I love adding pretty trims to my sewing projects. I quickly realized that even though store-bought bias tape is convenient, the color choices are a bit limited. By making my own bias tape, I could give a very personalized style to my projects. Don't get me wrong, I still buy ready-made tape, but when I want something extra special I make my own!
Let me give you a rundown on how I recently made bias tape using my fabric scraps. This trim is part of a bigger sewing project that I'm finishing up that also involves fabric leftovers. Now with scraps the conventional way of making bias tape doesn't apply (at least for me). What I mean by this is that I can't cut the fabric at a diagonal since I'm using small odds and ends rather than a yard of fabric. To make my trim, I gathered up scraps that were approx. 2" wide (the length of the scraps doesn't matter). Some of the scraps were cut to 2" so they'd fit evenly.
Once I gathered enough 2" scraps/strips, I joined them right sides together until I had a 70" long strip.
My scraps are all connected in this pic. Now comes the fun part: ironing! All seams were ironed opened before folding my long fabric strip. The easiest way is using a bias tape maker. However, I did it by folding the strip length-wise, ironing to fix the crease, folding in the unfinished ends (1/2" on each side) and ironing again. I only use this method when I'm in a rush.
Unfolded, the strip is 2" wide. Once you fold in the unfinished ends, the tape should measure 1" wide, and after it's folded over again, the tape goes down to 1/2" in width.
Here's my scrappy tape on a tea towel. Cute right?
Here are some past sewing projects using handmade bias tape:
I do want to say that this is far from a tutorial, so if you're up to learning the ins and outs of bias-tape making, I highly recommended this site. It's extremely informative and uses lots of photographs with it's step-by-step instructions.
