Brian Milnes

There are many different ways to finish your rug edges to prevent them from unraveling. Bond Products offers a variety of carpet edge binding options that you can use to create practical and stylish carpets and rugs. In this blog we will list these binding options, with details, to make them easier for you to differentiate for your design needs. 

Your Carpet Edge Binding Options

Standard Edge Binding

This binding option involves using a durable, colorfast synthetic fabric tape that is designed to blend with the rug edge and not stand out. This is the most common and economical edge binding choice. Carpet binding is commonly done with a carpet binder, but for individual projects or DIYers, we offer Instabind carpet binding tape in many different styles.

Serging

Carpet serging uses a continuous wrap of yarn, about 3/8ths of an inch wide, around the edge of a rug. It looks very similar to a traditional whip stitch, except that the yarn is even closer together, and gives the rug a more finished look. The yarn color usually blends with the rug’s background color or highlights a color in the rug pattern that the customer wants to emphasize. Most serging is done using a carpet serger because serging by hand is extremely time consuming. 

Bond Products also has serge style Instabind available in synthetic and cotton options. 

Fringe

On a traditional antique or Oriental rug, the fringes are the warps of the rug itself tied together to finish off the rug. On most modern rugs available in stores, the fringes are a decorative finish that can be replaced. Bond’s replacement rug fringes are available in natural cotton in various colors and with or without knots.

We also offer Instabind fringe style for a faster, do-it-yourself project. 

Hand Binding

Hand binding is the least noticeable edge binding option. A cloth binding is sewn or stapled and glued with hidden stitching and wrapped tightly around the back. This is a subtle, but time consuming rug binding choice that we offer our local customers. We also sell a heavy-duty hand-binding stapler for this job. 

Hand Serging

Hand-sewn serging sits below the rug edge, creating a close-to-invisible effect. This is the most labor intensive edge treatment, but for customers with heirloom rugs it can be worth the investment.

Wide Fabric Bindings

There are also a number of wide-fabric binding options. They are done to add an accent to the edge of the rug and are often added to natural-fiber rugs like sisals. The stitching options available include top stitch and blind stitch, and the corner options include straight and mitered. 

Top Stitch – The top stitch binding style adds a visible seam to the edge of the carpet. This decorative stitch is sewn on top of the carpet, providing a neat and tailored finish. It not only prevents fraying but also introduces a subtle design element to the carpet’s edge.

Blind Stitch with Mitred Corners – The blind stitch, paired with mitred corners, is a sophisticated and seamless binding technique. In this method, the binding material is folded over the edge of the carpet, concealing the stitch beneath. The corners are meticulously mitred, creating a clean and polished appearance. 

Blind Stitch with Straight Corners – For a clean and no-nonsense approach, the blind stitch with straight corners is a classic choice. The binding is stitched directly onto the carpet’s edge, providing a robust and durable finish. This style is great for high-traffic areas. 

Choosing the right carpet edge binding style depends on your preferences, the intended use of the space, and the overall design scheme of the room. Each style adds its own touch of refinement to your floors.

As always, Bond’s customer service team will be happy to help you choose the best materials for your edge binding needs or, for local customers, make an appointment for your rug to be bound. Call us at 1 (888) 800-BOND with any questions you may have. 

 

Bond Products will be hosting our annual Fall Open House from 8 AM to 3 PM on October 26, 2023. This event, like previous open houses, will be open to the public and will offer our customers a chance to observe carpet binding skills from the professionals at Bond and ask questions about how it’s done. Whether you’re a carpet professional or this is your first time binding a rug, everyone is welcome!

Bond sells everything to finish carpet edges and make custom area rugs. We offer a variety of equipment and supplies, as well as parts and accessories, including thread, needles, bobbins, machine parts, and different types and qualities of tape. We also have tapestry equipment to bind wider borders. If you have valuable carpets that need restoration, we work with rug cleaning people to re-fringe/re-serge and restore them to their original luster.

This fall we are celebrating with savings. We are discounting all of our equipment and supplies 10% and will do a half an hour’s free labor on portable machine repairs. If you’re having a problem with your machine, bring it in! We will be happy to look at it. You just need to call and make an appointment to reserve a time slot.

