Bewildering Bias Binding - SORTED!

Bias binding is a wonderful thing and something I use a lot. I like to embellish plain fabrics with it, finish off raw edges with flair and edge projects to complete a "look".

You can buy it in the shop or make your own. As its name suggests, it is fabric cut on the bias. What is the bias? Well, woven fabric has warp and weft threads running perpendicularly to each other. If you pull on these grains, there will be a little ease but not much stretch. Sometimes we need to use a fabric within a garment using its stretch; for example covering a neckline. The stretch is achieved across the bias of the fabric which runs diagonally across the warp and the weft. Just find a piece of material and stretch it in different places; you'll see what I mean.....

The striped bias binding tape above is for sale in the shop.

Beginner sewers can find attaching binding a little daunting so hopefully I can guide you through it in this blog. Take a deep breathe - here we go....

Begin by marking the centre back of the raw edge which you are covering, in this case the neckline of a tunic with a pin. Open up your bias binding and lay the right side of the binding to the wrong side of the fabric, matching raw edges. Overlap the pin by 1 cm as seen in the picture above.

Begin pinning the bias to the neckline a couple of cm away from the pin

and carry on pinning at intervals

until you get to 2 cm to the other side of the pin and stop.

 Stitch along the crease nearest to the raw edge until you reach the pin which is 2 cm from the pin. I have pointed this out in the right hand image.

Trim the end which you have just sewn to 1 cm past the pin as in the image above.

With the bias binding fully opened and right sides together, pin the ends together, 1 cm from the raw edges. Stitch the ends together where you have placed the pin. Press open.

Now, continue the stitching line from before, making sure that the binding is attached to the neckline all the way round.

Turn you garment to the right side. Fold the bias binding to the right side of the neckline, making sure that you have tucked the raw edge of the binding in and try to cover your previous stitching line with the bias binding tape.

Edge stitch all the way round to complete the task .......

I hope that this has been useful. Happy making,

Sheila