How to Cut Continuous Bias Binding Strips

Bind your quilt with matching or contrasting bias binding.

Use bias binding to finish the edge of a quilt or blanket, finish seams in a garment, or as a decorative accent to finish a hemline. Binding cut on the bias of the fabric has more stretch than that cut on its straight grain. This allow bias-cut binding to stretch around curves, making it ideal for projects with scalloped or other irregular borders. When making your own binding, cutting a continuous strip of binding eliminates lumpy seams and wastes less fabric than other cutting methods.

Things You'll Need

• ½ yard fabric
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Cut a rectangle of fabric from which you will cut your binding. A 10- by 45-inch piece of fabric will produce approximately 5 yards of binding.

2. Lay your fabric in a table, wrong side up, with the long edge running horizontally. Fold down the left corner of the fabric, bringing the top left corner to meet the bottom edge of the fabric, creating a 45-degree angle on the left side of your fabric strip. Smooth to crease the fabric, then unfold and mark the fold line with chalk. This will be the angle of your bias strip.

3. Mark lines parallel to your first chalk mark to indicate the cut lines for your bias strip. Your strip should be four times wider than your finished binding. So if you want 1/2-inch binding, mark the lines every 2 inches. Use a ruler to keep the lines even.

4. Cut away the unmarked triangular sections at each end of your fabric strip.

5. Bring the right edge of the fabric over to match up with the left edge. Match up the marks for the cut lines. You'll need to offset the first line so that one line extends past the edge of each side. Pin the two ends together and sew a 1/4-inch seam. Press the seam flat. You now have a tube from which to cut a continuous strip of binding.

6. Cut on the line starting at the left edge of the fabric tube. Rotate the tube as you cut so that you cut one continuous strip. Follow the lines you made earlier. You will end up with a strip of fabric 2 inches wide and approximately 5 feet long.

References

• University of Kentucky Extension: How to Make Continuous Bias Cording (PDF)

Resources

• Craft and Fabric Links: Continuous Bias Binding