As always, Bond offers clearance items, including certified refurbished equipment, parts, and machines, to our clients who want to have more advanced carpet working capabilities without paying new prices for equipment. Browse our used equipment page for deals! We do trade evaluations on older equipment too, if you are interested in trading up to a new binder with more capability.

Each of our open houses offer our customers to watch our professionals doing what they’re great at, so come on in on the 26th and see everything Bond Products has to offer to the flooring community.

 

Upselling is a major plus in any sale. When someone is buying a new home, a car, or carpet, it may be the initial price or sale offer that gets noticed, or it might be the initial hook — but it’s the add-ons that push up profits. In the carpet world, that’s custom carpet edges.

Custom Carpet Edges Pricing

Many folks offer a standard binding edge service, and that’s a terrific profit center, but why stop there? Whereas standard binding usually brings $.80 to $3.50 per foot, offering a more upscale edge can double or triple the profits.

Here is some current market pricing for custom carpet binding:

………………………………Cost per foot……Retail charge…………………….Profit per foot

Standard Binding              $.07/ft                  $1.75/ft                                   $1.68/ft

Cotton Binding                  $.12/ft                  $2.50/ft                                   $2.38/ft

Serge Binding                    $.23/ft                  $4.25/ft                                   $4.02/ft

3” Wide Binding                $.40/ft                  $6.00/ft                                   $5.60/ft

5” Wide Binding                $.60/ft                  $8.00/ft                                   $7.40/ft

Note: Prices roughly based on costs as of September 2023 and profits will depend on your local market pricing.

With these very basic examples, you can see that the profit per foot rises exponentially and dramatically if you offer additional binding options. If you already own a binding machine, your move towards more profits could be as simple as investing in a custom attachment. The other option is to use a DIY product called Instabind that doesn’t require any initial investment. The only tools needed to apply Instabind are a pair of scissors and a hot glue gun!

Invest in Carpet Binding Equipment for Greater Profits

Give it some thought. For just a small investment that will pay for itself quickly, (or none at all if you use Instabind), you can see your business realize a greater profit margin in no time.

Bond’s customer service department is always available to answer any carpet binding questions you may have, so please feel free to call us at 1-888-800-BOND.

Bond Products is pleased to announce the debut of a brand new Instabind product, a sew-free carpet binding option for our customers: Instabind Fringe Style. This DIY peel-and-stick fringe is high quality and can be applied quickly and easily to replace old or damaged fringes on your area rugs. All that you will need to apply it is a glue gun, glue, and a pair of scissors.

Do You Have Damaged Rug Fringes? 

Sooner or later, most rug fringes get dirty or damaged. It just happens. Vacuuming is hard on them, and they pick up all the dirt that gets dragged into the house on shoes or paws. Unfortunately, most people don’t know what to do with the fringe when it gets nasty looking, except to take it to a rug professional or throw it out. 

With Instabind Fringe Style there is one more option: Remove the damaged fringe and replace it with a new one! A new binding makes a real difference in the appearance of an older rug. Bond Products offers many different types of bindings for rugs, including sew-on replacement fringe, but Instabind makes this task much, much simpler. 

Here’s what you will need:

• Your area rug
• Instabind Fringe Style
• A hot glue gun
• Glue sticks
• A pair of shears

Apply Your Instabind Fringe Style

Your first step will be to trim the old fringe off the rug and cut the edges so they are straight. A straight, precisely cut edge will look best, so take your time here to get it looking just right. 

Then measure the Instabind Fringe to the edges and cut off what you need for the length of the rug. Peel the paper away, and press the rug onto the sticky edge where you want the fringe to be. Use a hot glue gun, preferably with a long-nozzle tip, and latex-based glue sticks to apply a 1/8th-inch bead of glue all along the edge of the carpet. Continue the gluing process until the entire edge has been glued. This will give you a permanent bond between the rug and the fringe, and it will seal the edge of your cut carpet at the same time. 

Let the glue dry, cut any unused Instabind Fringe off, and then seal that cut part of the Instabind with a bead of glue. If you want to further reinforce the bond, you can also glue the flange on the back of the rug to the rug as well. This is especially important for older, Oriental rugs. 

And voilà! Your carpet is good to use again!

For more help, watch Brian apply Instabind Fringe Style to a small Oriental runner here:

Instabind Fringe Style is great for finishing off runners and for repairing Oriental carpets with damaged fringe. If you have any questions about our Instabind products or any of our other carpet binding and flooring products, please do not hesitate to contact us at 1-888-800-BOND. We are always happy to be of service to our customers. 

 

We always appreciate it when our customers love our products so much that they share their personal experiences with them, so we want to highlight a review from Mod Home Ec Teacher on how to bind a carpet remnant to make a custom-shaped area rug with Instabind. DIY carpet binding has never been so easy!

“Carpet binding has always seemed to be something for which the DIY-er needs a professional. Well, not anymore!”

Can You Bind Carpet Yourself?

If you’re wondering how to do your own DIY carpet binding, it really is quite simple. You do not have to send area rugs away to a carpet binder to create your own beautiful custom area rug from a remnant. With Instabind, this can be a fun weekend project. You simply cut your carpet remnant to size, measure your Instabind and attach it to the raw carpet edges. No sewing necessary! 

You will need the following: 

• A hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Clear tape
• Instabind

There are so many colors and styles of Instabind available, including:

• Regular binding style
• Cotton binding style
• Synthetic serge binding style
• Cotton serge style
• Cotton rope style
• Rope edge style
• Outdoor marine style
• Safety edge style
• Faux leather style
• NEW Fringe binding style

We even sell an Instabind Starter Kit to make using it even easier. If you’re wondering which style of Instabind to choose, our rule of thumb for selecting a binding is: if it’s a cotton or wool rug or carpet, use a natural (cotton) binding or serging style. If it’s a synthetic rug or carpet, use a synthetic binding or serging style. The highest quality look is the cotton one, but our synthetic Instabind options look great too.

Let’s Get Started!

First, you trim off any strings or irregularities along the sides of the carpet and make sure that all sides are straight. It may be easier to use a carpet cutter and a straight edge to achieve straight lines and sharp corners.

Take the Instabind, and make a clean cut. Pull the paper on the binding back, and apply it to the carpet in the middle of one cut edge. Then extend the Instabind past the corner of the carpet, using the corner as a guide. Snip the flat part of the Instabind, stopping at the piping. With the paper turned back, overlap the backing while rounding the corner. Continue this process around the carpet until you reach where you started. You can readjust the Instabind if you need to at this stage in the project. Using your starting point as a guide, make the finishing cut with your scissors and trim any excess strings.

Next, seal the beginning and ending pieces of the Instabind together with a bead of hot glue. Use your glue gun to apply a ⅛” bead of hot glue between the edge of the Instabind and the carpet. Hold this in place a few minutes to let the glue set. Continue gluing all the way around the carpet. For a more finished looking back, trim the Instabind backing at a 45 degree angle.

Now you have a beautiful carpet you can use in your home. Using Instabind to transform a remnant or fix a damaged rug is much less expensive than the price of an area rug, even an inexpensive one. Why not try this project for yourself?

Call Bond Products for All of Your DIY Carpet Binding Needs

Always feel free to contact us or call us at 1-888-800-BOND if you have any questions about the products you may need for your carpet binding or flooring needs. We are happy to help.

It’s no secret that times are tough. Inflation has been hitting consumers and small businesses hard in the pocketbook for the past few years, and we’ve all had to tighten our belts. It’s for this reason that Bond Products has been working hard to save our customers money by offering more economical choices on our carpet supplies like threads and bobbins. 

Introducing Our New Economical Threads and Bobbins!

We always recommend that our customers who purchase our binding and serging machines also purchase needles and thread, and other carpet binding supplies from us as well. With the right materials, our binders and sergers will operate better and last longer, and their output will be higher quality too. If you need to order thread or bobbins, here are some of our most economical thread and bobbin products: 

Imported Size 21 Style A Bobbins for Portable Binders – Each of these bobbins contains 106 yards of thread. They are priced per 1 gross box (144 bobbins per package).

