Angelmerritt

I tried to put on my binding before trimming but ended up catching some of the corner fold in my cutting blade and decided NEVER AGAIN. So now I trim first then attach my binding, without stitching around the edges (unless the borders are only lightly quilted). I do use a tool by Martelli that helps a great deal. I use continuous bias binding and love the outcome as I have little waste. I do press the whole continous strip in half and then roll up on a half empty roll of toilet paper. Then I slipped some mardi gras beads through the center, safety pin to another strand and put over my head. This way I can pull off a few feet at a time and don't have the pile of binding on the floor getting all tangled. Also, many times I make my binding well in advance of finishing the quilt (sometimes I get creatively stuck and need a short distraction) and the binding stays perfectly preserved all wrapped up. Perhaps make a set of practice placemats to try different techniques until you find one you feel works for you. I put my latest binding roll on my son for the pic so you can see better what I'm trying to describe.