Binding circles ?
 

I am having problems binding small circular projects such as trivets, pot holders and the like. The piece either forms a mound or a valley and will not lay flat. I use 2 1/2 inch bias tape and have tried easing it onto the front when I sew, steaming it, and reducing the seam allowance to 1/8 inch, but nothing seems to helps. Any suggestions to alleviate this problem are welcome and appreciated.

My only suggestion would be to use narrower bias tape!

I agree, maybe narrower bias binding. You are using it double, arent you. I have had success binding round potholders with doubled bias binding. I do stretch it a bit when I put it on the first side, and use a wavy stitch on the second side. Hope you can figure out what works for you.

for small projects i generally use a much narrower binding strip- such as starting with 1 3/4" instead of 2 1/2"
experiment with narrower strips to see what works best-you like the best. you could cut a 12" quilt sandwith & try different width bindings about 4" long--to see how each (behaves) differently...i prefer narrower bindings on most of my quilting projects-about the only time i ever use a 2 1/2" strip is for heavy flannel quilts-mine are almost always 1 3/4" - 2" wide max. when doing stained glass applique the fusable bias tape used for the (leading) is 1/4" wide- easily eases around curves, corners.

Cut your strips 2 1/4" and be sure they actually ARE on the bias (45 degrees). Don't stretch the strips as you sew them on...your folded edge should be quite wavy and your raw edges should lie mostly flat. Sew slowly and use a corsage pin or stiletto to maneuver the binding into place.

OK, we all say bias binding. However for some small projects you might want to consider single layer thickness - not folded - for your binding.

ali

Thanks for your suggestions. I will remove the binding, yet again, and make ia new one which is single fold, only about 2 inches wide or less and stretch the top and ease the raw edge side. Also, I will be sure it is a true bias though I thought I had it. Since this has been a problem on several projects, I really want to get a workable solution to it. Again I appreciate your input.

Don't stretch the top. Don't stretch anything. The loose binding edge should be quite ruffly after you have one edge sewn to the raw edge of the quilt.

The main thing is to go real slow and keep everything nice and flat.