Imported Heavy Duty Style A Bobbins for Portable Binders – These bobbins come in Size 35 and contain 76 yards per bobbin. They are sold in 1-gross boxes of 144 bobbins per box. Note: If you are using HD bobbins for the first time, you may need to adjust the tension on your bobbin case.

Imported Heavy Duty Style F Bobbin for Table Model TMB-1 & Heavy Duty Portable Model HDP-2 – These bobbins come in Size 35 and contain 68 yards of thread per bobbin. They are sold in 1-gross boxes of 144 bobbins per box.

Imported Style F Bobbin for table model TMB-1 & Heavy Duty Portable Model HDP-2 – These bobbins come in size 21 and contain 95 yards of thread per bobbin. They are sold in 1-gross boxes of 144 bobbins per box.

Imported #52 8-ounce Spool Cleartone Monofilament for Portable Models PBL-1 & 2 – These bobbins come in cases of 10 spools, and their thickness is .010. 

Imported Size #63 – 8-ounce Spool Cleartone Mono-filament Thread for Portable Models PBL-1x & 2x – These bobbins come in cases of 10 spools

Imported Size 69 Natural/White Nylon 16-ounce Spool – Tex size 70, these bobbins  are made for Models BBL1 & 2, 81200 Sergers, and Bobbinless Portable Model PBB’s. They also come in cases of 10 spools with 5,500 meters of thread per spool. 

​​As always, if you have any questions about the binding supplies you need for your machines, please contact us or call us at (888) 800-2663 (BOND). We are open Monday to Friday from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM to provide these answers and any other customer service you may need. We look forward to serving you. 

Rug trends are always a fun topic to explore as they reflect evolving modern style and intersect with ever-changing ideas about the role of comfort and practicality in home decor. In an earlier blog we talked about how popular vintage rugs are becoming. A related trend is the Bauhaus rug. If you don’t know what Bauhaus style is or why you might appreciate a Bauhaus rug, read on! 

What Is Bauhaus Style?

Bauhaus was a design movement that emerged from the Staatliches Bauhaus, a famous German art school, in the early twentieth century. This school focused on combining functionality, aesthetics, and craftsmanship, with its most basic principle that “form follows function.” The style that emerged from this design philosophy was minimalist, featuring clean lines, asymmetry, and geometric shapes and forms instead of the more traditional decorative elements, based on the belief that “less is more.” It aimed to integrate these elements into mass-produced, everyday objects like furniture and rugs as well as building architecture. 

The result was a new, very modern look that was strikingly different from established European decoration and architecture. The Bauhaus school operated in various locations in Germany from 1919 until it was forced to close by the Nazis in 1933, after which its teaching staff and students fled to other countries where they would later introduce Bauhaus to the world. 

Bauhaus became the cornerstone of the modern Scandinavian design movement that emerged in the 1950s, and the Mid-century Modern movement owes a great deal to Bauhaus as well. Think of the Mad Men working aesthetic, and you will have a good sense of what Bauhaus has to offer, design-wise. 

What are Bauhaus Rugs? 

Bauhaus rugs feature design elements in primary colors and are characterized by clean lines, asymmetry, and geometrical shapes with little embellishment. This type of rug is ideal for people who want something that is stylish but versatile because of its simplicity. They are often made using natural background colors like light brown, gray, or white. This makes them suited for almost any space, home or office. Because they’re designed to be more durable, they work especially well in office environments, in fact. 

Designed for functionality and durability, Bauhaus rugs can be combined with a wide variety of modern styles or used in tandem with other rugs.

If you have a Bauhaus rug that you love but needs some repair, we have all of the carpet binding or backing supplies you might need to get it looking good as new again. Call Bond Products at 888-800-BOND to talk to one of our friendly team members today. 

It’s May, and you may be busy doing your spring cleaning and sprucing up your home. Don’t forget to examine your carpets while you clean them to see if they are damaged or could use some TLC. You can use Instabind to replace old worn carpet edges. How? Let’s go over what you need to apply Instabind and get your carpets and rugs looking fresh and beautiful again. 

