Tinabug

I'm so OCD it takes me forever just to make a 36" strip of bias. Really irritates me, but I have to have a perfect strip, really frustrating. It turns out great, but holy moly it takes me way too long!! Any special tips would be most appreciated.

erstan947

The more you do the easier it will be. Relax and enjoy the process

Camping Angel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeTt9...xyr4MiB6NLNmYN

This tutorial has been a life saver for me. I think you can find the written instructions on the Indygo Junction site.

http://www.indygojunction.com/file/h...nload/bias.pdf

To fold and press bias tape, I use the Simplicity Bias Tape Maker.

Leota

are you having trouble CUTTING the strip or folding it? This is not the quick modern way but I find it the most accurate.
To cut it -
1. find the 45 degree line on your cutting board .....
2. lay your fabric open on your cutting board and
3. using a yard stick mark a line to cut on.
4. Cut the strip as wide as you need
Repeat for however strips you need to get the length you need.

For folding:
1. fold the strips in 1/2 raw edges together and press
2. Open the strip fold raw edges to the center and press.

Tinabug

Thank you very much for the helpful tips. I guess I should just breath and enjoy the process. Right now I am looking at a perfect 36" bias stripe, a 2 hr. project. There could be worse chores, I guess. Thanks and have a wonderful Sunday!

deemail

this is my 2 cents....I realize lots of folks do this and if it is your choice, fine...but I never press a seam into a bias strip... if each of your seams is not perfect, then the crease will not be in the right place, but if you leave it uncreased, it will fold perfectly as you 'get to it'.... I also prefer double chanel strips as they 'correct' themselves when you match up the two raw edges, the tendency to scoot forward is counteracted by the two edges which correct for each other...

bjnicholson

I don't, but I'm going to watch this topic.

Tinabug

Deemail, that makes total sense to me! thank you very much .

bearisgray

I baste my bias binding edges together - but I don't fold it in half either.

My reason - which may or may not be "true" - is that after the fabric has made all of its turns, the fold is no longer in the right place

deemail

do you have one of the strip cutters? the ones with cutting slots every 1/2 inch? they have a nice simple way, complete with marks on the ruler to cut the bias....you start with a square, fold and then line up on the printed lines and cut in the slots...are there seams to make? yes....but the bias is perfect. I have used the 'spiral' method, works great; the two triangles method, works fine; two triangles with slits cut all but the last 2 inches while flat, BEFORE sewing?...works fine; and the old fashioned, fold a perfectly square piece corner-to-corner and slit the fold and then start cutting strips off in the width you like....they all work well, it's just a matter of what mood i'm in or what shape my scraps are that i'm making it from....you just have to try all the available techniques out there and then choose one for yourself.... for me? I simply don't like using anything but bias on my bindings so i am willing to go to the bother just because i like the way it looks so much.....and BTW.....did you know there is a good reason to use bias? when you receive an old quilt that the binding looks as tho it has been slit...allowing you to see the layers inside all the way down....check carefully....it has been bound on the straight of grain..... by using bias, when the fold goes over the edge MANY threads are folded over, giving you a much better chance of having your bias survive. Even if some wear occurs, the slit will not follow the thread all the way down the length of the quilt for the very good reason that the thread is only the length of the binding times 3 and goes over and around the edge, not along it.... and many times you will read that bias binding takes more....not so....more seams? yes....but the square inches taken to bind any specific quilt length + width times the width of the binding is exactly the same whether straight or bias... it's just faster to make if you don't have to piece the shorter bias pieces.... (i also don't want my seams in the binding to end up at the same place, front and back...bias seams not only wind around but move down so there is a flatter, neater appearance to each seam) THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO QUILT....my mantra....but I vote for bias when I'm making it....