How to Make Continuous Bias Binding

If you're binding curved edges, you'll want to cut your binding strips on the bias. Here's how to turn one square of fabric into a long length of bias binding easily! (See the tree skirt we reference in the video here.)

American Patchwork & Quilting Editors November 30, 2018

Advertisement

Rather than cutting individual bias strips, you can cut and seam a square to make a continuous bias strip.

1. Cut a square from your binding fabric on the straight grain. Click here to download a chart of the amount of continuous binding you can cut from various size squares.

2. Cut the square in half diagonally to form two triangles.

3. With right sides together, align two short triangle edges. Sew the triangles together with a 1/4" seam allowance to make a parallelogram. Press the seam allowances open.

4. Use a quilt marker or pencil and a ruler to draw lines parallel to the long bias edges, spacing the lines the desired width of the binding strip. (For example, space the lines 2-1/2" apart for a 2-1/2"-wide binding strip.)

5. With right sides together, bring the straight-grain edges together and align the raw edges to create a tube. Offset the edges by shifting one down so that the top of one edge aligns with the first marked line of the opposite edge.

6. Holding the fabric in this position, sew the bias edges together with a 1/4" seam allowance. Press the seam allowances open.

7. Begin cutting on the top marked line and cut in a continuous spiral. Each time you cut across the seam, you'll be moving down one marked line.