That is all.
That is all.
Yep that's why you can buy it already made.
There's a clever little tool called the Clover Bias Tape Maker-you first cut bias strips (at a 45 degree angle from selvage edges) and then place an end in the tool . It emerges from the other end folded-you iron it as it comes out. The tool comes in different widths. Videos are available to see this in action- Nancy's Notions website has one). They cost about $7-$10. They work well with cotton- I haven't tried with the light synthetics we use in hammocking. There's also a machine you can buy which does the whole process for a lot more money.
IIRC, without digging through your prior posts, you mentioned making bias tape for an upcoming tarp build. I have an upcoming build as well and was intrigued at your mention of bias tape. I had only heard the name before and was completely ignorant on its use. Your mention of it caused me to look up a little about creating and using bias tape. I am intrigued.Originally Posted by WaffleBox
Most of what I read suggests the primary use of bias tape is to allow "stretch" while maintaining durability and/or creating a finished edge. From what I've read, it is an easier option to use on curved edges as it remains flexible. This makes me think you're planning cat cuts on a tarp and looking for a clean and easy way to create a finished edge.
So I'm curious as to the advantages of using bias tape. I imagine it would be easier than grosgraining the edges, but quite a hassle to create it. Have you used this before in a tarp construction? Does it still stretch, which I think you wouldn't want?
Just curious about it in general, especially with my upcoming tarp build. Thought I might be missing a new and/or better way to do things. I've grosgrained tarps and rolled hemmed them, but had never done anything else. At the present time I had planned to roll hem all the cat cuts on the tarp I was doing, but bias tape now has me intrigued.
what's the difference between bias tape, grossgrain, and just ribbon from joann's? And where are you buying said tape?
“All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.”
I made some from HyperD 1.0 to finish the seams of my TQ - definitely tedious, but a roller cutter thingie + mat + straightedge helped A LOT. Pinning and sewing it was more tedious than cutting it, but the finished look and functionality is worth it.
Caminante, son tus huellas el camino y nada más... - Antonio Machado
Sadly it's not available commercially in charcoal grey MEMBRANE, which is what I want to use in order to match the color of my tie out reinforcements exactly.
This is exactly what I am doing. MUCH better than doing all the folding by hand, but still quite tedious.
I decided I wanted to do binding on the edges of my next tarp instead of doing a rolled hem for purely aesthetic reasons. I was at a group hang and somebody had an ENO tarp that had contrasting colored fabric around the edges of the tarp. It looked really cool so I decided to do it.
I chose to make bias tape rather than use grosgrains for two reasons. The first was, again, aesthetic. I wanted the color to match the color of my tie out reinforcements exactly, so I wanted to use the same material. And since I'm doing it out of 0.9 oz MEMBRANE, it's lighter weight than grosgrain would be. I'll be able to bind the whole perimeter of my 11'6" ridgeline tarp with doors for 1 oz. I could have done it for 0.5 oz but decided to use wider bias tape for aesthetic reasons.
Whether stretch turns out to be an issue or not remains to be seen. I haven't seen any reports of anybody using bias tape on tarp edge binding before, so I don't have any history to go on. I am not doing cat cuts, though I can see how bias tape would be easier for them than rolled hem would be (though sewing bias tape onto straight edges of my backpack was quite a nightmare in itself).
Bias tape is made of strips of fabric cut on the bias. In other words, imagine a square of fabric. Instead of laying it in front of you like a square and cutting strips, you would rotate it 45 degrees first so that it would look like a diamond instead of a square. Then you would cut it into strips. This makes it much more stretchy than it would be if you cut it with the "grain" of the fabric.
Grosgrain is a particular type of ribbon. Some of the ribbon available at Joann is grosgrain. Some is not. I'm not familiar enough with the construction of grosgrain to answer your question in any more detail than that.
You can buy some bias tape at Joann, usually near the thread. For outdoor gear purposes, be careful. Most of it is made of a poly/cotton blend so you could end up with rotting issues down the line. I haven't seen any actual reports of this, so it may not be a problem. There is some 100% poly bias tape available at Joann sometimes. It's usually labeled as "satin" bias tape.
Last edited by WaffleBox; 12-14-2015 at 14:28.
I appreciate the info, thank you! I definitely understand the aesthetic reasoning and realizing how much lighter it is versus grosgrain, makes sense.
Please let us know how this works out for you.
Given my rate of progress on the tarp, I'll be able to provide some useful info by around February
Grosgrain is a construction method on ribbons and fabric; its where the fine fabric weave has a heavier weft which results in the noticeable ribbing on the ribbon.
Plain weave and satin weave as well as twill weave (also known as herringbone) are all other methods of weaving the threads for ribbons and tape.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks