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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Would You Use Liberty of London for Bias Trim?

I bought some green quilted fabric for a vest or jacket, and it frays very readily. The seams will need a hong kong finish. A classic Liberty of London fabric -- Strawberry Thief in a colorway matching the quilted fabric -- was nearby in the fabric store.



The two fabrics were meant to be together. Forever. Into eternity. Bound together with silken threads. The Liberty lawn would bring printed charm to the hong kong finish, making it more interesting than hong kong seams usually are. And the cotton lawn is so lightweight, it's ideal for bias trim and hong kong finishes.

But here's 3 reasons why I left it behind.
  • It's expensive.
  • It's expensive.
  • It's expensive.
It is crazy to use a $40/yard fabric that will never be seen, YES?! It would really make the inside of the vest come alive. But c'mon, it's the inside!

I thought I was the only person on the planet who may have contemplated using Liberty for bias trim.

But no. During blog travel journeys, I find six and a half stitches used Liberty bias trim on a beautiful knit child's cardigan:



Although it is visible bias trim. Mine would be hidden. But this is a child's garment. Mine is for an adult who could wear it longer. So I call the justification even-steven.

If you Google "Liberty bias binding," you find others have tread here already. How cute is this Liberty bias binding on wooden spools, from UK-based clothkits:



Colette Patterns' tutorial on making bias tape features Liberty:



You can get ready-made Liberty lawn bias tape like this from etsy seller PollyDangerNotions:



So ... maybe  it's not so crazy an idea ...

1 comment:

Jane M said...

Yes, it sounds slightly, only slightly, extravagent. But 1 yard of fabric will yield yards and yards of differing widths of bias for more than one future project. think how fun to open a purse and see seams bound in that fabric of have it peeping as baby piping on a garment. OK, enough enabling...

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