{"id":1636,"date":"2010-09-21T15:53:06","date_gmt":"2010-09-21T19:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oliverands.com\/blog\/?p=1636"},"modified":"2016-02-08T11:59:43","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T16:59:43","slug":"bound-seams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2010\/09\/bound-seams.html","title":{"rendered":"bound seams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: today we continue the series of seam finishing tutorials by April Henry<\/a> that we started last summer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bias Binding is a strip of material cut on the bias for extra stretch and often doubled.\u00a0 It is used for binding hems, interfacings, or for edge decoration and is very useful for many sewing projects.\u00a0 It adds a touch of embellishment to set your garment or project apart for a more professional appearance.\u00a0 You can purchase ready-made bias or make your own.<\/p>\n

\"Using<\/a><\/p>\n

Bias-making tools are helpful and efficient, but a good steam iron is the necessary tool.\u00a0 I personally prefer to make my own bias binding because I can customize it to my project, but some of the old-fashioned vintage unused packages can be quite fun to put to use, too.\u00a0 The focus of this tutorial will be set around making your own bias.<\/p>\n

For a 1\/4″-wide finished binding, you’ll need to start with 1″-wide bias strips, for a 3\/8″-wide finished binding, you\u2019ll need to start with 1 1\/2″-wide bias strips, and for 1\/2″-wide finished binding, you’ll need 2″-wide bias strips.\u00a0 The following illustrations will show how you can enclose the raw edges of your seam allowances using the regular presser foot on your sewing machine or by way of an old Singer Attachment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I prefer a 1\/4″ wide finished binding, so my illustrations will reflect using 1″-wide bias strips.<\/p>\n

Before binding, stitch your seam allowances as directed in your pattern instructions. With Oliver + S patterns, this is a 1\/2″ seam allowance.\u00a0 To follow with binding, trim the seam allowances to about 1\/4″ [editor’s note: by trimming your seam allowances to 1\/4″ the binding will finish at the seamline. To keep the bias binding further from the seamline so the bias doesn’t add bulk, leave the seam allowances untrimmed].\u00a0 Fold and press one long edge of the bias strip to the wrong side by 1\/4″.\u00a0 Pin the opposite long edge of the strip to the seam allowances with the right side of the bias strip facing the seam allowances and the raw edges aligned. Stitch the layers with a 1\/4″ seam.<\/p>\n

\"Press<\/a>
Press one long edge of the bias strip to the wrong side by 1\/4″.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trimming your seam allowances slightly will help to ensure that your previous stitching lines are covered within the bias as it is folded over and stitched.Wrap the bias strip around the seam allowances so the folded edge just covers the first row of stitching. I like to re-press at this point so that my bias lies flat while I stitch it in place. \u00a0Then stitch the bias in place along its folded edge.<\/p>\n

\"Stitching<\/a>
Stitching the bias-binding in place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Finished<\/a>
Finished bound seam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This method is particularly useful for finishing seams on heavier fabrics.\u00a0 (Be sure to choose a very lightweight cotton such as lawn or batiste so as not to add any unnecessary bulk at the seam allowances.)\u00a0 Using a contrasting fabric adds that last finished touch to the inside of a garment, such as this Sunday Brunch Jacket<\/a> I made for my daughter.<\/p>\n

\"Sunday<\/a><\/p>\n

The following illustrations are shown using an old Singer Binder Attachment and 15\/16″ wide bias strips.\u00a0 (A little bit of trivia:\u00a0 remember, the tutorial illustrating the Singer Hand-Crank Pinker<\/a>?\u00a0 Using a straight-edge disk, the cutting guide was specifically designed for 15\/16″ maximum width cut for this very purpose!)<\/p>\n

A Singer Binder was included as a standard basic attachment with most vintage Singer Sewing Machines but are still useful for today.\u00a0 If you want to avoid the extra steps of pressing, this attachment will aid in stitching, folding, and binding the raw edges all at one time.\u00a0 Granted, it does take a bit of practice to get the feel and direction to hold the bias strips correctly, but there is something fun about using tools from days gone by.<\/p>\n

\"Binding<\/a>
Binding a seam using a Singer Binder Attachment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The engineering of this attachment basically allows only for traditional cotton quilting wovens to be used, but it is particularly helpful for quickly binding seams or binding the edge of a single layer piece of fabric (e.g., aprons, ties or sashes, bibs, collars, etc.) all in one pass. I only trimmed about 1\/8″ from the seam allowance before applying the binding with the Singer Attachment, being extra cautious not to sew into the seam allowance itself.\u00a0 You will find more ideas and samples at April1930s.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Bias<\/a>
Bias is fed, folded, stitched and bound in place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bias strip is guided through the attachment while simultaneously being folded and stitched in place as it encloses the raw edge of the seam allowances. You can <\/em>use this attachment for a variety of bias-width cuts, but the maximum width allowed through the binder is 15\/16″.<\/p>\n

\"Binding\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a>
Inside seam showing a bound seam allowance using the Singer Binder-Attachment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you are finished, be sure to press the seam allowance in the proper direction as directed in your pattern instructions.<\/p>\n

\"Press<\/a>
Press the seam allowance in the proper direction for a professional finish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: today we continue the series of seam finishing tutorials by April Henry that we started last summer. Bias Binding is a strip of material cut on the bias for extra stretch and often doubled.\u00a0 It is used for binding …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":53318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[20706,140],"class_list":["post-1636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-seams","tag-tutorial"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/biassbindingseamTITLE.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5jZS5-qo","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10257,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2014\/03\/bias-binding-tutorial.html","url_meta":{"origin":1636,"position":0},"title":"bias binding tutorial","author":"Liesl Gibson","date":"March 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's a tutorial for my favorite method of sewing bias binding so the binding looks nice on both sides of your project.","rel":"","context":"In "tutorials"","block_context":{"text":"tutorials","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/tutorials"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BiasBindingThumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64016,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2018\/01\/six-bias-tape-tutorials.html","url_meta":{"origin":1636,"position":1},"title":"six bias tape tutorials","author":"Rachel Le Grand","date":"January 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Today it\u2019s all about bias tape. 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I was curious about his raincoat, which it looked like he was wearing inside out, and I just had to get a better look. So if you can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/TwoDresses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1636"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53320,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636\/revisions\/53320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}