Make a "Jewel in the Middle" Braid

This week, I show you something a little different: how to make and use bias tubes to form an unusual braid! It gets its name from the single, colored strand that runs down the middle of the braid. 

GIVEAWAY UPDATE: We have a winner! It's Natalie, who said, "I don’t think I could pick a favorite spot to vacation! Anywhere with family is great(as long as it’s not camping!), but I’d love to visit Ireland." Ireland sounds amazing, Natalie....and good times are always better with loved ones :) We'll be in touch via email soon. 

And, thanks to everybody who entered! Wow! :)

There are lots of places you could use this braid, but today I'm going to use it as straps for the Liberty Jane Maxi Dress. 

Cut fabric strips on the bias, 1" wide by about 12" long. You'll need three from your main color, and one from an accent color.

(By the way, "bias" just means at a 45 degree angle to the straight grain of the fabric -- there are lots of videos on youtube if you're not sure about this part. Cutting on the bias makes the finished tube lay a lot more smoothly when it's braided.) 

Fold a strip in half, then stitch a shy 1/4" away from the folded edge.

Trim away the extra seam allowance, close to your stitching line. 

Cut a tiny slit in one end of the tube, and thread a bobby pin through this spot.

Carefully work the bobby pin through the tube, to turn it to the right side. Give your finished tube a gentle press.

Do this with all the strips, then lay them out in order: two base color, accent, then the last base color. Stitch them together at one end.

Secure the end to your worksurface with a piece of tape -- or, you can just leave them in your machine, and hold them in place with the needle, like we suggest in the Maxi Dress pattern.  It's time to braid!

Take the strip on the very left. Run it OVER strip #2, then UNDER the accent strip.

Then, take the strip on the very right, and put it UNDER its neighbor, and OVER the accent strip. 

Keep going! (Left side: Over, Under. Right side: Under, Over. Left side: Over, Under...)

Your braid should start to look something like this: 

When you get to the end, stitch the strips together at the bottom so they don't come unravelled.

Then, measure off the length of braid you'll need for your project, and stitch on either side of your cutting line. Now you're ready to chop the braid up, and put it to good use.....

...like sewing them into a cute new summer maxi dress!

Giveaway Time!

Wanna win this maxi dress? I made it just for this tutorial, and I'd love to send it to one lucky winner!

To enter, just leave a comment below, finishing this sentence: 

"My favorite summer vacation spot is...."

We'll pick a winner on Monday, April 13th, and get in touch via email. 

Thanks everybody, and have fun with this!

For Pixie Faire,
Melinda