How to use a Binding presser Foot on your sewing machine

Bias binding is nothing complicated – but it involves some extra steps busy sewists may want to skip, especially when you have lots and lots of binding to do. That is when a binding presser foot comes to be of use.

For those who want to do the binding in one step, the binder foot is one very convenient presser foot to have. Not the most necessary of sewing presser foot but to do all those binding (of necklines, quilts, placemats, bedspreads, etc) super fast, it works.

How to use the bias binding foot

The usual way of binding is to sew the binding strip from the back along the edge and then flip the tape to the front and sew it in place from the top. This two-step process can be reduced to one step with your new binding foot.

You can either buy pre-folded bias binding tape or make your own bias tape with bias cut fabric strips for the binding you will be doing with your new binding foot.

Cut out a fabric strip of 1 1/2 inch to get a 1/2 inch bias binding. The best results are achieved if you have perfectly cut even binding strips ( I mean, the width of the fabric strips should be the same throughout)

Cut the short edge of the fabric strip (bias strip) at a 45° angle to make it narrow enough to pass through the binding foot.

Cut enough binding strip to go around plus some inches (5 inches or so) extra at the start and end.

Fold the binding strip – fold the short edges to the inside.

Press the binding by the middle.

Insert the fabric strip through the binding foot.

The binding foot has a funnel shaped projection with two grooves inside.

You should be inserting the edges of the fabric strips through these.

The folded edges of the binding tape should be inserted inside the grooves inside the binding tape. They are locked in place, by these grooves.

Place the foot on the machine. Adjust your needle position to the center position. Adjust the position of the bias binding foot guide according to where you want the stitching.

Keep the fabric edge inside the binding tape and start to sew.