STEP 1: Make Fabric Strips:

Cut your fabric so that it is a big square.
Fold your fabric in half diagonally, and cut in the fold so that you get 2 big triangles.
Take your rotary cutter, ruler, and mat, and start cutting strips-- cut right through the 2 triangles

It’s important to cut the fabric on the bias, rather than parallel to the fabric. The bias is the diagonal line of your fabric. If you cut it like this, your bias tape will have stretch. It will be easier to use around curves, it will stay flat, and it won’t pucker.

How wide to cut the strips depends on the bias tape you need:

Note: If you use really thin fabric, cut the strips a little wider

The first strips of your triangle shape will be the longest. Stop cutting when the strips become too short or you will have to make many seams.

When you cut the strips from the triangles, the ends of your strips will automatically have a 45° angle. This is important for sewing several strips together, and it’s also easier to pull the strips through the bias tape maker.

STEP 2: Line up the strips and sew

Put your strips in a 90° angle, right sides together. Let each strip overhang the other about a 1/4”. This is necessary because we’re sewing them with a quarter of an inch seam allowance.

STEP 3: Iron the strips

Put the point of the strip into the wide end of the tape maker. You can use an awl to pull the fabric trough if necessary.

Prepare your foot. Adjust the guide of the foot to the size of your bias tape.

1. Take your bias binding, either shop-bought or homemade
2. Adjust the guide of the foot (or the binding channel) to fit the width of your binding with the screw to the front right of the foot. This is very clearly shown in the video tutorial for the foot.
3. Snip your binding to a point and slide the two halves of the bias binding into the top and bottom of the channel with the fold to the right. Your fabric is sandwiched between the top and bottom part of the bias binding.
4. Now gently feed the bias binding through and under the metal portion of the foot.

1. Snap the presser foot to your sewing machine

2. You are now ready to insert the main body of fabric that is being bound. Slip it between the two edges of the binding into the center groove of the plastic portion of the presser foot. You should now have a bias binding sandwich. You can pin the rest of the bias tape to the fabric.

3. Once in place, check that the needle lines up where you want. If you need to adjust, you can either use the left or right needle positions, or you can adjust the smaller screw at the back of the foot which will allow the whole plastic portion, and the fabric it now holds, to move to the correct position. Make sure you tighten this screw back up again or the results won't be pleasant!

4. You can now sew away, making sure the binding and fabric feed together through the presser foot.

5. Once you have completed your binding, you will need to snip away any excess binding and pull the work to the back of your sewing machine to remove it without damaging your work.

In this video Babs shows you how to insert the bias tape into the foot and how to show with the bias binder foot. The video demonstrates how to create a mitered corner for your projects, check it out once you have mastered the basics of this foot!