Here it is! There are many ways to sew bias tape on and here's a method I don't describe in my book. It's all stitched by machine and is how I trimmed hem and pockets on this skirt. Enjoy, and hooray for totally unprofessional video making!
**if this video is unavailable, check back in a few hours, okay? I don't know what is up with You Tube, it was working fine before. . .I will keep checking it. You can also try this link here.
Thanks for posting this helpful and hilarious video! I taught myself how to sew, so it's neat to see how I'm *supposed* to be doing stuff!
Posted by: Beth | March 22, 2008 at 04:32 PM
That was fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing this great technique. Please do more of these!!!
Posted by: Allison | March 22, 2008 at 04:38 PM
hah! and it really, really works!
Posted by: Grammie | March 22, 2008 at 04:44 PM
This is the most awesome and hilarious tutorial. The popsicle stick narrator thing was so perfect. Thanks for sharing!!
Posted by: Kelly | March 22, 2008 at 04:45 PM
Awesome !!! love the narration - just love it !
Posted by: jodie | March 22, 2008 at 04:50 PM
Amy, this is awesome!! [high five!]
Posted by: sally | March 22, 2008 at 04:59 PM
Thanksyou - great tutorial!
Posted by: Kate | March 22, 2008 at 05:01 PM
Thank you! I'm going to make a summer dress soon, and I want to trim the hem with bias tape... now I can! Thanks again. :)
Posted by: Jenna | March 22, 2008 at 05:01 PM
Thank you for this! Encore!
Posted by: Nicole | March 22, 2008 at 05:01 PM
Hilarious and yet totally useful! I would love to see a whole series of these...
Posted by: lina | March 22, 2008 at 05:07 PM
Well, your tutorial was so much fun, I want to go finish an edge with bias tape right now! Great job. (The popsicle stick narrator was a hoot!)
Posted by: Cheryl (Copper's Wife) | March 22, 2008 at 05:07 PM
Ok, so I have known how to do this for years, but I still watched because I knew you would make it hilarious! Thanks for the laugh! And love your stick Amy. She is a great actress. A very clean non-swearing actress. I think she should be a blog regular!
Posted by: Samantha | March 22, 2008 at 05:07 PM
Why is this no longer available to see? I was so looking forward to seeing it.
Posted by: Deanna | March 22, 2008 at 05:12 PM
i LOVE it. hilarious and VERY informational! thanks. :)
Posted by: lorena | March 22, 2008 at 05:13 PM
Heeheehee, that tutorial is great, very informative.
I HATE pinning, if I could sew everything without pinning I would be one happy camper. Thanks for showing me how to sew on bias tape!
Posted by: Dani | March 22, 2008 at 05:14 PM
It says the video is no longer available!!
Posted by: Steph | March 22, 2008 at 05:15 PM
Yep. I'm getting the "no longer available" message too.
Posted by: Sarah | March 22, 2008 at 05:18 PM
that was wonderful! too cute!
Posted by: mar | March 22, 2008 at 05:24 PM
Oh no! I am getting that it is unavailable too. The tragedy! (I guess it's not THAT tragic, it's just that I had been hoping for an easy way to do that for a while. ;) )
Posted by: Leah | March 22, 2008 at 05:31 PM
hmm-not sure what is up with you tube, it was working fine before, I will check it out. . .hang tight!
Posted by: amy k. | March 22, 2008 at 05:32 PM
no longer available.
i'm so sad :(
Posted by: *mindi* | March 22, 2008 at 05:34 PM
Oh no! Not available and I really would love to learn an easier way!!! I'm going to keep checking back in hopes that it was just a problem with the nut behind this comp!
Posted by: barb | March 22, 2008 at 05:34 PM
Hmm same here. I've never uploaded to youtube. Does it expire?
Posted by: jennie | March 22, 2008 at 05:58 PM
Great! I loved the skirt, but was intimidated by the bias trim.
I love your choice of fabric, by the way!
Posted by: Nicole | March 22, 2008 at 06:40 PM
so, there is too much traffic on the video right now-check back later and it should work. . .
Posted by: amy k. | March 22, 2008 at 06:43 PM
dude. we're all chompin at the bit for that video and it's all flooded out! ;) I will wait. Patiently.
Happy Easter, girl. And to all your peeps too. xoxo.
Posted by: amanda | March 22, 2008 at 07:06 PM
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've always wondered why one side was different than the others. However, I would LOVE for you to show me a curve or a mitered corner. Those kick my butt everytime.
