Making bias tape, and the birthday beast

Kat asked in the comments on my last post whether my reference to "self bias tape" meant bias tape made from the same fabric as the garment.  And yes, it does.   She didn't ask how to make it, but if you'd like to see a tutorial, there are some good ones out there, notably this one and this one on the Colette patterns blog.   However, the question reminded me that I had taken some photos of how I get the fabric going through the bias tape maker, because I haven't seen a tutorial for that.  This was my least favorite part of the process until I found it was easy when you pull the fabric through with a needle and thread, like this:

You anchor the thread as if you were about to start stitching, at the middle of the end of the strip.  Then you can drop the needle through the bias tape maker, and use it to draw the fabric through smoothly.

In other sewing news,  I finally took photos of me in my finished dresses from earlier in the year, which I'll post soon.  And I finished my skirt -- now I need to photograph that.    Looks like my posting average will go up a bit, at least temporarily.

A vintage pattern I got recently had a facing piece cut out of newspaper, which included this partial photo, which amuses me for some reason.   Are they having fun?  It's hard to say.  The pattern this came in is a mail order pattern, and there was a date on the mailing label of 9/13/46.  The clipping looks to be of a similar vintage.

Finally, today is Dinky's third birthday!   The birthday boy got a fresh rawhide chew, playtime at the park, an afternoon walk, and pepperoni off my pizza.  All things he gets each and every weekend.  Maybe it's good he doesn't know it's his birthday -- he might be disappointed!

Here's a shot of Dinky from this morning, featuring his warm-weather haircut.  The temperatures here are already reaching the 80s!