I think we all love binding, but sometimes your materials or project won’t allow it, like if you wanted to use a fake leather for a curved binding (it will pucker if it doesn’t have any give on the bias). Let me show you a trick to overcome those binding limitations!
This isn’t a common technique on clothing but I do this quite a bit on sci-fi costumes. Fake binding isn’t really something you plan on doing, it’s more of a solution to a design problem. So here’s how to make a fake binding without using bias strips.
Here’s my pretend pattern piece and I’ve cut two pieces out of muslin. It has 1/2” seam allowance at the curve. Normally you wouldn’t have a seam allowance at a bound edge, but this isn’t normal binding.
I’m cutting the piece out again in my brown “binding” fabric.
There’s 1/2” seam allowance, and I want 1/2” binding, plus another 1/2” seam allowance, so I need to mark out the fabric at 1.5” from the edge and cut it out.
Now I’m drawing the seam allowance on the original piece of muslin that is my pretend fashion fabric.
I’m marking 1/2” from the inner edge of the binding piece, which will be my stitch line. The inner seam allowance of the binding is going to butt up against the line marked on the original piece.
Now I’ll pin the binding to the original as well as I can without stretching it, with the edge butted up to the drawn line on the “fashion fabric” muslin, and lining up the edge of the binding fabric to the edge of the muslin at the stitch line. If this was a larger pattern I would have added notches to help align the curve.
Sew just to the right of the marked stitch line to leave a little room for turn of the cloth.
Depending on how curved the seam is, the seam allowance might have to be snipped or cut away like this one so it’s not so bulky when it’s turned back.
Now press the binding flat.
Then I trim away the seam allowance from the original fabric, so just the binding fabric is left.
Pin the lining piece on top and sew the edge at 1/2″ (or whatever your pattern’s seam allowance is).
Snip into the curve so it can turn back without puckering.
Then I press it flat with the binding hanging over just a smidge.
And there you have a fake binding! You can sew the fashion fabric seams and binding seams independently, and then sew all of the binding on at once. Or you can sew each piece like this and join them to make alterations easier if that’s necessary. It’s up to you! But hopefully this will expand your binding pursuits!
Here’s one application I used this for recently:
Because of the way this dress is lined, I couldn’t apply binding in the traditional way. So I did a fake binding along the bodice edges to give it definition. Have you had to fake binding before to get the look you wanted? What was the limitation you were working around? Share your experience in the comments!
