Sewing on bias tape: In this post, I will show you how to easily bind edges, corners, hems, and curves with bias tape. A little bonus: sewing a Hong Kong seam! :)
The most important things at a glance
- With my tips and tricks, binding edges becomes easy, and you will be delighted with your beautiful results
- Bias tape adds a great, professional look to many sewing projects
- In this post, you will learn what to look for when buying bias tape
- You can also easily make your own bias tape
Sewing on bias tape: Perfect results with these tips & tricks!
Some of my favorite patterns and sewing projects have their edges bound with bias tape. I love sewing with bias tape because I really like the extra eye-catching detail it creates. For example, my Taco Bag is hard to imagine without bias tape, as is the Irma shopping bag. By the way, I also have a cool tutorial on how to use up bias tape scraps! :)
Nevertheless, bias tape is the nemesis of many sewing fans! Yet, binding edges with bias tape is so easy. And on the side, it provides a really great, professional look. You can see this, for example, on my tablet sleeve:
Buying bias tape or making it yourself?
The first question we want to address: How do you recognize good bias tape and where can you buy it?
I have fallen for pretty offers when buying bias tape several times. Often, the quality of the fabric is not stated when ordering bias tape online. That is the first thing you should look out for. If possible, use bias tape that is 100% cotton. Unless, of course, your sewing project requires something else.
If bias tape contains a high percentage of synthetic fibers, it often becomes limp and is very difficult to work with.
Cotton makes beautiful, crisp folds. And that is exactly what we want from bias tape. For guidance and a clean finish.
This makes a real difference in many sewing projects. For example, with my Portobella cosmetic bag:
If you buy your bias tape online, ensure the description states not only what the bias tape is made of, but also how wide it is when folded and opened. This is the case with the bias tapes* from Hemmers (by the way, they also include care instructions, which is not unimportant), which is why I usually order there when I don't have time to make my own bias tape to match the respective project.
You can also easily make bias tape yourself. This works both with and without a bias tape maker. I show you how to do this in the blog post How to make your own bias tape.
By the way: In this tutorial, I am using my new fabric clips*, which hold particularly well. They are also so flat that they can be fed under a presser foot, which I find very practical. Especially with bias tape, "normal" fabric clips often slide away on me.
Additionally, when sewing on bias tape, I always have an anatomical tweezer* at hand, with which I can easily nudge the bias tape "into shape."
Binding edges and outer corners with bias tape
Place the bias tape flush, right sides together, against the fabric edge and pin it in place.
Right sides together means: You place the bias tape with its right side against the wrong side of the fabric.
If you don't have much experience with bias tape yet, mark the first fold in the bias tape with a fabric marker.
The first fold means: The first crease next to the fabric edge.
Sew the bias tape in place with a straight stitch at 2.5 cm.
Stop 1 cm before the corner and backstitch the seam there.
Fold the bias tape at a right angle away from the just-sewn fabric edge to the right.
In doing so, the fabric fold of the bias tape should run diagonally to the corner.
The tip of the diagonal meets exactly at the corner of the fabric.
Then fold the bias tape to the left side. The small diagonal corner remains lying under the fabric.
This is what it looks like when you look into the corner from above:
Now turn the fabric and begin the seam at the fabric edge by sewing over the diagonally folded corner.
Once you have finished binding everything, fold the bias tape around the fabric edge.
The fabric edge should lie exactly in the middle of the bias tape.
Position the bias tape so that it covers the first seam nicely and clip it in place.
At the corner, form the bias tape into a small diagonal again, pointing exactly into the corner.
Finally, you can topstitch the bias tape with a longer straight stitch (3.0 - 3.5).
The corner is only fixed with 1 - 2 stitches.
Binding inner corners with bias tape
The trick used to sew inner corners with a serger also helps us here.
Open the inner corner so that a small diagonal fold points toward the corner, while both legs of the corner form a straight line.
Make a small mark where you can feel the fold under the fabric.
Fold the corner to the other side and make a mark here as well.
Pin the diagonal fold with a sewing pin so that nothing slips.
In the picture, you can see my "iron-safe" pins*. These are often used when I want to iron a sewing project while the pins are still in place: The handy sky-blue head is heat-resistant!
Now place the bias tape flush against the left fabric edge and pin it in place.
Transfer the marks from the fabric to the bias tape.
Sew the bias tape in place, backstitching 1 - 2 mm before the mark.
Now fold the corner to the other side and start the seam 1 - 2 mm after the mark.
Fold the bias tape around the edge. First, pin the long sides with fabric clips.
Then shape the corner by folding the bias tape, including the seam allowance, into a nice, clean diagonal corner.
Topstitch the edge of the bias tape close to the edge. If you like, you can fix the corner from the inside with a few hand stitches.
Binding curves with bias tape
When you are binding a curve, for example for a potholder or an oven mitt, one thing is especially true: Sew the bias tape WITHOUT TENSION! If you pull too hard and don't give the bias tape any room, your finished sewing project will bulge like a UFO!
To relax the bias tape beforehand, we clip it at intervals of 1 - 2 cm up to just before the first fold.
By the way, my new sewing pins* are fantastic for this sewing project! They have a heat-resistant head and a comfortable grip with ridges. The fact that they are super sharp really comes in handy for sewing ideas that require precision.... ;)
This time, too, place the bias tape right side to wrong side, flush with the fabric, and pin it in place.
Then sew in place with a straight stitch as usual.
Fold it over the edge and sew in place close to the edge using a longer straight stitch.
This is what it looks like from the right side:
And this is from the wrong side:
Sewing a Hong Kong finish with bias tape
If you have sewn a particularly elegant blouse or an unlined jacket and want to finish the seams beautifully, the Hong Kong technique is just right for you!
It is important that you increase the seam allowance on the affected seams by the width of the folded bias tape and add another 0.5 - 1 cm so that the seam lies nice and flat on the finished project.
Close the seam as usual, but to be safe, mark the wider seam allowance for yourself.
Open the seam allowances by pressing them apart.
Bind both seam allowances first from the wrong side with bias tape and then topstitch from the right side.
Then bind the second seam allowance in the same way with bias tape:
You can also sew the finished seam allowances down with a straight stitch.
Finishing a hem with bias tape: Two variations
In both variations, the hem (e.g., a jacket or skirt hem) is finished with the bias tape as described above.
For the first variation, fold the finished hem slightly inward so that the bias tape is about 1 mm away from the edge. This way, it cannot be seen from the front side.
Then topstitch from the wrong side.
In the second variation, the seam allowance is wider; here, the bias tape is also topstitched from the right side.
Binding multiple layers of fabric with bias tape
If you want to bind thick layers of fabric with bias tape, you might find that the bias tape sewn on from the wrong side does not reach far enough around the edge to cover the first seam.
Here are two tips for you that will still help you succeed with bias tape finishing in these cases.
First: It is best to try both variations on a scrap piece, so you will have more confidence on the "real" project.
- Trim the seam allowance by 1 - 2 mm and see if it fits. If not, trim the seam allowance by another 1 - 2 mm. Then sew the bias tape in place as usual.
- Alternatively: Sew 1 - 2 mm to the right of the first fold. This gives you more leeway when folding the bias tape over later.
In both cases, pin the bias tape well with sturdy clips.
Did this post help you? Then why not start right away with a cute little bias tape project: My Delia mobile phone pouch with a free pattern. :)
Feel free to leave me a comment!
Happy simple sewing,
yours, Sabine
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