Questions about alternatives to binding

[GroundFallGear]

Hey everyone, it's a slow day here at work, so I've been doing some reading and have come across a topic I have questions about.

There is a recent post by JaYson about binding and somehow through reading replies and following links, I came to this old thread: http://gearmaker.org/index.php?topic=820.0 . This thread talks about some alternatives to using binding in projects but I am a bit confused on when/where you would use some of these other methods.

Lets us the classic boxy pouch as an example. Most times I see people sew them together inside-out and then bind the inside to finish and hide the raw edge of the fabric. What are some other ways you could finish those edges without the use of binding tape? Or for this example is binding the best route to go?

As always, I'm sure there are always a hundred ways to the top of the mountain, but I am fairly new to all this so any other methods/ideas would be cool to hear about! Also if anyone has other examples about when to use different techniques, I'm interested in that too!

Thanks for giving it some thought,
-Q

[Gear Dynamics]

The easiest solution is to laser cut all of your material. We’ve cut binding from the inside of utility pouches in favour of a second stitch line. With the laser cut, the edge of the material is melted and sealed. Of course this is really only applicable to the inside of pouches unless you are cutting a laminate material. The other added benefit to laser cutting is that you can design solutions into the shape you are cutting. For example, on our utility pouch we make the bottom part of the spine longer that the top zipper potion. When both parts are sewn evenly together, you are left with a flap of material that is then folded up and sewn over the raw zipper end.

In the thread you linked to, the convo was mostly about avoiding binding on the outside of projects. In this case, we generally prefer to sew things inside out, so you’re left with a clean folded edge you can run a top stitch along.

[GroundFallGear]

The easiest solution is to laser cut all of your material. We’ve cut binding from the inside of utility pouches in favour of a second stitch line. With the laser cut, the edge of the material is melted and sealed. Of course this is really only applicable to the inside of pouches unless you are cutting a laminate material. The other added benefit to laser cutting is that you can design solutions into the shape you are cutting. For example, on our utility pouch we make the bottom part of the spine longer that the top zipper potion. When both parts are sewn evenly together, you are left with a flap of material that is then folded up and sewn over the raw zipper end.

In the thread you linked to, the convo was mostly about avoiding binding on the outside of projects. In this case, we generally prefer to sew things inside out, so you’re left with a clean folded edge you can run a top stitch along.

Thanks for the response! And sorry for my slow responce back, my slow day at work turned into a busy weekend of work lol.

Everything makes more sense to me now. Now another thing I'm courious about: in your mind, as long as the raw edge of the fabric is in some way sealed, whether it be binding or melted or some other form, that is good enough for a  professional finish of a product?

[Gear Dynamics]

I suppose it depends on what your definition of “professional” is. I’ve seen some pretty shabby things from some big companies. Personally, I think if the fabric edge is sealed, it’s totally fine to be exposed internally. Only a laminated material would be OK with an externally exposed edge, so long as it’s been laser cut. Of course, even a sealed fabric edge could fray with enough abrasion, but in my experience, if the pouch is put through that much abuse, the outer material would likely wear through first.

[GroundFallGear]

I suppose it depends on what your definition of “professional” is. I’ve seen some pretty shabby things from some big companies. Personally, I think if the fabric edge is sealed, it’s totally fine to be exposed internally. Only a laminated material would be OK with an externally exposed edge, so long as it’s been laser cut. Of course, even a sealed fabric edge could fray with enough abrasion, but in my experience, if the pouch is put through that much abuse, the outer material would likely wear through first.

That makes sense. Thanks for the insight man!

[essal]

If you really want to put in all the work to avoid binding, you can make a liner that is sewn to the seam allowance which will remove any need for binding. It will however require a way to flip the pouch, so typically it would need a front pouch or similar. You could also finish it with a top-stitch somewhere, that can be fairly hidden if the design allows it. It's easier on larger pouches than small ones.

[WBTactical]

Currently experimenting with serging/overlocking machine and it works pretty well for pouches and packs.