I made a table runner with left over materials and decided to try machine binding...How on earth do you keep the lines straight and in the ditch...I used a walking foot but that just seems to help the bunching. In the quilting kit there is a open toe craft foot ditch quilting foot. Would that be any better?? I am not tearing out the stitches...well at least not tonight...maybe in the morning or maybe not at all...LOL - Tell me it gets easier...

When using the walking foot for this, it helps if you lengthen the stitches.

I bring the binding onto the front of the quilt, and stitch. I don't mind if the stitches are beside the seam on the back side.

I use a decorative stitch when I do mine. The one I use the most is a fancy zigzag. No walking foot.

I meant the batting....stitching it all together...great ideas on the binding though...!!!! I am going to try and use the zigzag like you did!!

So you are asking about machine quilting, not machine binding? That's an entirely different question.

Did you baste the layers together first? And what kind of batting are you using? High loft batting is more difficult to use than low loft, and polyester batting slips and slides more than cotton batting.

when you say baste do you mean pinning it together? I have not tried a spray baste yet. From peoples comments it sounds like it would be worth it. the spray blast would replace the pins?? right? I did use a cheaper batting this time since its a table runner. You are right it is a different. I bought the roll at Walmart instead of what I have gotten in the past at Joanne's. The Walmart one is very, very thin. for Quilts I will go back to Joanne's for batting.

Basting can be done with pins, spray, or thread. Spray basting is the easiest method; just be sure to have good ventilation (in an open garage is good). Pins are fine too; just be sure to remove pins as you come to them while you are quilting. Thread basting is usually reserve for quilts that will be hand-quilted; however, it can also be used for machine quilting as long as you clip and remove threads as you go so you don't sew over them. You can also machine-baste with water-soluble thread that rinses out afterwards.

Low-loft batting is easier to machine quilt than high-loft. Polyester batting slides around more than cotton.

If you have been trying to machine quilt without basting first, that is likely to be the cause of your problems. Basting holds the layers together so they don't move while you are machine quilting.