How to Sew Bias Tape. The best 3 methods out there.

Today, we will learn how to sew bias tape on the edge of your projects. 

I will show you the best 3 ways to do it, so you can choose which one you like the best. 

All of these examples are made with my homemade bias tape I made with no tools or maker. You can make your own depending on your needs or use a commercial one.

This tutorial is one that I have had on my mind for a long time now. 

There are a lot of ways to sew bias-binding tape. 

As always, it will depend on what kind of project you are making and what kind of finish you want for it. 

This time I am going to show you my top 3 favorite ways to do it, though. 

On the first one, I am showing you the classic or traditional, if you prefer, of sewing your binding tape. 

The second one is by far the absolute easiest way of doing it and is perfect to finish simple projects such as hems. 

Finally, the third one. Oh, I saved the best for last. 

The third method of sewing bias tape is for you to use when you want a high-end and clean finish. 

I grant is a little trickier, but is totally worth it. Believe me. 

But first, let’s dive in a little on the bias tape topic.

What is bias tape used for in sewing?

Bias tape is one fun way to finish the edges of your seams or projects. 

It can be used to sew necklines, quilts, aprons, hems and so much more! 

Its most common use is to finish the raw edges of the fabric on a project or garment. 

For example, to cover a garment’s inner seams that don’t have a lining. 

You can also use it to make a contrasting accent on pillows by using it with piping, or on the edge of placemats and fabric coasters.

I have also used it to make straps by sewing it on the armholes of spaghetti straps tops. 

Actually, I used it recently to sew a canal for the edge of my DIY Ironing Board Cover. It looks amazing. 

And with this lovely green bias tape, I made myself, I am going to make some fabric boxes and sew the top of them with this tape.

How to sew bias tape

The simple way to explain how to sew double folded bias tape is that you open the tape and join it with the edge of the fabric then you cover this part with the rest of the bias tape and topstitch the other side. 

Don’t worry I will explain it in detail here. 

As I told you I will show you 3 techniques for binding. 

• The Traditional one
• The Easy one
• The Clean one 

You can jump to see your preferred one, but I highly suggest that you check out all of them to see which one you like the best.

There is also a video summary of all the techniques together at the end of the picture explanation, so you can scroll down there.

Remember that you can now print all the sewing instructions with our printable card at the bottom of this post.

And! Don’t miss the final bonus on how to close your bias tape ends at the very end of this post.

1. The Traditional Way. How do you put bias binding on?

To sew a double folded bias tape you have to open the video first and pin the raw edge of the tape and the fabric with the right sides together. 

Now you can do the first step in 2 ways. 

One of them is that you can machine or hand baste this part of the tape just over the fold of the tape. 

The other one is to sew along over the fold of the bias tape simply. 

Now as you can see in my picture here, I folded the beginning of the edge of the bias. 

You can do this if this is the only line of bias you will sew to have a nice finish on the ends. 

Make sure you are sewing either right on top of the fold or slightly on the right side. 

If you grab the seam on the left side of the fold, it will be trouble. This is because you will be taking the fabric of the side of the tape that is going to cover the seam.

By doing this, it won’t be enough tape to cover the stitches by the time you go to the other side.

The next thing to do is to push the fabric seam allowance inside the tape. 

Then cover it and pin it with the rest of the tape. 

In this step, you want to double-check that the edge of the bias tape that isn’t sewn yet covers the stitches underneath it.

Finally, sew the bias cover at least ⅛” away from the border facing the fabric. 

This is so you can catch the other side of the fabric at almost the same distance. 

This technique is perfect to use on quilts, placemats, or anything that could be of thicker layers.

2. The easiest way to sew bias tape. The sandwich method.

As a person who likes to make all things in the more efficient way possible, this is my favorite technique.

And the best thing is that it needs almost no preparation whatsoever. 

If fact, you can just take the whole piece under your foot of the machine and start sewing. 