BTW, loved the video and the stick Amy.
Posted by: Cindy | March 22, 2008 at 07:16 PM
too funny, amy!!
Posted by: jessica | March 22, 2008 at 07:20 PM
Thanks for posting that--I'm a cursing-under-my-breath sewer, so this was a nice little tidbit--I always thought the bias tape was just annoyingly uneven, LOL!
Posted by: Kim (McClellan) Mercer | March 22, 2008 at 07:21 PM
That is sooo great! Thank you. I love the real time aspect.
Posted by: Alison | March 22, 2008 at 07:24 PM
Hilarious! And educational to boot. Who knew the two could go together so well?
Posted by: Stephanie | March 22, 2008 at 07:37 PM
cindy-
you can do curves the exact same way, because it on the bias, it will curve, I promise!
and posy gets cozy has a great tutorial for mitered corners:
http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com
/posie_gets_cozy/2008/02/binding-
tute.html
Posted by: amy k. | March 22, 2008 at 08:34 PM
thank you, thank you!!! since i don't have a serger, i plan on sewing on a lot of bias tape edges! :)
Posted by: delena | March 22, 2008 at 09:41 PM
that was brilliant. brilliant! i am completely in awe that you put that together with three children hanging around somewhere. i now worship you as an even more accomplished accomplisher.
Posted by: tifanie | March 22, 2008 at 09:42 PM
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Seriously....THANK YOU!!!
Posted by: Michele | March 22, 2008 at 09:46 PM
I love it! I smiled through the whole thing! You are a wonderful teacher. I love your book and I love your blog.
No longer lurking,
Linda
Posted by: Linda Nichols | March 22, 2008 at 10:16 PM
OH MY GOD IT'S ANGRY CHICKEN: THE MOVIE.
Posted by: erin | March 22, 2008 at 10:30 PM
haaa...you are AWESOME and that was hilarious. thanks for the lesson.
Posted by: amy lowrey | March 22, 2008 at 10:36 PM
That just about made my week. Heck let's just say you made my month. I had an ear to ear smile through the whole clip. Ha Ha Ha!
Must make popsicle stick picture heads now.
entertaining yet informative, 2 thumbs up!
Posted by: imapicklepinpal | March 22, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Hee hee, that was cute and funny! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Posted by: strikkelise | March 22, 2008 at 11:00 PM
thank you for this. now i am gonna try this with a lot more confidence!
(and this tutorial is so adorable. you are such a delight.)
Posted by: liz elayne | March 22, 2008 at 11:07 PM
Oh so hilarious!! And yet so insightful! Great tutorial...what a great Easter present you gave us all!
Posted by: Amber | March 22, 2008 at 11:17 PM
You had me with, "I don't pin, because I don't want to." OH MY. This is freaking brilliant. I especially love how you "demo" the sewing part.
This is brilliant. I'm on hiatus this week, but will be linking this on Monday. Blessings.
Posted by: Wende | March 22, 2008 at 11:45 PM
I think this is my favorite tutorial of all time..... and I already knew how to do this!! I love entertaining tutorials, and this is the best I have seen! :)
Posted by: Nicole | March 23, 2008 at 12:55 AM
Thank you for that. I love the part where you "step away" and you just hear the sewing machine going. :)
Posted by: Kuky | March 23, 2008 at 01:12 AM
Finally, someone explains why the bias tape has wide and narrow sides! I have been sewing for over 20 years, and never knew that. Loved it, and just made my sewing life that much easier. Thankyou!
Posted by: heather | March 23, 2008 at 01:15 AM
Thank you Amy, tutorial on video rocks! of course we want more of that! happy Easter to you x
Posted by: fanja | March 23, 2008 at 01:23 AM
I love it! Can we have more tutorial videos, please? Could you show us how to put in a zip without crying?
Posted by: Friendly Flamingo | March 23, 2008 at 02:04 AM
So funny! I love it. This is the best way to do bias tape. The only thing I do different is to actually "stitch in the ditch"...stitch at the point where the two fabrics meet and that way you don't see any stitching on the front side.
Posted by: Suzanne - The Farmer's Wife | March 23, 2008 at 02:49 AM
Your tutorial is sooo great, I love your humour!
Posted by: Kate | March 23, 2008 at 03:51 AM
What a fantastic tutorial - thank you! x
Posted by: Florence | March 23, 2008 at 04:02 AM
I have been trying to WRITE instructions for bias binding. It's fairly simple to do but SO hard to explain for some reason...thanks for the tutorial!
