Originally Posted by k9dancer
I use anything from 2.5" to 3.5," with 3" being my usual.
Strips are cut cross grain, just like any other strips I would use in my quilt. I fold down one corner into a point on each strip, press, and use the fold as my seam line when joining at a 45 degree angle. Baste first, to make sure the strips are lined up properly; then stitch & trim the seam. I start in the middle of a side, leaving a good 6" hanging loose. Stitch to within 1/4" of a corner, backtack & remove. Miter corner & begin again. When I get to the starting side, I leave plenty of room to manipulate my binding so I can line it up, mark with chalk, and again make that 45 degree seam. It's more important to baste this last bit than the initial diagonal seams. Then I flip to the other side and finish by hand.
This is how I do it, but usually 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 width. I only use bias binding when I have curved border. Stopping distance from corner depends on how big of seam allowance you are using on binding. The wider the binding the more distance you need. If using 2 1/2 inch binding, I sew 3/8 inch from edge, so stop at 3/8" and turn corner. Otherwise when you turn binding to back, it is wider than front. Binding should be same width front and back, hand sewing on back should just cover machine threads. Binding should be completely filled with batting.