Worn Carpet Edges

When people appreciate carpets they notice the pattern, the weave, or the quality of the materials used to make them. But it’s really the carpet binding that pulls the whole thing together and makes it look finished. If the bindings on your rugs are dirty or worn, they look tired and sad. Fortunately, you can easily improve them with Instabind. Here’s how: 

Get your tools: a hot glue gun, scissors, and clear tape.

Measure the length of the carpet edge that needs to be replaced. You can then calculate how much Instabind to purchase. 

Select the right color and type of Instabind for your job. Instabind comes in a wide variety of colors and 9 different styles, including: 

• Regular
• Cotton
• Cotton serge
• Synthetic serge
• Faux leather
• Rope edge
• Cotton rope
• Outdoor marine
• Safety edge 

Choose the Instabind option that best matches your rug and your needs. 

Clean the carpet edge. Before applying the Instabind, remove the old carpet binding, trim off any strings or irregularities along the sides of the carpet, and make sure that its sides are straight.

Apply the Instabind. Once the carpet edge is trimmed, it’s time to apply the Instabind. Simply peel off the backing from the tape and carefully apply it to the carpet in the middle of one cut edge. Extend the Instabind past the corner of the carpet, and, using the corner as a guide, snip the flat part of the Instabind, stopping at the piping. 

With the paper turned back, overlap the backing while rounding the corner. Continue to apply the Instabind around the carpet until you return to the beginning, adjusting as necessary. Using your starting point as a guide, make the finishing cut with your scissors and trim any excess strings. Make sure to press the tape down firmly to ensure that it adheres properly.

Apply glue with a glue gun. Seal the beginning and ending pieces of the Instabind together with a bead of hot glue. Now apply a ⅛” bead of hot glue between the edge of the Instabind and the carpet and hold in place a few minutes to let the glue set. Continue this process all the way around the carpet. There will likely be some excess tape hanging off the edge of the carpet. Use a pair of sharp scissors to trim it to the desired length at a 45-degree angle. 

That’s it! Your Instabind is applied, and you can return your refurbished rug to its original place in your home. 

Order Instabind Today

Using Instabind, you can replace old, worn carpet edges. The combination of Instabind and hot glue provides a strong, professional-looking finish that will help prevent fraying and keep your carpet looking great for years to come. To order, call us at Bond Products at 1-888-800-BOND. We will be happy to ship you what you need for any carpet or rug issue you have. 

 

Spring is a wonderful time of year. Better weather makes many people want to clean their living space inside and out. When you can finally open your windows without worrying about heating the outdoors, you notice how stale the air in your house is and want to freshen everything up. You want clean walls, clean floors, and clean carpets. 

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning isn’t the huge endeavor it once was. In the old days when people heated with wood or coal fires, ash and soot would build up on the walls and ceilings during the cold months. Floors could be swept in winter, but many housewives would take all of the furniture out of the house in spring, beat the rugs, and then whitewash everything inside and out. Whitewash was an inexpensive paint choice, and it not only covered dirt and soot, its slaked lime content disinfected as well. By the time the house had been emptied, cleaned, and whitewashed, people could feel satisfied that their home was clean and presentable again. It was a real fresh start for the nicer half of the year.

Americans often find staying on top of housecleaning to be stressful, and clutter provokes anxiety too by reminding us of all thing we still have to do. This is why spring cleaning increases productivity and improves mood. Today psychologists agree that spring cleaning boosts creativity, lowers stress, and improves happiness.

Clean Carpets: So Much Easier than It Used to Be

Nowadays it’s much easier to achieve that feeling of clean. Many people concentrate on airing out their bedding and cleaning off surfaces made dusty by forced-air furnaces, but it’s important to remember floors and carpets as well. They’ve taken a beating from crushed leaves, dirt, oil, salt all winter and need some TLC. If you have wall-to-wall carpeting, it’s time to use a wet vacuum on it. If you have hardwood floors, you need to remember to clean both the floors and the carpets thoroughly. Area rugs are exposed to the same ground in dirt that wall-to-wall carpet suffers, and beating a rug is not enough to keep it in good condition. Antique or Persian rugs should be cleaned by a professional, of course.

