Binding quilts is not my favorite thing to do. The only time I really enjoy it is if I have tons of time and a good movie playing. A couple of diet Mountain Dews helps too.... For a long time I viewed binding as a lot of hand stitching, but lately I have gotten into machine binding my quilts. I almost prefer to bind quilts this way.... almost.... there are times I still hand stitch my binding down after the initial sewing it onto the quilt. The fun thing about machine binding is the decorative edge it leaves. Sometimes a quilt, or table runner screams for the extra touch of decorative stitches.
Now, grab something to drink and snack on, this is going to be a bit of a long posting.... if you like my tutorial, remember to pin it for future use.... so here goes.... machine binding 101
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When you are done quilting all your layers together you are then ready to bind your quilt! When I machine bind I do a small narrow zig zag around the edge of my quilt (or table runner). Keep in mind your stitching needs to be 'less' then a 1/4" from the edge. (You don't want it to show when you are done attaching your binding when you are done.) |
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Then trim off all of the excess backing and batting.... |
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For this project I am using a black seam binding made from 2 1/4" strips by wof, ironed in half lengthwise. |
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Line up your binding along the raw edge on the backside of your quilt, yes, the backside, leave about a 6" tail and then start sewing a 1/4" seam. |
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Stop your sewing a 1/4" from the edge. |
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Pull your quilt out from under the sewing machine foot. I give myself just enough space to work. Fold back the binding back on itself to create a 45 degree angle. Make sure the raw edge of the binding aligns with the raw edge of the quilt. |
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Then fold the binding back down upon quilt with the fold at the upper edge of the corner. You are making a mitered corner. |
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Stitch a 1/4" seam, backstitch for added strength. Sew until you reach a 1/4" from the corners edge. Then miter the corner as shown above. Continue to sew until you make it around your quilt... stop and leave a 'tail' and at least a 6-7" gap. |
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Here my 'tails' are shown.... and my 'gap' |
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Pin the beginning and ending tails until they meet 'halfway' lining up the raw edges... Make a very small clip with your scissors where all the layers of the binding meet. Take out the pins... |
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Open the ends of the binding up and put right sides together at right angles aligning the clip marks with the edges of the strips. Pin. Draw a stitching line from corner to corner. |
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Stitch on the line and then remove pins. Before you trim away the excess fabric, make sure the binding fits in place. |
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Trim away excess. |
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Pin in place and sew... remember a 1/4" seam. |
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All sewn... |
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Now it's time to machine sew your binding in place. |
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Fold your binding edge from the back to the front of the quilt, lining the edge of your binding with the sewing line. |
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Wonder Clips come in really handy to hold your binding in place as you sew. They also hold mitered corners nicely in place while you sew along. |
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I am using a buttonhole stitch, matching the size to some decorative stitching I had already done on the quilt. |
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I sew the 'straight' stitch of the buttonhole stitch in the 'ditch' of the quilt and the binding. Don't go too fast while you stitch. I find it easier to keep it all straight if I go a little slower, it's still a lot faster than hand stitching it all down. |
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Here's how my stitch looks on the top of my quilt... |
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Keep sewing all around until you're back at the beginning! |
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Here's how my binding turned out. I used brown thread because it matched the other stitching that I did, I used a cream bobbin thread, although I could have used black. It still looks pretty good. |
I hope you enjoyed my tutorial on machine binding a quilt. It is fun to do, and you can experiment with different types of decorative stitches to add a little flair to your finished quilts.
Let's bind some quilts!
Happy quilting,
Cindy