Rather than sew tons of seams to piece your bias strips together, the method below allows you to sew just two seams to make continuous binding, and then cut your binding along drawn lines. You can then sew these strips together to make continuous bias binding. Mark adjacent parallel lines for the width of the bias strip you want. Simply stated, it’s a technique for pre-sewing bias binding strips before you actually cut them. However, YOU should use a fabric pen or pencil that can be easily removed. Yes, along the bottom, you start with 1. (The quilt is 60″ x 72″, so 2 x 72, + 2 x 60 and add 10).). Skip to Part 2: Make the Continuous Bias Binding Strip. To make longer continuous bias binding, you can use a rectangle instead of a square or cut two squares on the bias and sew them together to make a larger parallelogram. *The mathematical formula for this is: Multiply the number of inches around the quilt (the perimeter) by the width of your bias binding strips. Straight grain binding uses less fabric and is quick and easy to make. Notice how the seams curve around the tube like a spiral. The photo above features a couple of our important furry friends who like to help out in the studio, especially when the testing of soft blankets and pillows is needed. Today I want to show you my favorite way of making continuous bias binding. About This Tutorial Jenny shows us how to make 200 inches of continuous binding from a half yard of fabric using the amazing Bias Ruler. Bias binding is made by cutting your strips on the bias as opposed to cutting the strips crosswise from the fabric. Mark a line on a 45 degree angle from the straight edge of your fabric starting from the top left corner of your rectangle. When not quilting, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Lexi and Murphy, or can be found cycling across the country. Continuous Bias Binding Excel Calculator. The only thing you need to remember is to cut out a perfect square. Making bias binding with stripes and other straight prints can lead to a visually intriguing quilt binding with the stripes or print on the diagonal. If you’re not sure which edge is the bias and sometimes, it’s hard to tell especially if you’re not using striped fabric, you can give the edge a little tug – if it pulls a lot, that’s likely the bias edge. And cut, and cut, and cut some more. Fold down one corner so that one short edge is even with the long edge. It’s one of those “two birds with one stone” techniques. Using a ruler and rotary cutter, continue cutting on the line that was started in Step Five. Fabric that is cut on the bias is cut from one corner to the other of the fabric. Simply put, bias tape is made by sewing strips of fabric together to create a long piece of “tape”. With fabric scissors, cut along the marked line, starting at zero. Then you will have those two triangles on either end of the rectangle that you can put in your scrap bin. Continuous Bias Cheat Sheet . Sew4Home is dedicated to stylish home sewing – from bags to blankets, pillows to linens, aprons, gifts, accessories, and more. Keep rotating the tube around and around as you cut. So Sew Easy–Continuous Bias Binding Calculator. The best way to understand it is to just show you. In the left column, "Cut Width of Binding Strips, find 1⅞". It’s faster, the quilts are sturdier and I can finish more projects! If you look closely, when you match up the numbered points, the drawn lines create an “X”. In this example, it’s the two edges where the stripe is running parallel to the edge. This makes it look so easy :) I need to try it. Here is how to offset the edges… I love making my own bias binding for so many reasons. First you need to know how much fabric you need to make your binding. Bias binding is a great addition to your sewing basket whether you like dressmaking, soft furnishings or even craft projects! 12" x 12" square = 60" of binding. Sample Creation and Instructional Outline: Jodi Kelly. Cut a square on the straight of grain. Posted on June 18 2020 How to make Continuous Bias Binding Why do you want to use bias binding? Cutting fabric across the grain makes it more flexible and stretchy. If it’s flat, something is wrong. However, it requires more fabric and is a little more challenging to make. Dec 10, 2015 - Watch as Pam Damour shows you the easiest and quickest way to make continuous bias binding! Binding, whether straight or bias, is ideal for covering the raw edges while creating a decorative finish at the same time. Find the true bias by folding the square in half diagonally. Here’s a quilt where I used the diagonally printed stripe for the binding. Cut an 18" x 18" square. Lay the pieces back down so they form a square. Enter your email address below to subscribe to the Sew4Home newsletter. The extra stretch in the bias binding helps to get your binding applied smoothly around the curves. Luckily, this tutorial simplifies the process of making bias tape by allowing you to avoid stitching each individual strip together, hence the name continuous bias tape. Thanks so much for the wonderful explanation on how to do this. And then sew all the strips together. This step is a wee bit tricky and looks almost impossible, but it works. In this sewing tutorial by SewCanShe on YouTube, you will learn how to make a continuous bias binding in just under 5 minutes. 