Last week, I went over some methods for basting your quilt. After you get your quilt basted and quilted, it’s time to work on binding/finishing the edges. There are lots of techniques for binding. They are all good techniques, and just like anything else, they all have advantages and disadvantages. Just like with basting, you have to decide which binding method works best for you.
The binding method I’m going to go over today, is without a doubt the least tricky binding method I’ve every used. There’s no trickiness from having to seamlessly connect the beginning and end of the binding, no weird areas from tucking the end of the binding into a pocket at the start of the binding, and nothing special to do around corners. Those are the advantages, but what about the disadvantage(s)? I’ve found that this is not a good method for if you are binding with flannel or other fabrics thicker than quilting cotton. The process of making the mitered corners leaves the corners too bulky to easily sew over using fabrics thicker than traditional quilting cotton.
Ok, so let’s bind this quilt!
Square up your quilt/trim off the excess batting and backing
What you need:
– Self-healing cutting mat
– Ruler
– Rotary cutter
Lay your quilt out on your cutting mat. Be careful that it isn’t folded up underneath itself. Cutting through your quilt while you are squaring it up is not a mistake you want to deal with.
Line your ruler up with the edges of your quilt top as shown.
Be sure to press down hard on the ruler, or use something heavy to help hold the ruler in place. Use your rotary cutter to trim off the excess batting and backing, along the edge of your ruler.
Repeat this around all four side of your quilt.
If you’re going to put on a label, now is a good time to do it. I use corner labels, and they need to be put on before the binding. I use Elmer’s Washable School Glue in the purple sticks to glue the label on where I want it. This holds it in place so that I can attach it to the quilt, and the glue washes out. Line the triangle label up in a corner on the back of your quilt as shown. I like to use a hand stitch in a fun color that coordinates with my quilt. This hand stitch allows me to sew between the layers of the quilt so that the stitch line doesn’t show on the quilt top.
Time to gush about these gorgeous labels for a little bit. I get people asking me about them all the time, wanting to know where I get them. They are made by the fabulous Melanie at Meander + Make. She customizes the labels just for you. I’ve used several of them, and no issues with the print smudging or fading. She was also nice enough to give me a coupon code to share with you. You can use the coupon code SNUGGLEBUGSTITCHING to get 10% off at Meander + Make. You’ll also find original patterns, fabrics, and notions, and she also makes beautiful quilts.
Piece your binding
In my first post on this quilt, I told you that I saved the leftover strips from cutting the squares to piece into a scrappy binding. I also added in some strips from the black gingham backing to tie the backing and front of the quilt together. I like to lay the strips out around my quilt (as shown above), overlapping them a bit, to make sure I like the layout and also to be sure I have enough strips cut. I cut my binding strips to 2 inches for this quilt. You can make the strips wider, and even a little skinnier, with this binding method. Since I used a scrappy binding, yardage for binding doesn’t really apply. Quilter’s Paradise has a great calculator to help you figure out how much fabric that you need to bind your quilt.
Put your binding strips right sides together perpendicular to each other as shown to the left. I like to use my needle plate as a guide for making sure they are square. You will sew from the top left corner to the bottom right corner as shown in the collage. It’s perfectly fine to mark your stitch line if it helps you sew straight, just mark lightly or use something that will wash out.
You will continue this process, sewing all pieces of your binding together like this. Once you have all your binding strips sewn together, it’s time to trim the extra off your binding.
The picture to the right shows what your binding strips look like at the seams. You’ll want to trim off that extra binding to the right of your stitch line, leaving about 1/4″ seam allowance. No need to get out the ruler and measure for this part, I just eyeball it and trim it down with scissors. There are absolutely times when you need to measure accurately, but this isn’t one of them.
Once you get the excess trimmed off, open up the seam, and it should look like that picture at the bottom of the collage, with that nice diagonal seam. At this point, I like to just finger press my seams to the dark side.
You may be thinking that this doesn’t really sound any different than how you make traditional binding, but this is where it strays a little. We are NOT going to iron this binding in half like you would with traditional binding.
Attach your binding to the quilt
You’ll attach the binding from the backing of the quilt and fold it over to the front.
Get your long binding strip and line it up with the edge of one side of your quilt, placing the binding right sides together to the back of your quilt. Sew it to the backing with a 1/4″ seam allowance. I like to use my 1/4″ seam foot for this. Sew all the way to the end of side 1, cutting the binding and leaving a little extra at the end. Rotate your quilt 90 degrees to the left, open that seam, and repeat this process on all four sides. I like to line it up with a little excess at the top as shown in the collage to the left. The excess on all four corners can be trimmed off at the end, using your rotary cutter and ruler. When you get to the end of side 4, be sure to open up the last seam as well.
*Note – You can attach this binding going all the way around the quilt, side 1, side 2, side 3, and then side 4 like I did for this quilt. You can also attach it on side 1 and side 3, and then go to side 2 and side 4. Either way will give you good results and just depends on what look you’re going for.
Time for some pressing
What you need:
– Elmer’s Washable Stick Glue – I like the purple glue
– Ironing board or ironing station
– Iron
We’re going to use the stick glue and the iron to tack the binding down and make nice mitered corners. The binding and the mitered corners will stay in place for you when you go to sew your top stitch to attach the binding to the front of the quilt.
The first thing I like to do is press seams between the binding and back of the quilt, so that it lays nice and flat for the next steps.
At this point we can follow the steps for using backing as binding. The only difference will be that you don’t have to trim off excess batting or trim the binding. This video by Lorena’s Quilting explains this process very clearly.
Secure the binding to the front of your quilt
Once your binding is all tacked down head on over to your sewing machine for the top stitch that secures the binding to the front of your quilt. I like to use a decorative stitch so that it looks nice from both the front AND the back as shown in the picture to the left.
Tip: Don’t start sewing your top stitch in the corners. It’s a little easier if you start at least a few inches down from a corner and work your way all the way around the quilt until you get back to where you started.
I hope you found these instructions useful. As always, feel free to leave me a comment or email me if you have any questions.
This little cutie is for sale in my etsy shop if you want to check it out.
Happy quilting!