Posted by: betz | March 23, 2008 at 04:34 AM
oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
A. I never realized that my bias tape had different widths (I'm so observant, no?)
B. I always wondered how to machine stitch the second side without making an unholy mess on the first side.
I feel I can take over the bias tape WORLD now! Thanks!!!
Posted by: kdmade | March 23, 2008 at 04:45 AM
You are really funny and oh so clever. Love the tutorial. Very helpful.
Posted by: Shelba | March 23, 2008 at 04:48 AM
Fantastic! I'm not scared of bias tape anymore!
Posted by: Nicole | March 23, 2008 at 06:41 AM
Thanks for the great one-take tutorial. Now I want to find something to add bias trim to!
Posted by: Auntly H | March 23, 2008 at 06:42 AM
You are freaking brilliant. I adore your sense of humor. And it's a fantastic tutorial to boot! Yipeee!
Posted by: Average Jane Crafter | March 23, 2008 at 07:13 AM
Love it! I've been fearful to sew an outfit that uses binding tape. Perhaps this week I'll give it a try. Happy Spring!
Posted by: Marisa | March 23, 2008 at 07:26 AM
A Time For Triumph, indeed!
Makes Easter that much more significant!
Thanks so much!
Posted by: nalani | March 23, 2008 at 07:34 AM
fab tutorial. we want more! Fi x
Posted by: MarmaladeRose | March 23, 2008 at 07:53 AM
thank you thank you!
I'm about to embark on a dress with lots of bias tape for my daughter, so this was very timely.
and you are so cute on your video, thank you again!
Posted by: Sarah Grainger | March 23, 2008 at 08:27 AM
awesome. i think it's that first stitching that's pretty brilliant! one thing, it would be easier to see all the stitching if you used a contrasting color of thread in the video. thanks for the tutorial!
Posted by: gleek | March 23, 2008 at 08:30 AM
Amy, seriously, you ROCK! I'm teaching myself to sew and just did an apron with bias tape edge......what a nightmare. Your video will make the next project so much easier....and better looking. thanks
Posted by: CJ | March 23, 2008 at 09:05 AM
I was always taught to stitch the second time in the ditch not on top of the bias tape. Your way is certainly easier for catching the back side - Thanks!
Posted by: Alice | March 23, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Brilliant! If I had known this when I was in Junior High School I would not have gotten a D on that apron I had to make in Home Ec. Cathy
Posted by: Cathy Matern | March 23, 2008 at 10:33 AM
This is so funny..love it!
Posted by: anary | March 23, 2008 at 10:47 AM
This tutorial could not have come at a better time! I have been making a mess of things trying to figure out the bias tape situation for a while.
Thanks!
Also, I like your stick heads.
Very funny.
Posted by: Jana | March 23, 2008 at 10:59 AM
SO FUNNY! So great! I love it!!!
Posted by: sally | March 23, 2008 at 10:59 AM
you have nice nails.
Posted by: melissa f. | March 23, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Helpful and HILARIOUS!!! Love it... thanks for the help (lord knows I need it)!!!
Posted by: Nicole | March 23, 2008 at 11:21 AM
A very cute little tutorial -- loved the little head-on-a-stick narrator. : )
Posted by: Julie @ Letter9 | March 23, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Fabulous tutorial, very helpful and entertaining. I look forward to more in the future!
Posted by: Meg | March 23, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Great video, Amy. I've been doing this for years--must have been in some pattern instructions or something--but your teaching is great.
Suzanne, could you explain better about "stitch-in-the-ditch" for this? Seems to me that if you're really in the ditch, you will miss the front fabric and be just off of it.
Just an FYI--last time I used bias it was on a totally straight piece of cotton duck and it was so easy, I just wrapped my bias around the raw edge, didn't pin it and just stitched on the edge of the front (be sure you still have the wider edge of the bias on the back side of your fabric). This type of fabric allowed me to do it and skip a step, cause it doesn't stretch and it sort of "grabs" the bias stip, but most fabrics will NEED to be done by the two steps, for sure.
Posted by: White Feather | March 23, 2008 at 12:34 PM
Thank you for this, for someone like me who is trying to earn to sew- this was very helpful. Maybe you could do a tutorial on zippers and button holes in the future?
I love "Amy on a stick"!
Posted by: Tina | March 23, 2008 at 12:53 PM
"we're happy. happy happy."
that video made ME very happy and I don't even sew.
you are way too funny lady. I laugh out loud every time I think of your little face on that stick . . . it's just too good.
