Making Bias Binding

You can make bias binding with as much or as little fabric as you like. A larger piece of fabric will yield more bias binding length with fewer seams, but you can get several feet of bias binding from one fat quarter. With a bias tape makers kit you can make a wide variety of sizes to use in your projects. The other tools need are: a cutting mat, a lined quilters ruler, a rotary cutter, and an iron.

Video Tutorial:

How to make bias binding:

Align the 45 degree line on the ruler with the bottom edge of the fabric. You can use the 45 degree lines on a cutting mat, but I prefer to use the ruler’s guiding lines. The kit comes with 4 “makers”, an awl, a few pins, and an adjustable binder foot. The four sizes are 1/4″, 1/2″, 3/4″, and 1″. The size bias strip you cut for each maker is 1/2″, 1″, 1.5″, and 2″, respectively.

Leave the angled end on the bias strip to make feeding it through the maker easier. Once you get the full width through press the first few inches.

Pull the maker along slowly and follow right behind with the iron. You a light hand with the iron. Do not drag it along firmly. Bias cut fabric is very easy to stretch and you don’t want to stretch the bias tape as you are ironing. Each maker will produce the same looking bias tape, but the width will be different. At this stage, you have single fold bias tape. *Note: the 1/4″ maker is the most finicky. Move slow and steady. If things begin to turn out simply push the maker back toward the beginning to “reset” the fold. I demonstrate this tip in the video tutorial.

To make a long piece of bias tape you’ll need to connect two or more pieces of bias strips. Align the angled ends perpendicular to each other. They should overlap to create two little “ears” on each side. The seam allowance should be at least 1/4″.

In the picture below you can see a dotted line 1/4″ in from the edges; this is the line that gets stitched (from corner to corner, not point to point).

Trim the seam allowance and clip the “ears”. Press the seam open.

The direction of the angle doesn’t really matter (left or right leaning). The advantage to an angled seam is that when everything is folded over the bulk of the seam is evenly distributed, instead of being stacked in one spot if you had a straight seam.

Below you can see the lavender store-bought bias tape held next to the orange homemade bias tape. The orange fabric has been prewashed so any sizing (stiffener) has been washed out, so it lacks the starched look of the store-bought bias tape. On the left side, I am comparing the width of the double fold bias binding. The pink is homemade from the 3/4″ bias tape maker and it has been folded in half and pressed. That is what makes it “double fold bias tape”. It is simply single fold, folded in half again. The two larger makers (3/4″ and 1″) work well for making double fold bias tape. The maroon colored bias tape is store-bought. It is “extra wide”. To produce a matching bias tape width, use the 1″ maker.

Bias tape is a wonderful and useful product, whether store-bought or homemade. The wonderful part of homemade is there is no limit. You can use any color, pattern, and type of fabric. A whole world of possibilities is right at your fingertips!