DEFINITION: 

Bias tape is fabric that has been cut on the bias, making it very flexible. When folded and sewn around a circular edge, its flexibility keeps it from winding in waves (as can be problematic in a rolled hem).

This is my own definition. Of course you can google this term to find other definitions as well.

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In the image above, the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll that my daughters did an OOAK remake of) models a trench coat that uses bias tape around the collar and front closure.

As it says in the photo collage at the top of the page, bias tape is really designed to be folded over and stitched to a curved area (like a neckline, sleeve cuff, or hem) to prevent that warped, twisted look that can happen to fabric when you’re trying to hem it. What do I mean by “warped” and “twisted”?

Well, we had our window replaced the other day, and when they came to measure, I took down the curtains that had been hanging for the past ten years in what used to be my oldest daughter’s bedroom. I washed the curtains while the fixit guys worked on the window, but when I took the curtains out of the dryer and started to iron them, I realized that the curtains had this warped look to their hem:

Now I can’t say for certain that I didn’t create this twisted looking hem. After all, when my kids were younger, most of my sewing had to be done in a rush! But my suspicion is… when my daughter was learning to sew, she probably made these curtains with the not-so-perfect hemline.

What would have made it easier? Adding a little bias tape to the hem area of the curtains! But she would have been between 13 and 15 when these curtains were made, so… Anyone who has raised a teenage daughter knows what that means.

Mom’s advice is worth about as much as a pickle.

So yeah, you can actually add bias tape to curtains. Bias tape can be used to finish the edges of a quilt too.

But what are some of the other things I’ve used bias tape for, besides its usefulness along an object’s hem?

With doll clothes, bias tape makes a wonderful cuff under a puffy sleeve:

And this may sound like a bit of a “cheat” (and in fact it is), but you can make your life a whole lot easier if you just sew bias tape onto the front of a dress to form a faux collar.

That’s what I did here:

When making a dress or halter top for a teeny-tiny doll, like the Mattel Stacie dolls, Topper Dawn, and Palitoy Pippa dolls, bias tape can be used at the top of the halter top or halter-style dress for a back closure at the neck.

Here’s what I mean:

Do you see the little snap at the back of the neck of the dress? I’ve sewn a snap onto my bias tape to form a closure.

I suppose you could use it this way on bigger dolls too, with a wider bias tape and Velcro as a closure at the back, but I don’t have any examples of that.

I do, however, sometimes use bias tape the same way I use ribbon, sewing its folds together and using it for the shoulder straps of a dress or for a purse’s strap:

When making a doll’s outfit out of felt, it’s not a bad idea to add a layer of bias tape along the outside edge of the felt, to keep it from fraying when it’s used a lot during playtime.

That’s what I did at the top of Moana’s strapless dress here:

I believe that’s half-inch wide, double-fold bias tape that you see there.

Which brings me to the recommended brands. Wrights bias tape is the brand I feel most comfortable buying, and you can find it on Amazon, Etsy, and other online sources. It’s even found in some craft stores.

And with 11 inch fashion dolls and smaller, I typically use quarter-inch wide (6 mm) double-fold bias tape. Half inch, like you see on the dress above, can work along an area that would normally have a long hem, but usually on a Barbie-sized doll, I don’t recommend it. Your doll’s shirt might look a little too boxy and bulky with half inch wide bias tape, as you can see in this example:

But even with the tiniest dolls, you can usually get away with quarter-inch wide double-fold bias tape from Wrights, for hems and cuffs.

Here’s an example of an Easter dress on a little tiny Kelly doll, and both the hem and the sleeve cuffs are made using Wright’s double-fold bias tape:

I probably should have stitched bias tape to the little felt collar as well, for that project. It would have made the dress’s felt bodice last a lot longer.

Sometimes I make my own bias tape, instead of buying Wrights. There’s a tool you can use to help you get it evenly folded and pressed.

Figure 1 below shows the home-made bias tape that I made for my Chelly Wood doll’s trench coat (pictured closer to the top of today’s blog post). Figure 2 shows how I stitched together strips of fabric at an angle, in order to form the bias tape. Figure 3 shows the tool people use for making their own bias tape.

To learn more about making bias tape from scratch, you might want to go read this blog post.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: 

What brands of bias tape have you purchased that worked well or didn’t work well at all?

Have you made your own bias tape? And how did that go?

Please come back to this blog post at the end of next week, so you can see what comments other people left!

If you enjoyed this blog post, and you’d like to see my videos, you might want to navigate over to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1 to look through my playlists.

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*Please note: when you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include Amazon, Etsy, and the eBay Partner Network. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how my website uses affiliate marketing, please visit the website’s Privacy Policy page.

Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with any of the doll or toy companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly enjoys designing her doll clothes to fit a variety of dolls. To learn more about the doll companies mentioned in today’s post, please visit the doll or toy company’s website.