Binding - you either hate it or you love it. I love it, but only the hand stitched kind, because I still haven't figured out how to do a nice machine stitched binding. 💜
You are almost done with your quilt top, all you need to do is the binding, but that can be just as daunting as the quilting part.
Machine binding
As stated above, I don't do machine binding. I know there are so many quilters who will only do it this way, but I haven't been able to perfect it to the point that my perfectionistic heart is happy. There are many tutorials out there, though, so if this is something you want to try, you will probably have better luck than me. I also really, really enjoy hand stitching the binding because I get to just sit with this quilt that I've made and soak in the beauty that I have created. That may be why I haven't tried too hard to figure out machine binding.
Hand binding
This is my baby, I admit it. I love it from start to finish. I think some of the tips I will share with you will transfer to machine binding as well, so don't walk away from me yet!
Prepping your binding - To prep your binding you will cut the strips at the desired width (I do 2" strips, but 2 1/2" is a pretty universal width, and easier to work with), then sew end to end. Trim off the extra fabric and press the seams. I press to the side.
Next press your strip in half length wise. Once the strip is pressed I like to roll it to keep it from getting tangled. There are fun little tools that you can use for this as well, I just roll as is.
A walking foot is a great foot for stitching your binding to your quilt. It will pull the layers through the machine evenly and you won't have to worry about stretching the fabric as you feed the layers. For this step I use the grey that I use for all of my piecing.
When you get to the end here is how to finish the ends:
Next you can fold your binding over and give it a press. I don't do this step, but it may make it easier when folding it over to stitch. I do use wonder clips to hold the folded binding down.
Match your thread to the color of your binding. This will keep the stitches from showing.
Use 18" to 24" pieces of thread when stitching. This helps to keep your thread from tangling, but is also helpful if the thread breaks from usage (hello kids and pets) and you need to repair it. The area won't be too long.
Thank you for joining me in this month of Accuracy in Quilting! I hope you found a tip or two helpful. This is week five in the Accuracy in Quilting Series.
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Thank you so much for showing me how to hand stitch my binding to the back of my quilt! After watching your tutorial, I’m happy to say that my corners and binding look better than ever. Thank you Jen!
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