1. Moving to the right, we see that a 1/4 yard yields 168"—not enough. Cutting bias stripes from a rectangle of fabric. You want to take the two STRAIGHT (non-bias edges) edges of the shape and join them. So I cut a 32″ x 32″ square – the square root of 1000 is 31.6″ – and followed this method exactly, but ended up with only 234″. 13" x 13" square = 72" of binding. Add 20" or so to the total to determine how much binding you'll need to surround the quilt if you plan to use continuous strips and miter the corners. Elaine Theriault is a teacher, writer and pattern designer who is completely obsessed with quilting. Remember the width of the strip that you’re cutting is the width of your binding. Curving vines in appliqué quilt patterns wouldn’t exist without them. How To Make Bias Tape in one continuous piece {this post contains links to affiliates. Method 1. When you have an exposed raw edge, for instance, around the edge of a quilt, you need to finish it in some way. A diagonally printed striped fabric is used for the binding. I have always wondered how to make it and how to calculate how large of a piece of fabric would be needed. But this can be time consuming and take up a lot of fabric. Our goal is also to keep viewers abreast of new quilting products, and how to use them effectively to make quilting easier and enjoyable. It gives you all the handy formulas, tips, and techniques for the four key steps outlined in its title, discusses single fold versus double fold, and lists the tools to have on hand. I simply cut crosswise strips and got a beautiful diagonal stripe in the binding. Now comes the “hardest” part of continuous bias binding process. One of the straight edges is shorter than the other as it was made shorter when the 6″ cut was made. Nicki LaFoille shows you how to create continuous bias binding in long strips from one rectangle of fabric and shares several other tips to making your own binding . Just cut as much as you can that is 2½” wide and discard the remainder. The strips have angled ends that make it … Once this join gets translated into a skinny strip in the binding, any small mismatches won’t be noticeable. And I need to make 7.5mtrs of bias binding. Janome Supplies Needed: 1/2 yd. Her blog is crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.com. By making a continuous bias strip, very little fabric is wasted. Step-by-Step Instructions Step 1 – Measure the quilt to determine how many inches of binding you need. To end up with a continuous binding strip, follow these steps: Cut […] Seems to be less waste of fabric, more accurate, less calculating and faster. Read on to find out more about the entire team and the philosophy behind our inspiring sewing tutorials – each designed to result in items you’ll be proud to keep, display, and use; give as gifts; or even sell. Thank you. Next: you draw lines parallel with the bias edge – at the desired distance (the width of your binding). How to Make Continuous Bias Binding. Buy a yard and pre-make binding for future projects. Find the true bias by folding the square in half diagonally. Bias binding is a great addition to your sewing basket whether you like dressmaking, soft furnishings or even craft projects! Well, if you have a quilt with curved edges, the bias binding will wrap around those edges effortlessly and give you a smoother binding. See all our, THE formula for calculating the necessary yardage for binding your quilt, 7 essential tips for sewing the binding on a quilt by machine. You can match up the stripes along the top edge for a more visually appealing join. The other reason you may want to use bias binding is if you’re using a striped fabric and you want the strips to run diagonally on the binding. Carefully cut along the edge of the ruler. I like to start with a 10″x 10″ square of fabric but if you have a smaller amount of fabric it is a great scrap buster too. So, starting with the edge where the cut was made, line up those two straight edges and pin. Carefully bring your fabric to your sewing machine. Remember that extra section we marked with Xs? Sewing them together evenly will give you rings of fabric instead of one continuous strip. Elaine’s Tech Tips column (originally published in A Needle Pulling Thread magazine) is now available online in e-book format at QUILTsocial.com. No more cutting and joining; the joining is done first and then the tape is cut. I'm going to show you my favourite method, but first I'll discuss the strip-by-strip method and the continuous method using a square of fabric. I am encouraged to give it another try. Cutting individual bias strips means each strip has to be joined individually. In the video I’m sharing two different ways to make bias binding, continuous or traditional, sharing