An Easy Way To Improve Seam Binding

 Unless you have been living under a rock or in outer Antarctica (my Mother-in-Law is visiting Antarctica as we speak!) you know that Seam Binding is all the rage.  Why? Because it is cheap, plentiful, and easy to dye…in other words it's a crafter's dream.

I buy Hug Snug brand from ZipperStop's Etsy store-though their website has it for the same price.  It is a great value at $9.50 for a 100 yard roll.  I've always used the 1/2 inch ribbon but it also comes in 1/4 inch widths.  I just placed an order and added a roll of 1/4-inch so expect to see it on some projects soon.

Because it is so easy to  color seam binding, I just keep white on hand.  It colors beautifully with with Stains, Inks, Glimmer Mist, or ColorShine.  I do have a few colored rolls that I purchased for specific reasons and I ordered a roll of black because it is makes such a mess to color white ribbon a deep black.

I love the look of the hand-dyed seam binding with all the texture and color variation.  Have 100 yards of colored seam-binding?  No problem, its easy to give a factory-colored ribbon the look of a beautiful hand-dyed ribbon.  Love the color but want texture? Just add water, scrunch it into a ball and either air dry or if you're impatient, use a heat gun.  The wrinkles will add age and interest to your ribbon.  Want a deeper, richer color?  Just add water and some dye (I used Distress Stain).  

 Snug Hug red seam binding is pretty as is, but I wanted a deeper, richer "Christmas" red.  First, spray the ribbon with water to get the entire length damp.  Then squeeze a generous amount of Aged Mahogany Distress Stain onto a nonstick mat and add maybe 10 squirts of plain water  from a spray bottle.  Distress Stain won't mix with the water on its own so stir it around, moving the stain and water to mix it and make a larger surface area and quickly dropped the seam binding onto the color.  Squeeze the ribbon together to distribute the dye and water and repeat as necessary until you're happy with the color.  I like to heat the ribbon with heat gun to ensure the wrinkles stay in place.  Be sure to really wad it up into a tight ball before you start to dry it- either air dry or with a heat gun.  When I use the heat gun I like to move seam binding around, resqueeze it into a ball, heat, move it around etc until it looks like….

…this beautiful, rich, deep, textured seam binding.  Perfect for Holiday projects.

Laters Baby.