Posted by: Kelly | March 23, 2008 at 01:07 PM
Adding more votes for a follow-up video about curves, both "inward" and "outward." Please, please, please? :) Thanks!!!
Posted by: Kirstin | March 23, 2008 at 01:08 PM
Utter brilliance! Thank you.
Posted by: Rach | March 23, 2008 at 01:15 PM
thanks a bunch
very fun
please do more of these... when you have time of course
hope you are hop hop hopping happy today
xx
Posted by: Nancy Cook | March 23, 2008 at 01:28 PM
Great tutorial!!
Posted by: Julie | March 23, 2008 at 02:26 PM
Amy I owe you big time! I will babysit or take out your trash any time you want! I have never used bias tape because I was afraid of it. Thank you so much for this cause now I know that I can do it!!
Posted by: Mindy | March 23, 2008 at 02:45 PM
Oh Amy, you crack me up! I love it!
Posted by: Gail | March 23, 2008 at 03:20 PM
amy! that was so great! i could never work out how to sew that tricky folded complicated little piece of tape on. THANKYOU :-)
and i liked hearing the sewing machine sewing while you sat and waited with us. cute.
Posted by: manda paino | March 23, 2008 at 04:04 PM
Amy you rock!
Posted by: stitchingsurgeon | March 23, 2008 at 04:17 PM
Great little tutorial. LOVE the little popsicle Amys. Hurray!
Posted by: Tia | March 23, 2008 at 04:32 PM
you are so awesome... and with three little ones too! wow.
Posted by: lynne | March 23, 2008 at 04:46 PM
Yé! Now I know how to sew this... :) I loved your video. I am a beginner with the sewing machine.
Posted by: Plume de Fée | March 23, 2008 at 05:56 PM
This is so great!! I'm also a "self-taught sewer" and really needed to see this so I can finish up my easy lap quilt from your book. Thanks!!
Posted by: jennifer lynn | March 23, 2008 at 06:34 PM
Thank you so much! I am a self taught sewer and this cute little video has helped me a ton! I would love to see more.
Posted by: Kim | March 23, 2008 at 06:39 PM
You are so great girl. Loved that tutorial. Now I will definitely make your little jacket for my granddaughter with bias tape (homemade, of course) all around. Thanks!
Posted by: Lynne | March 23, 2008 at 06:48 PM
awesome, thank you so much!
Posted by: billi | March 23, 2008 at 06:58 PM
That was the most hilarious, helpful tutorial I think I've ever seen! Thank you! I never thought to sew it twice (thus the swearing on my part)!
Posted by: madmommy | March 23, 2008 at 07:05 PM
That was a great tutorial and for some reason I found it very funny LOL
Posted by: Tonya Richard | March 23, 2008 at 07:41 PM
I WOULD NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS HAVE FIGGERED OUT THAT YOU STITCH THE SECOND TIME ON THE RIGHT SIDE. NOT IN A MILLION OR MAYBE EVEN A BILLION!
DUDE! I NEVER WRITE IN ALL CAPS BUT I AM SO EGGCITED! THANKYOUVERYMUCH!
xo Kay
Posted by: Kay | March 23, 2008 at 07:54 PM
Thank you! That was soooo great! Cute, funny, and informative...love it.
Posted by: tricia | March 23, 2008 at 07:56 PM
Thank you !!! I've been doing it wrong and that is probably why I gave up on bias tape six months ago... thanks to seeing this linked on Craft I can finally feel confident to try again!
And boy oh boy... was I doing it wrong. sighhhhhh
Posted by: CallMeKelly | March 23, 2008 at 08:07 PM
Too funny and useful.
Posted by: mary | March 23, 2008 at 08:36 PM
Loved the video! My favorite parts are the stick puppets and the sound of your sewing machine in the background! Happy Easter!
Posted by: michelle fitzgerald | March 23, 2008 at 08:37 PM
Hooray! great tutorial. Thanks!
Posted by: Laurence | March 23, 2008 at 08:56 PM
*****
Thank you, thank you. Brilliant and funny as usual!
*****
Posted by: Mary-- The Yellow Door Paperie | March 23, 2008 at 09:28 PM
oh my goodness!!! that's how bias tape works?!?!?! haha i just have to laugh at myself sometimes. no wonder it always comes out funny the handful of times I tried to mess with one....
ps. love the popsicle head!
Posted by: jOi-C (SHMILYdesign) | March 23, 2008 at 09:34 PM