Making Bias Tape

One of the techniques I have been most baffled by, and that I am trying to improve on as a self-taught sewer, is finishing necklines and armholes. I've tried using facings and using bias binding, and I love bias binding because you can add a fun trim in any color or pattern you want! I found a method of making bias tape from a square of fabric and it's really made it a lot easier to build up a stash of bias tape that I can go to for my projects without having to cut a new strip every time. 

I love this trick because you can make your own bias tape out of any fabric you have. It's a great way to add fun trim to garments, quilts, etc. and you aren't limited to the solid colors they offer at the big box fabric stores. Plus it's a perfect use for some of your larger scraps that are too small for pattern pieces, but too big to toss. It's really efficient and, in my opinion, way easier than cutting out one long strip on the bias (as many patterns recommend).

For certain things—especially sewing related—I think watching the steps in action is SO helpful, so my husband and I filmed this video! I hope you like it. There are lots of tutorials on how to do this for good reason: it's a great method! I followed instructions from Colette Patterns for the method shown in this video. I recommend reading through their tutorial if you want a step by step walk-through after watching the video. 

I used this bias tape maker from Amazon and in the video I was using the blue one, which makes 1/2-inch double fold bias tape from a 2-inch strip. You'll want to make sure you use the right sized bias tape maker and corresponding fabric strip to end up with your desired width. 

Filming this video was a fun experiment and I hope to be able to share more videos in the future. Bias tape was a way to try out the filming process because this is a method I pretty much have down, but I'd like future videos to be instructional AND realistic about the process of constructing garments, as well as being a way to showcase new skills I'm learning. Since this was our first one, the audio isn't great, but we are going to get an actual mic soon YAY! 

Let me know what you think!