For an additional fresh smell, mix 10-20 drops of an essential oil like lavender or lemongrass into a box of baking soda, then sprinkle it over your carpet. Wait five minutes and then vacuum it out. The baking soda will remove bad odors, and the essential oil will leave them smelling great.

While you are cleaning your carpets this spring, it’s a good idea to look them over for damage. Do the fringes of your rugs need repair? If the bindings have come loose, you can either repair or replace them. Are they are prone to slipping on your hard floors?  If so, take the time to add a slip-free rug product for both safety and aesthetic reasons.

If you have questions about the condition of your area rugs or carpets, please contact us at Bond Products. We have all the products you need to keep your rugs both beautiful and in good repair, and we’d be happy to help you find what you need to keep your carpets and rugs well maintained.

 

 

Bond Products’ ironless peel-and-stick seaming tape is the perfect solution for your seaming needs. This ironless tape is designed to make any seaming project super simple, with its easy-to-use peel-and-stick application. It’s perfect for home renovation projects or DIY repairs. 

How Do You Use Ironless Tape? 

You do not have to apply glue or heat anything. Simply peel off the protective backing and stick the seaming tape to your desired surface. There’s only four steps to follow if you are seaming carpet: 

1. Place your carpet on the floor, butt the edges to be seamed, and adjust the tape to the correct position. 
2. Fold back the edges of the carpet, then place the tape under the carpet length of the seam with the brown side down. Be sure the carpet edges are centered on the tape. 
3. Lift the carpet edges on one end and pull up the light-release paper from the tape while pushing the edges into the glue. Continue to press carefully along the entire length of the seam. 
4. Walk over the seam a few times or place a heavy weight along the seam length to press the carpet into the glue.

That’s all! This tape can be used on new carpet or for doing repairs on seams that are splitting. This product is not designed for stretch-in wall-to-wall carpet installations that put tension on the seam, however. 

If you want to avoid using heat, glue, or complicated tools in your seaming project, our Cool Stic ironless carpet seaming tape is the answer. This tape is versatile and can be used for so many applications, including carpet seaming, upholstery, and crafts. It’s the ideal solution for any project that requires a strong, reliable bond without the hassle of traditional seaming methods.

The tape is made of high-quality materials that are durable and long-lasting, making it perfect for seaming. It comes in 15-foot rolls, and right now is on sale – so why wait to purchase? If you have any questions about our ironless tape or other products used in carpet seaming or installation, please call us at 1-888-800-BOND. We are always happy to help match you with the right products for your needs and make useful suggestions on your home or professional projects. 

 

Bond Products offers our ProDriveHD line of well-made, durable tools for our customers who work with carpet and flooring or enjoy DIY projects. One of these is Bond’s heavy duty hand-binding stapler. Let’s talk about how this handy tool is made and what it can be used for. 

Carpet Binding 

Carpet does not come with finished ends. When it’s cut to fit a space, it needs to be bound to both look nice and to keep it from wearing out or unraveling over time. Carpet binding is the art of applying stitching, or fabric and adhesive to the ends. There are three common ways of doing this: binding, serging, and fringing. 

Carpet professionals cut very large pieces of carpet down to size and then use a carpet binding machine to bind the edges to create a beautiful area rug, runner, or mat that matches the needs of their customers’ taste and space. 

Watch Brian demonstrate Bond’s “One size fits all” PBB2X bobbinless carpet binder in action: 

Bond’s Hand-Binding Stapler

Bond’s hand-binding stapler is an ideal stapler for binding area rugs or carpet samples. It is excellent for tagging the tabs underneath the end of the binding when they come off the edge of the machine. It can also be used for hand binding like a little blind stitch. You can staple at any angle on fabric, paper, or other materials, and its curved handle is designed to eliminate the soreness that can result from using a heavy-duty hand stapler for any length of time. 

This stapler uses our premium quality 5/16” galvanized 24/8 staples, and it’s a simple and quick job to fill its rear-loading magazine with them. 

This is a well designed tool that is made to stand up to daily use for years. 

As always, if you have any questions about our carpet binding products or any items we sell, please call us at 1-888-800-BOND. We will be happy to help you find what you need to get your home project done or make your carpet binding work easier and faster to do. 

