bearpaw

Looks like I'm going to just cut the strips this time, and I'll keep trying to figure it out.

Thanks, everyone for your help!

mary quite contrary

Bearpaw, I just did this technique and it was something I had to really think about. After all of that I wasn't real thrilled with it. I ended up with a couple seams right close together. It did make a long strip of bias but I could have put the ends under flowers.

All that to say I think cutting them the good old way makes a lot of sense to me.

dae

I believe BearPaw is making strips for applique, not binding. Yes , straight binding is usually better for quilt binding, but should be bias for going around curves.
JoANN's YOUR GUIDE TO QUILTING has GREAT pictures and directions for doing bias tubes for applique, ,AND further back in the book,the continuous bias long strips.. It does take some study and trial, but you have to OFFSET the lines by one mark/line you have drawn, and THEN cut on lines to make LONG bias strips.

dae

Maybe the reason it didn't come out even,,,, did you cut off any extra material after you drew the lines? ALL the widths of fabric between the marked lines must be EQUAl, or it won't work right. Maybe that is the problem??

retrogirl02

When you look at the F&P tute, the illustration where you begin cutting is flat but it's actually a tube at that point. It's easy to do once you try it. Your first time can be a little frustrating but hang in there, this technique is SO worth the effort. :D

I always make much more than I'll need because if I want to add it as an embellishment to match (like pillowcases) or for a completely different project, it's already done. I tend to use bright colors that will easily mix with other projects rather than match the background fabrics but if you really like it, make a lot & skip this step next time.

I store mine on scrap cardboard that sometimes comes in FQs or pieces of cereal box cut into rectangles and just wrap my leftovers. I also press in half before I cut to size which makes it really easy to apply by machine with an invisible stitch and roll to the back where I blind stitch & store for future projects.

weezie

I always use straight of grain for straight binding and only use bias when I have curves to bind or have curves to applique, such as vines/stems. I don't know if there's a "rule", but I can't imagine using bias binding for straight sides nor straight binding when you have curves.

bearpaw

I cut the bias strip without doing the continuous thing. Still couldn't get it right and didn't want to waste anymore time on it. Took a little longer to join each strip but I'm very happy witht the result. Thanks everyone for your input :mrgreen:

retrogirl02

I use bias binding on everything and haven't had a problem for it on straight edges.

cbvirginia

Dear Bearpaw,
I'm going to try to email/write you through step 4 of Fons and Porter's directions because I recently made some continuous binding and had just ONE part where I needed to rip it out. Here goes....

- After step 3, you should visualize stitching this trapezoid looking shape of fabric into a fabric tube.

-One thing that helped me was to press back 1/4 inch seam allowance on one of the shorter edges. Gently press it toward the drawn lines, which is the wrong side of the fabric. I say to do this for just one edge because it really helped me place the pins correctly later on.

-Put the two short edges together, first with the lines that you have drawn matching up perfectly (we're going to move this in a minute). You should be holding the fabric like a tube now. Imagine if you sewed it like this and then cut on the drawn lines, you would be cutting out individual rings of bias binding: that's not what you want.

-Now, you are holding this fabric in a tube shape, then you slide one short edge of the fabric so that the first line (on either top or bottom) hangs free. Start matching the drawn lines on one short edge of your fabric with the second line of the other edge.

-This is where the pins and the 1/4 inch seam allowance come in. Pin with the right sides of the fabric together, perpendicular to the short edge of the fabric, so that the 1/4 inch seam allowance is toward you (up and fully visible). Take a peek that you are lining things up correctly by flattening the fabric out so that you can see that line one from the first edge of fabric matches up to line two of the second edge of your tube (line two from the first edge matches to line three of the second edge, and so on). It is CORRECT that you will have the first line of the first edge of fabric dangling free and that you will run out of lines to match by the very end, so there is another dangling edge at the end too.

-Now that it is pinned correctly (It really looks wrong at this point, but you should continue anyway), you should sew the pinned edge together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. It is actually very little sewing, but a considerable amount of prep work.

-Now for cutting, which is step 5 of the Fons and Porter directions...start where the first line is dangling free and cut on the drawn line, all the way until you run out of line/fabric. You will know right away if you have done this correctly because you will either be able to continue cutting on the line all the way to the end of the fabric or you will have cut yourself a ring of bias (I did that.).

-My last piece of advice, when you have successfully cut out this long strip of continuous bias binding, is to press each seam open in order to have a very flat binding.

Best of luck.
-Christine

lass

The strongest binding is doubled. Bias binding is easier to stitch around the ends and even on the sides.