Nothing to be afraid of, folks...

It's just a bit of bias binding.

It's useful stuff for making false hems (especially on heavy fabrics and curved hemlines)....


...doing cute details on twirly skirts for small girls.... or big girls, for that matter. (My usual model had better things to do today. This one is equally headless but a little more compliant).


Bias binding is excellent for binding seams on tricky shaped bags and purses (which means that you can fully line the tricky shaped bag or purse). It's a design feature, to boot.

And you can make quick bibs, pot holders and even mini-oven mitts in no time at all.

This one was a request from the smallest cook in the house. (I'm a bit nervous that it might actually be used to carry something hot, so it comes with a list of rules.... luckily, our cook follows rules... mostly).

So anyway..... I tend to be a bit evangelical about bias tape makers. I was surprised to read that some people buy them and don't try them out. Or some people don't know how to get the most out of them. I've shown this before, but I'll add a bit more detail this time. Complete demystification.

How to use your bias tape maker...

1. To calculate how wide to cut the strip, I double the finished width of the bias tape and then take off a millimetre or two (eg. For an 18mm bias tape maker I cut 35mm wide bias strips). I use my metric quilting ruler and work in millimetres. I'm very sorry - I have absolutely no idea how that works in inches.

The quilting ruler has a bias line (to line up with the selvedge or straight grain) and then a metric grid to measure the width and length of the piece you're cutting. Super-duper quick and accurate.

2. If you need to join two pieces, align them so that they are right sides up and the pointed ends lock in to one another, as shown below.

(It's also a good idea to press your fabric before you start..... I seem to have skipped that step here).

3. With the right sides of fabric facing, match the two strips together along the short edges. Cross the pointed ends with an overlap of about 6mm (anywhere around a quarter of an inch will do the trick).

4. The crossover point of the seam allowances will form right angles on both sides of the tape. Backtack and seam from one crossover point to the other.

5. Press the seam allowances OPEN and then trim them down to about 2.5mm. Trim the ends of the seam allowances to points, as shown below.

6. Cut the end of the tape to a point and thread it through the bias tape maker (cutting it to a point makes it thread more easily).

7. As the point peeps through the end of the bias tape maker, put your iron straight onto it! Hold the little handle and pull the bias tape maker gently with one hand while you follow close behind with the iron in the other hand. Steam works a treat here.

Slow motion replay...Use the pressure of the iron to hold the tape in place while you pull the bias tape maker a centimetre or two. Then move the iron up to the very end of the bias tape maker. Joosh it with steam. Pull another centimetre on the bias tape maker and then move the iron up to the bias tape maker.... that sort of thing...).

You will now have beautiful bias binding.

7. When you sew the bias tape to the edge of your fabric, lay the tape right side down on the underside of the edge you're binding. Sew along the crease on the bias tape.

8. Trim the seam allowances so the bias binding will be able to fold easily over the edge and sit on top of the stitches (seen in red, below) on the other side.

9. Press the bias tape into place over the stitch line, and then topstitch it about 1mm from the edge.

I hope that takes a bit of the mystery out of it and encourages you to go forth and bind everything you can. Like I do. Honestly, I really do.

If you have a bias tape maker and haven't used it, please try it. It really will open up a whole new world of possibilities for sewing all sorts of things. If you haven't got one, we have a special going at the moment that might be right up your alley. The patterns that are on sale with the bias tape makers also include a few more tricks (like a clever way of finishing a bound edge with an undetectable join).

I took more photos of the twirly denim skirt detail being constructed but this post is already too image heavy. Does it warrant a quick tutorial or can you get the idea from the photo (at the top of this post)?

I'd also love to hear from anyone who LOVES their bias tape maker. I'm feeling a bit lonely and geeky here right now. The only people who commented on my last post about them were the non-users.... Please tell me I'm not alone (I accept the fact that I'm a geek... it's just the no-mates-Mallalieu tag that irks me).