Marissa here from Rae Gun Ramblings and I have a secret to share with you today. It’s a trick for how to EASILY and quickly turn fabric, like thin tubes for spaghetti straps, odd shaped collars, and so much more, right side out.
I had been sewing for quite a while and comfortable with my clunky safety pin method that sometimes got swapped for my equally cumbersome chopstick method when someone finally introduced me to the loop turner. Have you ever used one? I hadn’t even heard of the tool and most of my crafty friends are in awe when I introduce them to this fabulous thing. I figure there’s got to be other people like me who need this tool in their lives. They work great on all kind of fabric from woven cottons like the fun Vintage Kitchen prints (Kitchen Harlequin Teal and Kitchen Cat Yellow) shown here or the basic Navy Chevron as well as knits like these Idle Wild Triangles in blue.
A loop turner is a thin stick with a small hook at one end and circle for your thumb at the other. You insert it into items you want to turn, hook it through some fabric and it gives you the leverage to pull it right side out. It works GREAT for tubes like I mentioned but I’ve also done this trick with pillow cases, fun shaped pockets and more.
How to Use a Loop Turner
- Stick the hook end into whatever you’re trying to turn.
- Feel around through the fabric and make sure the flap is open then press the hook through your fabric.
- With your thumb of your dominant hand (for me it’s the right) in the circle end of the loop turner pull a little with your right hand and with your left hand massaged the fabric over the stick to get the turning started.
- Gently pull with the right hand until the right side of your item is free. You can continue pulling with the loop turner but I like to do as little as possible so that I don’t get impatient and pull a hole in the fabric. Then I just finish pulling the fabric over itself with my hands.
You should keep in mind that using the loop turner takes practice. It’s kind of a weird thing and there is definitely a learning curve. It might be SUPER frustrating at first but I promise you it’s worth the small initial investment because the time and effort it will save you down the line will be huge. You can find a loop turner at any fabric store or even on Amazon. Lots of Ways to Use a Loop Turner!
- Turning tubes of fabric. This is especially good for skinny tubes like spaghetti straps that are hard to get safety pins or chopsticks in. I used it in the loop for these fun pop up bird baby pants and the small strap of this pencil case and large strap of this reversible book bag.
- Turning any thing right side out that is hard to get your hand into. I use this for the cloud pockets and little boat pockets on my pockets tweaks post.
- Pulling ribbon or elastic through casings. It doesn’t on small circular casings but if it’s large enough or a straight casing like in this super easy drawstring bag it works great.
- Getting the shape of an item right after turning it right side out (for example peter pan collars, the crazy whale cut out on my nieces’ Easter dresses or the pockets and bird details I mentioned above). You can stick the end in to help fully round out, curves pop out corners, etc.
- There are tons of uses and once you
I hope you give the loop turner a try it has really been a blessing in my sewing life. Also be sure to by my blog Rae Gun Ramblings and check out my other sewing tips and quick and easy tutorials as well as the other crafty, bookish, and delicious things I am up to.