Making Your Own Bias Tape

What it is: Bias tape is often used for finishing seams with the Hong Kong Finish, or can be used to cover cords to make piping.

Why make your own: You can buy bias tape at the store in a variety of colors and sizes. Making your own requires a lot of fabric and some patience with the bias tape maker, but it allows you to make it out of fun, coordinating prints that store-bought bias tape does not usually come in.

Notes: Bias tape is cut on the bias of a fabric, meaning across it at a 45 degree angle. This allows the fabric to fold around curved seams on your garment. If you only need it for straight projects, you can cut it straight across your fabric to save fabric and money.

Directions:

Materials: Buy a bias tape-maker for the width of bias tape that you want to make. This one is for 1" single-fold bias tape. Single fold means that each side is folded under once. Double-fold bias tape is then folded in half again.

Step 1: Cut your fabric in strips. (To get a long, continuous strip, check out this tutorial.) The width you should cut your fabric will be specified by the instructions that come with your bias tape maker. For example, with this bias tape maker you need to cut a strip that is 1 7/8" wide. To make true bias tape that will curve nicely around curved edges, but on the bias (at a 45 degree angle across the fabric, as pictured). For straight edges and seams, like cover the edges of a tea towel, you can cut straight across your fabric.

Step 2: If desired, you can sew your strips together to make one long strip. Savvy Seams has a good tutorial on sewing your stips together.

Step 3: The next step is to insert the bias strip into the bias tape maker. Folding your tape into a sort of tube, insert it into the tape maker and allow it to slip into the guides.

When you get it in it should look like this, all ready to run along your strip:

Step 4: To iron, first pin the tip of the bias tape to your ironing board.

Step 5: Slowly pull the bias tape maker along your bias tape strip, making sure that the fabric is folding smoothly into the guides. Follow your tape maker with your iron, pressing the folded ends of the tape as you go.

When you have reached the end of your strip, you should have a pretty little piece of bias tape (hopefully a better than this one, but it takes practice!).

Check out this turorial on Burda Style.