Burda Style For people who sew

A how-to on making a long, continuous strip of bias tape from any piece of fabric. Sorry I couldn't get photos for this, I hope my drawings are clear enough!

Technique Materials

fabric, scissors, sewing machine/needle, thread, iron, measuring tape, math skills/calculator, marker/chalk/something to mark the fabric with

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6 Comments

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  Sep 8, 2010, 11.09 PMby enkida

  I just used this to make some silk seam binding for a towel project I did, and it worked so wonderfully I just had to give you a virtual hug. Thank you for posting it (and saving me a ton of money in the process, haha)!

  1 Reply

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    Sep 21, 2010, 02.05 AMby redoubt

    Thanks, I’m glad it was useful for you :)

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  Jul 7, 2009, 11.52 AMby akwa

  Thank you! this is a great post! exactly what i wanted -i’m planning to sew a garment with a lot of bias tape and this method will allow me to spare a lot of time. I must buy some more fabric to make bias tape adornment and i appreciate that you also gave the formula!
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  Mar 27, 2009, 03.12 AMby dulakshi

  This is great! I didn’t know it is this simple. I used to cut piece by piece and joining them later. Thanks!!!
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  Mar 16, 2009, 01.58 PMby redoubt

  Here is a formula: 1. Size of rectangle = 12″ × 30″ 2. The surface area of the rectangle: 12 × 30 = 360 square inches. 3. Divide the surface area by the width of your bias tape: 360/4 = 90 The length is just less than 90" because of the seams. I guess you could subtract the seam allowance from the width and height of the rectangle, for a more exact figure. Here in more mathematical terms: (xy)/w x= width of rectangle, y= height of rectangle, w= desired width of bias tape, as determined by previous formula. Or, ([x-s][y-s])/w s=seam allowance This site has a bunch of barely-legible tables for determining the yardages needed for certain widths and lengths of bias tape. I prefer to just do the math myself. But I usually don’t even do that, and just make it work, whatever length it turns out to be.
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  Mar 14, 2009, 05.35 AMby ghainskom

  This is great, just great! I only have one question: is there a formula to know how big the rectangle has to be according to the desired length of bias tape?
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  Mar 11, 2009, 10.17 AMby ichigogirl

  Great How-To, thanks a lot!