Bias tape maker
 

I am having a hard time always finding matching binding for my quilts so I was thinking about getting a bias tape maker. What do you ladies think is it worth the purchase?

I LOVE mine !! Love love LOVE it and find it was worth every penny ! I also have the winder as well which makes the entire process of making bias soooo much easier !!

I have a few different sizes of them (the ones that do the folding while you press, not the automatic ones) and find I don't use them. That just isn't the kind of binding I use.

I use the binding where you just fold the strip in half, sew it down and then turn it to the other side. The double fold where the ends meet in the middle, and then fold in half again is not useful to me.

I have always made my own my binding from the fabric I used in the quilt. I cut it 2.25" wide and then fold wrong sides together and press.

If you are an applique quilt maker they are GREAT for all kinds of curvy pieces....but for the edge of the quilt...not sure how you would do that as they are tri-folded with my bias gadgets.......sorry i can't picture it......my quilt bindings are either straight of grain or bias (for curved / scallop edges) but always folded in half, wrong sides together.

I use the color-coded Clover tape makers when I need bias tape. I heavily starch the strips before running them through. Basically I let the iron sit in one place while I pull the tape through. Here is one of the sizes I use:
http://www.amazon.com/Clover-bias-ta...dp/B001W2GL5S/

It's basically very easy, so I'm not sure why people buy the machine that does this (unless, maybe, they have a need for 1/8" strips of bias; I believe Clover's smallest is 1/4"). This is for bias that has both sides folded towards the middle -- used for applique.

I do not use these for binding quilts. I use straight-of-grain strips and do *not* iron them in half before applying as binding; I find the binding rolls better without that extra step of ironing. I rarely use bias binding to bind a quilt but, when I do, I prewash the binding fabric (one of the few times I prewash fabric) and starch heavily before cutting into strips. Again, I do not see the need for a machine to do this.

You can make straight strips with the bias tape maker. I make straight for some binding, and sashing.
I use the maker when I'm tired of burning my fingers with the Clover ones.

I should clarify that i have the electrical one, and i use it for making my single fold and double fold bias. I have tips for both types. I can make a king size binding in about 2 minutes and no burned fingers. I also grab alot of solid or tone on tone fabric on clearance and cut the strips to make up binding to keep in my box , as i find it handy to have already made available for smaller projects instead of having to make new every time , especially if it is just a mug rug or pot holder.

I have the manual ones, several sizes. I don't use them a lot, since I rarely do bias bindings, but they do work well. I usually bind quilts with straight grain binding. I can't imaging having enough need to justify the cost of the electric bias binding maker.