Two-step bound seams

Recently, we talked about bound seams. Bound seams are a way to finish the inside of a sewn object so that it looks nice. They are especially nice on unlined jackets. If you want to finish the seams on a sheer garment, try a French seam.A few weeks ago, I demonstrated a one-step bound seam. It’s basically a quick and easy way to accomplish what looks very much the same as this two-step bound seam. The difference is in the number of times you have to stitch the seam. In the one-step, we simply sandwiched the seam allowance inside the double-fold bias tape and stitched once, catching the front and back of the bias tape at the same time. It’s quick and easy, but can be trickier on curved seams or corners.

This version takes two passes to complete but will be easier to do on curves and corners. Please review the link above for the one-step method if you’d like to see the difference.

Supplies

 

(Click fabrics for direct links for purchase at Warehouse Fabrics Inc.)

Bear Necessities Gumdrop – BESGUP

Extra-wide, double-fold bias tape

The process

 

I am just demonstrating a straight seam on scrap fabric. I have extra-wide double fold bias tape.
Sew your seam. I did a 5/8″ seam allowance here, though I usually prefer a 1/2″. Press the seam open.
On the other bias tape tutorial, I showed how one side of the tape is usually just a hair narrower than the other. You want the narrower side on the right in this step. Once you’ve located that, open it up and place the edge along the edge of the right-hand seam allowance. Pin in place.
Sew along that first fold in the bias tape.
Fold the bias tape back up and wrap it around the seam allowance so the seam allowance’s raw edge is encased. Pin into place.Because the other side of the bias tape is a wee bit wider, you should be able to catch it in the stitching in the next step.
Here’s a view of the pinned bias tape from the back side of the seam allowance, the part that is normally hidden.
From the other side (front), stitch in the ditch or on the very edge of the bias tape. You want to catch the open side of the bias tape on the other side. Remember, this side is already stitched down (as opposed to the one-step method).
Repeat on other side and you have nice, finished seams!
View from the back side.
The seam looks like a regular seam from the front of the fabric.
I decided to test the one-step method and two-step method on a curved seam just for fun to see if one was easier to do than the other or looked better. They were pretty close in this particular case. Of course, the one-step method was a little quicker, but I would say it looked slightly sloppier and more uneven than the two-step method. But overall a difference was hard to see.If you were trying to go around a corner, however, the one-step method would look terrible. I definitely recommend this two-step version for that. I may add a demo of that to this post later. I ran out of bias tape this time around.