mountainwoman

Thanks! I will DEFINITELY check this out!

mountainwoman

Wow, I actually would NEVER have thought of this. I thought EVERYONE made their binding 2 1/2" folded! I will try this on a future project. Thanks!

quiltingshorttimer

sounds like you want to conquer this challenge and are ready to "git'er done" . I had very similar problems--seemed to be able to miter 3 of the 4 corners. Some tips that have helped me: 1) if you aren't confident on your 1/4" stopping point before the corner, measure and pin it. 2) when you get to that point, either stop and backstitch, or turn and stitch to the corner. 3) when you do the fold up at 45 degree angle and then back down, make sure you have the edges on the left matching so that it's lined up straight (this is where I would mess up). 4) after you make the fold and are starting the next line of stitching, back stitch only to about one stitch below the top edge, not up into the extra bat/back you may have left to fill that binding. 5)when I'm stitching to the back, I snip off the extra bat I've left at the corner. Since I've been doing these things (given to me by a real master quilter) I manage to get all 4 corners looking pretty darn good! Good luck

Onebyone

Binding can be any width. The quilts in the big shows in the last few years seem to have nontraditional bindings. I always look at the bindings on the winning quilts. Some are not filled, some are stuffed, some are attached in odd ways.

ArlaJo

I can do mitered corners and they look good BUT I hate binding a quilt. That's the worst part for me. So, I sew the binding on the front and my GF does the rest for $20.00 A barga
in in my book and she likes doing it.

Geri B

Watch Eleanor burns of quilt in a day video on youtube....you can conquer this challenge!

grann of 6

First and foremost, quilting is supposed to be fun. If you are not having a good time, then something is wrong. I struggled with mitered bindings when I first started to quilt. But since I can't stand having something get the best of me, I played around till I got good at mitered bindings. Make pot holders or place mats, and practice practice practice. I can watch videos over and over, but doing it is the only way I can learn. And I have a trick for my lengths of binding. I bought a stand toilet paper holder, put a cardboard tube on it. Then I roll up my binding neatly with a 5 or 6" center and slip it onto the cardboard tube. I sit the TP stand on the floor next to my machine and let the binding roll off as I need it. No more twists and knots in the binding. It's good for some laughs when people see it sitting there waiting to be used, but when they see how well it works for me they stop laughing.

citruscountyquilter

I do my binding a bit different. I use 2 1/2" strip. I don't press it first as I like a more gentle fold when attaching it by hand in a final step. I use 3/8" seam allowance. By doing so I need to stop 3/8" from the corner instead of 1/4". You always stop the distance of the seam allowance from the corner. The trick to nice miters is in the folding of the corner. First fold the binding at a 45 degree angle making sure it is straight with the edge you are going to sew next. Having it straight is the key. When you fold the strip down then make sure the fold is even with the edge of the quilt you just sewed the binding on.
I don't struggle with long bindings. Even when I would audition my bindings that I had sewn together I always seemed to end up with a join too close to a corner. I now join my binding strips (at a mitered 45 degree) as I go along. It does mean more starting and stopping however I can now control where that seam is. If it's going to end up too close to a corner I just put it farther away. I no longer have to spend time auditioning my binding nor struggle with the long lengths that get tangled etc. So much easier.

trolleystation

I have a quilting friend who has a great deal of trouble with mitered corner bindings. Her mother taught her the 'square corner' method. When she has given me quilted gifts, she always apologizes for the binding I treasure her gifts and would be disappointed if they were finished any other way. It speaks of her history.

quilterpurpledog

Either mitered or square work. But I do think it would be good to figure out the problem and work through it so that you would have the choice of what you want to do and not settle for less than you desire. I do think that some quilts almost demand a visual mitered corner treatment, and, for other quilts it just doesn't matter which choice you make.