Most of the times we can get by with straight-grain binding. But some projects really call for bias. Bias curves much easier than straight-of-grain and holds up longer. So for quilts with curved edges or ones that will take a “beating”, bias binding is a good choice. Here is another excerpt from our All-in-One Quilter’s Reference Tool that gives the yardage needed to make bias binding.

Measure and add up the lengths of all 4 sides of your quilt, then add 10″. Find that number in the column on the left and look across the row to see how big a square you’ll need to cut to make continuous bias binding.

We give yardage for double-fold binding (see the diagram on the right) and for single-fold binding (see the diagram on the left). The cutting width for double-fold is 1 5/8″. The cutting width for single-fold is 1 1/8″. This is for the most common finished binding width:  1/4″. For other finished binding widths, see the Reference Tool mentioned above.

Part of the Quilting Tips from the Tech Editors tutorial series