Bias tape

[Kat]

I've been looking at some sewing tutorials lately because sewing is something that I really want to learn to do. One thing that I keep seeing in the materials list is bias tape and/or binding.

Can anyone explain to me what these are?

If I am understanding correctly, bias tape is kind of like the "trim" that goes around the garment and can be bought or made out of the fabric.

Binding, then, is the thin strip that goes all the way around a quilt to hold it together. Also like the "trim." It seems most of the time this is machine stitched on one side and hand stitched on the other. Can it be machine stitched on both sides (my hand sewing is wretched)?

Thanks in advance for you help. I'm kind of a newbie at this and don't always understand the terminology used. >8)

[Gina]

Hi Kat, I don't sew (I have tried but gave it up for my sanity. ;) ), but did just look at YouTube and they have several videos on using 'bias tape'. I don't know if they are any good, but it might be a place to start.

[flowerseverywhere]

what kind of project is it? If you post a link I can probably help as I sew everything.

Fabric does not give if you try to stretch it up and down or across. The warp and weft of the threads stabilize the fabric. Bias is cut at a 45 degree angle to the up and down of the fabric and the stretchiness along this line makes it stretch around corners or curves.

Bias binding is used to edge quilts. Say a piece of fabric is cut 2.5" wide and 40" long. It is folded in half, wrong sides together and pressed, so it is now 1.25" wide. then it is applied to the front edge of the quilt, machine sewn with a 1/4" seam with the raw edges of the quilt and the bias binding together and the folded edge is turned to the back and sewn down by hand. this sounds very confusing but here is a good binding tutorial.

http://whipup.net/2009/08/10/quilt-binding/

that is an excellent tutorial on how to put binding on, but in this tutorial the binding is not bias but straight grain binding. It can be used on quilts that don't have curves. It shows how to turn the corner and make a nice mitered corner.

Bias can be used in other ways as well. As a stained glass quilt effect for example. It can be used to edge purses. Post what project you are thinking about and I can help.

you can make bias binding, you don't have to buy it

[Kat]

Thank you! :-) I will check out the sites you mentioned.

[JaneV2.0]

You can make it, but in my experience--unless you start with yards of fabric--you'll have lots of extra seams to deal with. It may be worth it to get just the right color or print.

[madgeylou]

my company uses bias tape to finish the facing inside our dresses. we use some store bought, and my biz partner K has made some, too. it takes her maybe half an hour to make a decent sized roll of it. we only use a few yards at a time, so we don't need a ton.

there is a way to do it fairly quickly -- you mark off the width you want on the bias (1" for 1/2" single fold tape or 2" for 1" wide). then you sew the piece of fabric into a tube, matching up the bias lines but offsetting them by one. press the seam open, then cut along the bias lines you drew, in a kind of spiral. this gives you a long bias strip but you only had to sew 1 seam. but i know K prefers to sew and press each seam individually. it's awkward to try to sew the fabric into the offset tube shape.

once you have the strip, you run it through a little doohickey you can get at the sewing shop, while pressing. and voila, you have one of a kind bias tape.

i have to say, i don't really like the standard brand of bias tape -- what is it, wright's? it's too heavily starched and bulky. i prefer the stuff we make ourselves because it's softer against the skin and doesn't add as much bulk to the inside of the garment. there's also a brand called derjih that is some sort of thin synthetic. i believe it comes from india and i have only ever seen it in the garment district in new york. it's lovely to work with as well.

i am kind of terrified at the amount i have to say about bias tape! i really like it, though. it gives the inside of a garment a very finished look.

[Kat]

Thanks, Jane and Madge! It is good to hear the differing perspectives on it. I always wondered how it was made. My sewing skills are pretty basic, so I think to start it might be better to buy if I need it. But your directions for making it, Madge, make me think that maybe I could try to make my own someday when (if) I get a little better. :-)

[JaneV2.0]

Also, unless your quilt/placemat/garment includes rounded corners or edges, binding strips cut with the fabric grain should work just fine.