Yup, you can.

The thing that always happens to me is I "fall off" the back sometimes, so the back stitches do not look "straight" at all!

Someone said they increase the width of their strip from 2.5 to 3.5 inches and make a wider binding and it works better. I might just have to try this one!

Yes you can sew it by machine. I only use that method.
When you sew your binding onto your quilt, sew it to the back so you flip it to the front.
If you want the topstitching to catch the back part of the binding too, make sure your folded edge on the front is barely over the stitching line, and then topstitch about 1/8 " from that edge.
If you don't care if the stitching shows on the back, which is usually not a problem if you have a busy pattern on the back, just fold it where it fits best and topstitch.
You can also use a fancy embroidery stitch instead of the topstitch on the front.
Sharon Schamber has a youtube video on using glue to hold the binding in place until you sew it. I use that almost all the time instead of pins,

I use different stitches to sew on the bindings too, not just the straight stitch. Some are more forgiving than the straight stitch, like the blanket stitch :wink: I don't ever sew them on by hand :D:D:D

I do it by machine too!! Not good at hand sewing either. I use fancy stitches to try and make it look good.

Here is a pdf tutorial from Sharon Schamber. It shows machine stitching the binding and also the glue method for basting. I have found that if I use the glue method, I never miss the binding on the back.

She uses a zipper foot, but I just use a zig zag foot.

http://www.sharonschamber.com/free%2...ng%20Class.pdf

There are also videos on youtube of this method.

Ack, I must say that even with all of her extra steps and work the machine binding still doesn't look great:<

I only do bindings by machine. I cut my strips 2-1/4" wide, press in half, then sew with a 1/4" seam allowance onto the back side. I seam the ends together, then sew the top part down. Usually with a straight stitch, sometimes a decorative one. Works great for me. I don't use pins or glue.

I sew binding on the front side, then pin it around to the back and use a decorative stitch on the front. A patchwork/turkey tracks stitch does a great job because it goes over some of the binding on the front as well as into the quilt on the front and it catches everything on the back (provided I pinned well enough!).

I wouldn't machine stitch binding on something formal, but on something that's going to get a lot of use, it's better to do it by machine.