samanthaL

Yesterday I finished my 3rd quilt. I did the binding then threw it in the wash and I really messed up on the binding. My girls were driving me crazy so I didn't even think to look. I was just happy to be done. And I figured it would look fine once it was washed.

Anyways, I am about 30-40 inches short of that color to make new binding. Can I rip off the current one and use some of that? I'm at a loss of what my options are.

jlm5419

The quick answer is yes, you can take off the old binding and use it, provided it is in acceptable condition, although you didn't mention what was wrong with the original binding.

NJ Quilter

ditto what jlm5419 said. Curious as to what was wrong with the other??

samanthaL

I just did a really bad job stitching it on and mitering the corners. I was tired when I pinned and it is obvious when you look at it that I rushed.

I will pull it off and see what I can save!


Thanks to both of you for your quick responses!

PaperPrincess

You can't just unsew the corners & re do?? If not, then I would take it off, and iron it flat using a lot of starch, then start over. Good luck!

QuiltnLady1

It sounds like you have enough of the binding fabric to fix the problems.
-- I would carefully take the binding off of the quilt -- try not to stretch it out of shape..
--I would wash and dry any leftover binding fabric so I would have the extra to make things right.
--I would iron the binding I took off flat and starch it well -- ditto the extra washed fabric.
-- I would cut a strip at least 12" long from the extra fabric and attach it to the binding I took off the quilt
-- I would then attach the binding to the quilt again.

If this sounds like a been there/done that you are right -- my Dad used to say that I learned my best lessons in the school of hard knocks (and I certainly try to learn from all my mistakes). Sigh -- I just wish I ran out of mistakes.

NanaCsews2

I just did this last week. Hated the way the binding was on an heirloom quilt. In a hurry to get it done and had already spent too much time sitting and quilting. So, took it off, ironed and starched the binding. I did not remove the final seam in the binding that held it all together. It fit perfectly around the quilt again anyway. I just made sure no seam ended up on a corner. I do bias binding and trust me there are plenty of seams. I sewed the binding to the front, mitered the corners, flipped it over and then glued down the binding to the back instead of pinning it. This made the width of the binding even all around. Even after ironing the glued binding, it can easily be pulled up and readjusted if needed. Then I used the serpentine stitch to secure the binding by sewing from the front of the quilt. I lined up the left edge of the serpentine stitch to the left edge of the binding (where the SID would generally be). This ensured the stitch on the back binding is even all around. Once it is washed, the natural puckered look covers up any stitches out of line. I did not have time to hand-stitch the binding so the serpentine stitch works great for me. Looks good on the front and the back.