Sewaholic's 'Finishing of armholes with bias tape'
It makes a lot of sense to use tape cut on the bias because it smooths itself around curves a lot more than tape cut on the grain would ever do, even if you were to iron it to within an inch of its life - straight grain tape would still pucker and misbehave.
I bought this kind of bias tape in a few colours, the one that is folded in at both edges - and I never knew what to do with it because it seemed to me that you would want it folded over just once with the crease running down the very centre. I think I was thinking of using the tape as binding rather than as a facing. Aha!
This makes a lot more sense. Very glad I found this blog post.
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| Jaycotts.co.uk is a good site to get your supplies from |
What kinds of projects have you used bias tape for? Do you use it like a facing (on the inside of the garment) or like binding (visible on the outside of the garment too).
Please post in the comments, and better yet! Why not do a short blog post about your project and show us how you used bias tape? We would love to see!
Let's bring this blog to life again - now that summer and the holidays are over.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
I love bias tape. If I am making a wearable muslin I almost always use it instead of cutting and sewing neckline facings. I also use it for armholes and hems too. Love it!
ReplyDeleteOn hems! That's a great suggestion. I am often not really happy with my hems - not so much on skirts and trousers but on tops because their fabrics is softer. Bias tape sounds like a really good alternative to folding hems up twice which makes these hems so much stiffer. I'll have to try that very soon!
DeleteThanks so much for the suggestion!
It is easy to make your own bias tape and you can do it with left over fabric so you can add it as contrast binding to pockets, necklines etc.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to write more but the screen froze. Wendy Ward did a good article in Sewing World Magazine on how to make continuous strip bias binding. I will bring it to the monthly meeting on 14 October. Fancy binding costs 50p or more to buy ready made and you can have your own unique binding for a little effort and some left over fabric. There are also tutorials on you tube but they often make it seem that you need lots of equipment - all you need is a ruler and scissors [a rotary cutter is better but not essential)
ReplyDeleteI read a couple of Wendy's articles, her writing style is great: she makes everything sound so do-able and interesting. I must look for this one too!
DeleteI couldn't agree more: bias tape in interesting colours or patterns, or both, can add so much fun to a garment! I have used a pink, black and green floral fabric as binding on the inside facing on the trousers I am making right now. I'll post about them too soon.
Natasha's suggestion of using it for wearable muslins is fantastic! You don't have put in facings that will then need their edges finished too, just use bias tape and you're done! Great idea.