Making a Continuous Bias Strip

Posted by Brye Lynn on Feb 15, 2010 in Tutorials |

This week’s podcast was about making your own bias tape. Today I will show you how to make a continuous bias strip. You can win a Clover Bias Tape Maker, by sending me a picture of you making a continuous bias strip. The drawing will be held on March 1st, so get me your pictures before then.

Start off with a perfect square. I am using a 10″ square for demonstration purposes, but you could make your square 44 inches.

Set it on point and cut it in half; corner to corner.

You now have two triangles. Place them next to each other, short sides together. It makes a parellelogram type shape.

Fold one down so that right sides are together. Stitch using a 1/4″ seam.

Press the seam open.

Mark your cutting lines, the width of the strip you want to make. I did 1 1/2″ for my Bias Tape Maker. ***Note – my pictures show me marking the right side of the fabric. I found it is easier when you mark the wrong side of the fabric.

Put the two short sides of the triangle together, right sides together, matching the cutting lines; but off-setting by one line. See how the end of each piece of loose.

Stitch seam and press open. You now have a tube.

Cut along the cutting line. You will see that you are cutting in a spiral and have one continusous bias strip.

The only downside to doing this s that some of your seams are close together and they go in different angles. Also, you are using scissors to cut the strips, so it is not as acurate. But these strips are great to put through the Bias tape maker (tomorrow’s post).