Thanks to the lovely Carol in Denver and several of my ASG sewing sisters, I have exciting news to report about the Fasturn tube turners. You absolutely do NOT have to have both ends of the tube open to turn it. This is a major revelation to me, although it appears to be common knowledge for many of you! Next time, keep me in the loop, peeps! 😉
So just in case you were also in the dark about this mah-velous tool, here is a quickie tutorial on how to turn a tube that is CLOSED on both ends. (Really, who knew?)
1. Right sides together, sew your strip of fabric closed on the two short ends and also along the length, leaving an opening 2-3 inches someplace along the long side. You can see the open section of the tube in the frame below – it is a little to the right of center.
2. Insert the appropriate size of Fasturn tube into one end of the opening, push the fabric tube down as far as it will go, and next insert the wire.
3. Start pulling the wire through the Fasturn, and the fabric tube will magically start appearing at the bottom opening of the Fasturn. Keep pulling until the entire tube is outside the Fastturn. Are you getting excited yet?
4. Next, insert the Fasturn tube again into the opening, but this time go into the “unturned” side of your fabric tube. In the frame below, see how the turned half of the fabric tube is above the Fasturn, and the tube is inside the the other half of the fabric tube?
5. Pull the wire thru the Fasturn a second time, and voila! Your belt (or whatever) is completely turned right side out! All you have left to do is press and close up the small opening in the middle section of your fabric tube. Sweet!
I thought my Fasturn was awesome before I learned this trick, now it kind of has “my new best friend” status. Thanks to Carol and others I learned a great new trick, and hope it helps you as well.
Happy sewing!
Maris