Doreen

It's the last thing I do. I always look forward to the binding and then it's on to another quilt!

soccertxi

I quilt first..ALWAYS. You will like your finished quilt better. After that its a personal preference. If I quilt it on the long arm, I often apply the binding on the top, then unload, then trim, then do the hand stitching on the back. I try to square up the corners as I go along, marking the squared edge if necessary as a guide. If I apply the binding on the quilt on my DSM, I trim first, then apply, then turn. I really rather do it on the long arm, but sometimes its just not feasible. (like on my show wallhanging I just finished...it was a 10 sided quilt. I decided to do the binding off the frame!)

Tartan

The binding is the second to last thing I do on a finished quilt. The last thing I do is put on a label. As others have mentioned we are not the quilt police, do what works for you. Some people don't use binding at all when they do the pillowcase method and "birth" their quilts. That's when you sew the quilt top and back inside out with the batting and leave an opening to turn it right sides out.

jcrow

I agree that you can quilt right up to the edges of your quilt and after you are all done quilting, put the binding on. Did you put the binding on both sides before you quilted? I don't know how you could do that and have the quilt come out right. But, like everyone says, there's more than one way to do it.

thepolyparrot

I guess I kind of go against the grain - it's probably my OCD tendencies. I think that some "rules" exist for good reason - following them gives you a nicer, longer-wearing finished product than other methods. Quilting can "un-square" a quilt and ruffle your borders. A bias-cut double binding can help you get those edges to lie flat and it will wear better than any other type. And gosh - I have enough trouble keeping the quilting away from the very edge of the quilt without having to worry about sewing into the binding, too.

I think whether you're painting or sculpting or sewing or quilting, if you learn to do things the "right" way - the way that's proven to give you the finest results - then you will have the skills to make a high-quality product. As you work more with the different methods, you learn which ones work best for you and which rules you can safely dispense with and how to substitute your own methods.

I wouldn't listen to the "quilt police" kind of hyper-critical "I'm-know-better-than-you-do" type of comments. But as with anything else in life, if people with a lot more experience than I have in some particular skill want to offer comments about what has worked best for them, I'm glad to listen and absorb their experience.

mucky

With small projects I sometimes bind first. But usually last so one can square it up fiest.