 

Our Instabind product has a number of creative uses our customers write to tell us about, including crafts, classic car restoration and even yacht remodeling, but the #1 use for Instabind is, of course, rug binding. It’s a great way to make a carpet remnant into an area rug. You don’t even have to be a carpeting professional to do it! Instabind makes rug binding into a fun weekend project for any DIYer or crafter.

How do you turn a carpet remnant into a rug? It’s simple.

Step 1 – Assemble your tools. These will be a hot glue gun, scissors, and clear tape.

Step 2 – Trim off any strings or irregularities along the sides of the carpet and make sure that its sides are straight. You may find using a carpet cutter and straight edge helps.

Step 3 – Take the style of binding you’ve chosen to complement the carpet and make a clean cut. There are so many colors and styles of Instabind available, including:

• Regular binding style
• Cotton binding style
• Synthetic serge binding style
• Cotton serge style
• Cotton rope style
• Rope edge style
• Outdoor marine style
• Safety edge style
• Faux leather style

We even sell an Instabind Starter Kit if you’d like to try your hand at carpet binding with a number of projects and styles. Our rule of thumb for selecting a binding is: if it’s a cotton or wool rug or carpet, use a natural (cotton) binding or serging style. If it’s a synthetic rug or carpet, use a synthetic binding or serging style. Of course, the highest quality look will still be the cotton one, but our synthetic binding will look great too.

Step 4 – Pull back the paper on the binding and begin applying it to the carpet in the middle of one cut edge. Extend the Instabind past the corner of the carpet, and using the corner as a guide, snip the flat part of the Instabind, stopping at the piping. With the paper turned back, overlap the backing while rounding the corner. Continue around the carpet until you return to the beginning. You can readjust if necessary at this stage in the project. Using your starting point as a guide, make the finishing cut with your scissors and trim any excess strings.

Step 5 – Seal the beginning and ending pieces of the Instabind together with a bead of hot glue. Now apply a ⅛” bead of hot glue between the edge of the Instabind and the carpet and hold in place a few minutes to let the glue set. Continue this process all the way around the carpet. For a more finished looking back, trim the Instabind backing at a 45 degree angle.

Step 6 – Place your beautiful new bound piece of carpet in any place it complements your decor.

If you have a rug you’d like to repair, or a remnant piece of carpet that could serve as a rug, what are you waiting for? Using Instabind to transform either is much less expensive than the price of an area rug, even an inexpensive one, so what have you got to lose?

 

Binding corners is a more challenging part of the process of binding carpets and rugs. It can be tricky to bind something with a 90-degree corner and make it look completely professional. Fortunately, we at Bond Products have several tips for making it easier to create great looking finished carpets no matter how many corners they have. 

Binding Corners Using a Carpet Binder

In this video Brian demonstrates how to bind a piece of carpet that has an inside corner using a Bond Model TMB1 Double Puller carpet binder. Many stair runners have inside corners that have to be bound and so do carpets that are cut and installed around fireplace corners and other decorative room elements.

The way you accomplish this is to bend and crease the carpet corner into a straight line so that you can sew the binding on right through and make a perfect looking corner. You can do this with a table model carpet binder or a portable binder.

Blind Stitching a Carpet with a Mitred Corner

If you need to blind stitch a carpet with a mitred corner, we have a video that shows you how to do that too! 

Here the carpet binding is sewn to the rug using a PBL-TX tapestry binder, and then it’s wrapped around the edge using Bond PSA Double-sided EasyTape and a hot glue gun for a beautiful look. You can use either glue or our SSTGU81 Pro-Drive Heavy Duty Hand-binding stapler to tuck the binding tabs under the carpet at the corners. 

You may think binding corners looks difficult, but with the right tools and a little experience, it really is not hard at all. If you have questions about what products you need for any carpet job, please call us at 1-888-800-BOND, and our customer service team will be happy to help you get exactly what you need. 

 

The holiday season is upon us, and for most families that means some change ups around the house and decorative gifts. Some people go all out for Christmas and switch out their decor completely, while others like to put up a tree and focus on a pretty accent piece like a holiday themed area rug. There’s quite a selection of holiday rugs to choose from. 

