Hi Nancy,
I don't think you broke any rules, our tutor here in England always told us to cut 2" binding strips. We fold them in half, iron them then fold each half in half again and iron. We then stich from the front on the 1st 1/2" line , turn over to the back and hand stich the last 1/2" down . It works beautifully and looks neat !
Try it , and good luck from Mad Gertie in Kent.