubes and sticks to help you turn sewn straps, sashes and belts right side out. I’ve had a longtime love affair with my bodkin (I know, *weirdo*) but the Quick Turn Tubes have won me over. I’ll show you how easy they are to use.

 

When sewing a fabric tube, like the sash on my Kimono Wrap, I had a long tube of fabric folded and sewn right sides together. Here it is, shown wrong side out. Both ends are sewn into a point and the sash has an opening in the seam in the middle.

 

For this example, I used the largest Quick Turn tube (1/2″ diameter). I put the tube into the sash at the opening then let it drop down to one of the points. Next, I took the point of the stick and pushed it into the tube from the sewn end of the sash.

 

The sash fabric will gather up as you push the stick through the tube and out the other end. You can see the right-side-out end of the sash coming out of the end of the tube above. I continued to turn that half of the sash right side out then inserted the tube back into the other end of the sash. Repeat!

 

Once I had the sash right side out (in like 30 seconds, no kidding!) I pressed it using my Perfect Strap Tutorial, then topstitched the sash, closing the opening in the seam as I went. Finished!

Do you have a favorite tool for turning? I’d love to know!