Three Ways To Finish Fabric Corners By Mitering

If you’ve ever had to clean-finish a fabric corner, you probably know that it is sometimes, easier said than done.

At times, you can get away with folding the fabric corner edges in a linear fashion and stitching them in this position. However, this technique does not work on all corners edges- some instances require more advanced finishing techniques.

​Whether you are clean-finishing a corner that is not a perfect 90 degree angle, or you require a more decorative finish, there are three main techniques you can use. These three methods fall in the category of mitering.

Mitering fabric corners can be achieved three different ways: using the corner seam allowance, with a bias strip, or an exposed bias binding. It results in a diagonal seam that cleanly encases the intersecting raw edges forming a well-defined, smooth corner.

The most traditional form of mitering entails using the seam allowance edges to encase the fabric raw edges with a simple diagonal seam.

Mitering can also be accomplished with a bias strip (either contrast or matching fabric/color) cut at the width of your choice. While the bias strip is not visible from the application's face side, it creates a semi-decorative finish on its wrong side.

A bias bound mitered corner is completed using a (usually single fold) bias binding that wraps around the corner to encase its raw edges. This technique is just as much functional as it is decorative. The exposed bias binding is visible on both the right and wrong side of the finished application.

​Note: You can use a bias binding cut from the same fabric or a contrast fabric as pictured above.