Continuous Bias Binding - Tutorial

I thought I would share my technique of making bias binding for my quilts. It is a really easy  method and it makes buying the exact quantity of fabric you need easy. I always tend to make more than I need as then I have some ready for small projects or for trimming skirts or dresses.

Firstly you need to measure the circumference of your quilt then multiply it by the width of the bias binding you want. I usually go for 2 1/2 inches width and use it doubled.

 So for the frock quilt  it was 50"x 2 by 62"x 2 = 224" circumference. Then multiply this with the width of your binding ( 224 x 2 1/2 = 560). Then using a calculator find the square root of 560"and you should get 23.66. Round this up to 24" and this is the size of the square of fabric you will need to make binding for your quilt.

Using a rotary cutter cut the square from corner to corner making 2 triangles.

Place triangles right sides together as shown in above photo and sew 1/4" seam and press open.

Using a quilters ruler and fabric pen mark lines of 2 1/2" apart starting along the longest edge on wrong side of fabric as shown above.

Now this is the tricky bit to explain. Bring together the shorter sides and line up your marked lines leaving one strip out from the edge at each end as shown above.

Now pin right sdes together lining up your marked lines as you pin so the pin intersects the lines 1/4" in. Sew a 1/4 " seam and press open. You will now have a joined 'tube' of fabric

Starting with the strip that wasn't included in the last seam, cut along the marked lines. You will be cutting in a spiral around the tube.

Just keep on cutting until you reach the end. Now all you have to do is press in half and your bias binding is all ready to attach to your quilt.

Using a 1/4 seam, sew binding to quilt stopping 1/4" in from the end.

Turn quilt and fold binding back as shown above.

Then fold back as shown above and line up edges. Repeat for remaining corners. This will leave a nice mitred corner once its folded back over.

Fold over to back of quilt and stitch in place using a ladder stitch.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful and easy to follow. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me via the comments or email.