A new area rug is also an excellent gift idea for someone with either bare floors or an appreciation for fine craftsmanship. One question that this all raises, however, is: What do you do with your old rug when you’ve replaced it with a new one? The two most common solutions would be to either donate it to charity or a friend or throw it away. There are other ideas, though. Let’s go through a few of them.

Hang an antique rug on the wall. People from many other cultures hang rugs as decorations, not just because they are beautiful, but because they offer further insulation against cold or heat. A smaller area rug hung on the wall can be just as much of a conversation piece as a painting or other original piece of art because fiber art is fine and intricate.

Use the rug as a canvas. Do you have creative impulses? Here’s a new opportunity. You can paint a rug, stencil it, attach glitter or beads to it, or cut patterns into it to add interest. Damaged larger rugs can be cut down to make smaller rugs, welcome mats, or even floor mats for the car. If the alternative is throwing it away, you’re not taking a risk by experimenting on it first. Your kids may need to be entertained during the holiday break from school, and they might love the chance to deconstruct a rug and make it into something else.

Keep your old rug in your trunk. It’s a real hassle to clean out a car’s trunk. There are all kinds of little crevices that dirt and small objects get trapped in. Putting an old rug inside the trunk interior will help to keep it cleaner. It’s useful in other ways too. That rug can be taken out and used to make the ground more comfortable and pleasant – like when you go for a picnic or to see the fireworks. A rug offers better protection from the damp or cold than a blanket.

These are just a handful ideas for what you might do with an old rug, but there are many more online. If you do get a new rug this Christmas, think twice before you throw out the old one. It may have possibilities you never considered!

Bond’s customer service representatives often about how to finish off or bind a carpet project. For many types of rugs, including ones made from carpet remnants, the answer can be, “Use Instabind.” For the question of how to bind a latch hook rug, it’s a little more complicated. There are at least two methods for binding a latch hook rug, and we will go over them here. 

Making a latch hook rug is an easy and fun project that even young children can enjoy. There are many types of beautiful rugs. Designing and hooking a latch hook rug is a good introduction to the art of rug making for all ages. When the hooking part of the project is finished, then it’s time to bind it to make sure it looks neat. 

The Hand Sewn Method of Binding a Latch Hook Rug

One way to bind a latch hook rug is to hand sew the edges. To do this you will need scissors, a tapestry needle, and yarn or strong thread as well as the latch hook project itself. 

Typically, latch hook projects will leave about an inch of unhooked space around the edges. To bind the rug, fold this inch of rug canvas down along the back of the rug. Then thread the tapestry needle with the yarn or strong thread and, using a whip stitch, sew the folded rug canvas to the back of the project at the edges. When you reach the corners of the project, you will want to cut out the small square of rug canvas where the edges overlap and keep stitching. When you have stitched all four sides of your rug, break your thread or yarn and knot it tightly. 

Because the yarn on latch hook rugs is long and often shaggy, the edges will be hidden by the length of the yarn. If you use the hand sewn method, the yarn will remain the visual focal point, but the project will not look as neat as if you bound it with binding tape.

Binding a Latch Hook Rug with Binding Tape

If you want your latch hook rug to look more finished and neat, you can bind it with binding tape. To do this, trim the edges of the finished rug. Leave space on the canvas two complete grid squares deep. This will be about a half an inch of canvas, and you will use it to attach the binding. 

Choose a binding tape that matches the rug. Press the edge of the tape as close to the edge of the finished rug as you can and pin it to one side of the canvas. Then, using a sewing machine, sew the binding tape to the canvas. Use a new strip of binding tape for each side of the rug, and sew each of them in place. 

The next step is to take the unsewn edges of the binding tape and pin them to the bottom of the rug. This will hide the edges of the canvas grid. From here you will hand sew them in place using an overcast stitch. When you have sewn all four edges, make a tight knot, and voilà, you’re done!

With the binding of your latch hook rug complete, you can use it either as a floor covering or a wall hanging. If you intend to use it as a regular rug, you may want to browse Bond’s selection of rug backing products. These include products that protect your flooring from scratches as well as one that keep rugs in place to prevent slipping accidents. 

Enjoy your beautiful latch hook rug!