Friday Fun Fact: Finishing an edge with bias tape

Hey, it's time for another installment of our bias tape series!

One of the most common things we do with bias tape is finish an edge, such as a neckline or armhole. 

So you've cut all your bias strips and sewn them into a continuous length. Now what?

You can use a bias tape maker to iron creases in your bias strips in advance, but I prefer to sew first, press after.

You should have a 1/4" seam allowance on your garment. If yours is larger, trim it down.

Pin your bias tape around the edge you're binding, lining up the raw edges. Stitch around at 1/4".

Using the tip of a sharp scissor, snip into the seam allowance all the way around.

Take your piece to the iron. The most important work here is going to happen at the iron! We're going to press in three separate steps.

First press from the right side. Push the bias tape away from the garment and get it nice and flat. Use your fingers or crease with a fingernail as needed to get it really smooth (no lips!).

Next, flip your garment to work from the inside. Fold the raw edge of the bias strip over to enclose the seam allowances. Press press press.



Finally, turn the folded bias edge over again. All the bias tape should be on the inside now, and the seam should be right on the edge. Keep the edge curvy and stretch the bias tape around the curve as needed. Press!



Now pin the bias tape in place and edgestitch close to the inside fold.



Don't flatten the curve as you go! To keep the edge from flaring, keep it rounded as you stitch, and rotate the fabric as you go to follow the curve.



When you're done, the bias tape hides on the inside, and the outside is clean and finished with a simple line of topstitching.

Coming soon, we'll show you more of our favorite bias tape methods!

See the rest of the bias tape tutorials at the Friday Fun Fact archive here!