This technique works best with thin layers of fabrics. 

You can use it on hems projects, cover seam allowances, or finish necklines or armholes.

For this technique, the only thing you have to do is to place the raw edge of the fabric between the fold of the tape. 

And then sew it. As simple as that.

If you feel a little uncertain about getting it right you can pin your piece first and then sew it. 

But if you feel adventurous, just do it as you go. 

The only tip I can give you is to make sure the raw edge of the fabric is actually in between the tape the whole time. 

Also, sew at least ⅛” away from the open edge of the bias to make sure you catch both sides. 

And that is that. 

3. A high-end finish for bias tape. The Clean technique.

This technique is not always my first choice. You know, because I am a little lazy sometimes. 

It is the one that I think looks the best. 

If you want to have a neat, beautiful finish, this is the technique you want to use. 

Use this method when you want the outer side of the bias tape to look as if it doesn’t have any exposed seams. 

It could be used for example, on the edge of the pockets of a nice jacket. 

Well, really, on anything that you want to make nicer. 

With this technique, we will start as we did with the traditional method.

Open the bias tape and pin the raw-edged fabric together. 

But wait! 

Before you sew it, consider this tip. 

Instead of sewing right above the fold of the tape you are going to sew 1/16″ or ⅛” on the right. 

This is to give us extra fabric that we will need at the end. You will see why in a second.

After you make your first stitch, you will cover the seam allowance with the rest of the tape as we did before. 

Except… 

This time you have to make sure that the edge of the tape is not only covering the seam you just made, but passing it by ⅛”.

Pin everything.

And this time, I mean pin. 

This is a hard technique to wing on. So, it’s better to be safe than to unpick seams.

Turn your piece upside down and get ready to sew. 

The trick here is that you will make your next line of stitching right under between the seam where the bias tape and the fabric meet. 

And by doing this, you also have to catch the bottom side of the tape. 

Do you get now why I said you to pin it well? 

When I am using this technique for my projects I try to feel with my fingers the bottom edge of the tape. 

This way I make sure that I am going to catch it with my stitch. 

When you finish it should look like this.

The front or outer side will look clean, with almost no visible seams. 

And the backside will be the one with the line of stitches.

Video Summary on the three techniques on how to sew bias tape:

OK, now we know how to sew bias tape, but how do we close it?

I am glad you asked. 

There are also 3 ways you can close the ends of the bias tape. 

One of them is by sewing the ends closed, before finishing. But that is a whole other post. 

Today, I will show you the two quick and easy ways you can use to close your seams. 

And you can use them with the techniques you just learned about how to sew bias tape. 

Ready? 

All right, let’s do this.

How does close bias tape end?

1. Fold in first.

Remember how in the first method (the traditional) we fold the beginning of the bias tape? 

This technique is precisely what we need. 

When you start to sew either with the traditional method or with the clean method, you will fold the edge first like this. 

Start sewing and when you get to the end you are going to stop sewing and cut your bias ¼” or  ½” approximately after the begging of the tape.

You will cover the folded tape with this extra tape. 

Then simply keep sewing. 

To close it on the other end simply fold and sew over it. 

Or if you are using the clean method right between the seam.

2. Fold in last

This bias closing technique is meant to use only if you are going to use the Easy sewing bias tape method. 

Otherwise, it won’t work as expected. 

We are going to do the opposite of the closing method. 

With the sandwich method, you will start sewing your bias tape with a raw end. 

Then, when you are about to get to the finish line you are going to stop and cut the tape with an extra ½”. 

You can do all of this right there in the sewing machine. But if you prefer, you can also take the piece out and pin it to get better finishes. 

After that, fold that extra piece in like this. 

That’s it. 

Finish sewing and backstitch.

I hope you liked this post and it was helpful to you and your projects.

There are more bias tape tutorials to come shortly so keep posted. 

In the mid-time, I recommend that you read how to make your own bias tape at home without a bias tape maker. 

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