Binding Tutorial

Binding made Easy!

I luv quilting and the binding is my favorite part of making a quilt.  

I would like to share a few of my binding tips with you 

and hopefully I can ease your binding fears.

 You will see how easy it is to achieve nice mitered corners....

.....and how easy it is to join your binding ends
using a 45 degree angle seam.
You will not be sewing on a cut bias
so no stretching as you join the binding ends.

MAKING THE BINDING

Binding strips are usually cut at 2 1/2" or 2 1/4 '' wide and
sometimes narrower depending on the quilting project. 

Most quilters use binding strips cut on the straight of grain, WOF.  

If your quilt has scalloped or curved edges you would always cut your strips on the bias
....but some quilters always use bias vs straight of grain especially on
lap and bed size quilts because

bias bindings are stronger and wear better over time. 

I usually use 2 1/2" strips with a 3/8" seam allowance for lap size and larger quilts

and 2 1/4" strips for wall hangings and table runners with a 1/4" seam allowance.  

Scrappy bindings work well on scrappy quilts by joining 15" - 18" pieces, 

even shorter pieces if you don't mind all the seams. 

I luv scrappy binding look.

Lets start by joining your binding strips at a 45 degree angle. 

I use the strip piecing method to join my strips..... 

now trim the binding triangles off  leaving 1/4" seam....

...press the seams open.

Press the long edge of your binding in half with wrong sides together, 

keeping raw edges even.

Allowing the quilt to fall off your sewing table makes it
 difficult to keep an accurate seam allowance.

If possible, support your quilt on a table
when you are sewing the binding to your quilt sandwich,

this avoids any drag or
pull that can cause the seam allowance to get narrower.

                 

SEWING THE BINDING TO YOUR QUILT

Your best friend for this will be your walking foot.....
leave a binding tail of about 12".... 

start in the middle of the quilt sandwich 

with the binding on top of the right side of the quilt...... 

stitch a 3/8" seam allowance....

keeping the raw edge of your binding and the raw edge of your quilt even.

Stop stitching about 6" from the corner....

with a pin mark the binding 3/8" from the bottom and 3/8" in from the side of the quilt.

accuracy is important here.....

now continue stitching.....stopping at the pin...... 

with needle down in the machine, lift presser foot
and pivot quilt to stitch at an angle through the corner.

Remove quilt from machine. 

Fold binding to the right over itself at 90 degrees creating a 45 degree fold.

Fold binding back over itself to the left creating a fold.....

line up the fold with the side you just stitched.

Starting at the fold 

start sewing  the binding to the next side of your quilt.....
remember to stop about 6" from the corner
to mark your 3/8" seam allowance with a pin.

Continue sewing around the quilt....
stopping about 18" from where you started.

JOINING THE BINDING USING A 45 DEGREE SEAM

Fold both sides of the binding so the 2 folds butt up against each other
in the center of the opening.

cut left side at fold

Using the piece of binding you just cut off....
open it flat and lay it against the fold on the right side...

**the over lap will equal the width of your binding strip....**
be careful not to cut the bottom binding.....
use scissors and cut along the right side of the binding  

Make a big pleat with your quilt in the center of the opening.  

This makes it easier to sew the bindings together on the 45 degree angle....

Place left side of binding on the table right side up...open flat..... 

Take the right side of binding...open flat....right side down over the left side as shown......

in other words right sides together just like you joined your binding strips....
be careful not to twist the binding and
make sure the raw edges are even.

Draw the 45 degree stitching line and sew

****Before you trim the binding triangle off ****

• unpin the pleat to check that your binding isn't twisted
• and the binding is the right length to fit perfectly flat on your quilt
• if it looks good......trim the binding triangle off and finger press seam open
• Sew the remainder of the binding to your quilt sandwich.

Fold the binding to the back of your quilt and you should have nice mitered corners. 

I pin on both sides of the corner and adjust the sides of the corner till they line up perfectly.

Note:  Using the 3/8" does not work if you have stars or flying geese in your border....the points will be cut off.

If you have struggled with bindings in the past
I hope I was able to ease your fears.  

If you have any questions please email me.

hugs and happy stitching