Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tutorial--Bias Tape---


I decided to make a tutorial about a project that I have done. I am going to have more tutorials in the future, won't that be fun! That way my blog would be more useful for some of the people visiting here. In this tutorial I want to show a technique that I use to make bias tape. There are several ways to do this; I've tried many, but for me this is the most comfortable and effective way to make bias tape. This is very useful knowledge to have, and I find it fun to do. If you have a fat quarter you can start making bias tape and using it for many different projects. They are used to finish off a quilt. Here goes!

First I make a square out of the fabric. The corners must be 90°. Fold the fabric into a triangle.


Cut away the excess.



Because I have a cutting mat, I was able to just cut the triange in half. If you don't have a cutting mat, you can open the triage to make a square and then using a straigh edge, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner, and then cut.



Arrange the triangles right sides together. Offset the triangles by about a quarter of an inch.



Pin the triangles together. (This picture shows the overlap a bit better too)



Using a quarter inch seam, sew them together.



Open the seam and press with a hot iron (Don't stretch the fabric).



Fold fabric back into a square.










I like to cut 1 3/4 inch strips, you may prefer wider strips. It depends on the project you are on and what you need or want.










After I finish cutting it into strips, I then sew the strips end to end by pinning the strips right sides together, offset a quarter of an inch.



After they are all sewn together in one long line, open up at the seams and press with an iron. Then cut off the excess.



As I iron, I use my fingers to fold the fabric. Some people prefer folding the strip in half, I prefer folding the edges into the center.



Now the bias tape is ready to use. I hope this was helpful to some of you.

11 comments :

  1. You are soooo talanted...everytime I read your posts...my mouth just drops...I seriously can't get over it! You're sewing...building...photograpy...creative writing...sense of humor...silver lining attitude...just plain talanted...I just can't believe I get to brag about you as my friend!

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  2. sachiko i got you package in the mail today! THANK YOU i LOVE it! :)

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  3. You've done such a good job explaining in words and photos something that can be very confusing.
    You may already know this, but there is a way you can use this method to make one long continuous strip and you don't have to sew all the lengths together. I wrote a tut for sew mama sew a while back. Here's the link if you are interested. http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=527

    I'm going to try one of your t-shirt tutorials today. I hope mine will turn out as lovely as yours. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Hey there Tea Rose! We think your Bias Tape Tutorial is great, and we want to share it with other sewers and quilters by featuring a link on www.WeAllSew.com! We’ll be featuring a link to your tutorial all next week. Please let me know if you have any questions about being featured at WeAllSew.com. Thanks so much-Erika

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  5. Thanks for this. I am starting to make more quilts - trying to make a little extra money for Christmas this year - as I am unemployed right now and starting a class. I want my kids to still be able to have a decent Christmas and since I love making quilts I thought I would see how well I would do at selling them.

    Do you have any ideas about where I can pick up inexpensive material - online or not. I try to keep my costs as low as possible as we are on a strict budget so I research as much as I can before I buy. Just thought I would see if you have any ideas.

    Thanks again - this is one skill I really needed!! So happy I found you!!

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  6. Hi Caroline,

    I am so glad to hear that my tutorial is useful to you. :)
    I useally buy fabrics at local fabric stores. I love high quality fabrics from quilt shops, but they are expensive. If you are on a strict budget, it is probably better to check your local fabric stores like Joann's, Hancock, and hobby lobby. They have great sales, and use their coupons! :) Good luck!

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  7. Thank you for the tutorials. This looks like something I MIGHT be able to do if I follow along very carefully. Ha ha. This looks like you explained it as simply as possible.

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  8. Thank you for the tutorials. This looks like something I MIGHT be able to do if I follow along very carefully. Ha ha. This looks like you explained it as simply as possible.

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  9. Thanks a lot, you saved my life. In jy country sells bias tape but colors are very limited, this is very useful wahen you are doing personalized projects. Greetings from Chile!!

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  10. Ohh wow! you made it so easy. Great tutorial. Thanks

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