the advantages and disadvantages of both methods. Cut bias strips (more on that at the end of this post). Tomorrow, we’re going to put the Epic 980Q to the test as we learn how to attach the binding to the quilt. If you'd like to get started on quilting and need supplies, come on over and check us out at or take a look at our awesome deals every day at. Here are a few: the quality is soooo much better than you get in packaged bias trims. Soooo… what is continuous bias binding? I’m a sucker for bias binding on everything for one simple reason – it wears better than straight grain binding. Well, I’m not sure and I’m not sure there is an easy way to figure it out which is why I prefer the continuous bias binding method. If your fabric piece is a different size, the folded fabric may look different, although the instructions will be the same. While either method provides the same result, I think the more efficient way is to start with a square. Once you’ve done the “fabric math” (using our tutorial or your own experienced brain power)… onward we go to continuous bias binding. To get 300 inches of 3″ bias binding from a piece of fabric that is 43″ wide: (300 x 3) ÷ 43 = 20.9 inches (round up to 21) 21 inches/36 = 0.588 yards (round up to 5/8 of a yard) So you need 5/8 of a piece of fabric that is 43″ (wof) wide. Bias binding is made by cutting strips of fabrics on the bias – which is a 45º angle from the selvedge. Get out some fabric and cut continuous bias binding! As I mentioned yesterday, I like to sew my bindings on completely by sewing machine. It’s really useful, I think any quilter should learn it! If you have excess width at the end that does not equal the cut width of your. You will then watch the rest of the tutorial while she guides you with instructions on how and what to sew. Janome Supplies Needed: 1/2 yd. Take the bottom edge of the triangle on the left and flip it right sides together on top of the triangle on the right. For your continuous binding strip, use a less noticeable marker like a Bohin Mechanical Chalk pencil or graphite pencil. In my case, that’s 2½”. In order to be able to use the file, download it to your computer first. Working from left to right, mark the pre-determined width of your. For this tutorial, I am going to start with a 12-inch square, which will produce about 60-inches of 2-inch wide bias tape. Continuous Bias Binding Excel Calculator. The mark needs to last through the marking, pinning and sewing that follows. Continuous Method Using a Rectangle of Fabric Start by cutting off a length of fabric from your main fabric, it won't need to be very long 30-50 cm is plenty to have you swimming in meters and meters of bias binding. I did 3" for mine, so I would end up with a 1.25" binding (3" folded in half = 1.5", 1.5"- 0.25" seam allowance = 1.25" binding). Bias Binding Strips . If you review continuous bias binding methods in quilt books, as well as on websites and blogs, you’ll find a few variations in the actual steps for the technique. Next page: Making Continuous Binding from a Square. The strips have angled ends that make it … Thanks for this, ftom someone who hates to “pick up a needle” but LOVES to sew. This is the grain of fabric with the most stretch, which helps the bias binding you’re making work nicely on curves such as necklines and armholes. Folding the square in half to make it easier to cut the square on the diagonal. Since the square is so large, I find it easier to fold the square in half on the diagonal, making sure the corners are well lined up. Rather than cutting individual bias strips, you can cut and seam a square to make a continuous bias strip. Stretch the edge to make sure it is the bias … Then using a long ruler, place one of the lines on the ruler along the fold and the edge of the ruler at the tip of the points. In order to be able to use the file, download it to your computer first. FREE PDF download is available for a limited time only. Until you reach the other end of the tube of fabric. However, either will work. Be careful to not cut the other parts of the fabric tube. If we created a straight tube, we would be cutting bands, not a continuous strip. When commenting, your name will display but your email will not. How to Make Continuous Bias Binding. Lay the two triangles back on the cutting mat so they form a square. Stretch the edge to make sure it is the bias edge. 2. 2 ways to make bias binding. In this article, we’re continuing our journey down the binding path to a “sub-set” technique called: continuous bias binding. Of course, if you take more time and pin more frequently, it is possible to get a perfect match. Shown illustrate a 5⁄8-yard length of binding Policy - Contact us copyright © 2021 a needle but! All of the parallelogram, number your lines: 1, 2, 3, etc and to. 3, etc ’ ve learned it, which will produce about of! ” at the end of this post ). ). ). ). ). ) )! The fabric ” wide and discard the remainder thank you for all of the seam and around until get! 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