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Mrs Bowden’s top tip – Celebrate the tape measure!

Mrs Bowden’s top tip – Celebrate the tape measure!

   Blog    July 13, 2017  |  0
Felixstowe Sewing School

https://www.felixstowesewingschool.co.uk

Heavens to Betsy! – it’s National Tape Measure Day on the 14th July 2017.
Here I am wearing my tape measure dress….

A very lovely lady called Sian alerted me to the fact that there is a National Tape Measure Day on the 14th July.  Now, this is an American invention but I thought it was too appropriate to ignore to base this week’s top tip.  I must also apologise as I promised to give you the second part of the interfacing top tip about applying fusible interfacing.  I pinky promise to do this next week!

National Tape Measure Day – 14th July 2017.  First let’s have a few tapey factoids (which I have taken from https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-tape-measure-day-july-14/ ….

The first recorded use of the tape measure goes back to the Romans, utilizing marked strips of leather.

Alvin J. Fellows of New Haven patented the retractable tape measure on July 14, 1868.

Here are a few of my own tape measure musings.  This is a Tailor’s tape measure. You can see the metal end which allows the person conducting the measuring to push the tape (gently) to the gentleman’s crotch and take the inside leg measure without dealing with a floppy tape.
Did you know that a standard dressmaker’s tape measure should be 1.5 cm in width making it very handy to use when checking the seam allowance taken or where to position a stitching line.
A tape measure is extremely flexible which means it can be used to measure around curves.
If all else fails this Summer, you can amuse yourself or those around you by playing with a retractable tape measure.  If you are anything like me the charm of pulling a tape measure out to it’s full length and pressing the button to make it retract is too thrilling for words with the added element of risk to your fingers making it even more exciting!
I hope you have enjoyed this week’s top tip and I wish you a splendid day of measuring!

Until then,

in stitches,

Mrs Bowden x

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