Originally Posted by chuckbere15
My question/solution is would it be okay to put another binding over the existing binding making the new binding bigger? The original binding started out with a 2 1/4 inch strip. If I wanted a 1 inch binding on the front, how big to make the strip? What is the distance to sew on the new binding? And how far to stop sewing at the corner to get a perfect miter corner.
I can't comment on your current binding problem without seeing a picture ;-) , but to answer your question from a mathematical standpoint....
You would cut your binding strips 6.25" (or maybe even 6.5" if you're keeping the old binding on). Folding the strips in half would give you 3.125". You would sew the bindings to the front 1" from the edge of the quilt, turn the binding to the back and sew it down as you normally would.
For the mitered corners, you would stop 1" from the edge of the quilt (it will always be the same measurement as whatever the finished binding width is on the side you're sewing). You will also get a lovely miter on the back as well that will be the same as the front.
You could have, if you wanted to, cut the strips narrower, and had a larger binding on the front then in the back (or visa versa), but you didn't say you wanted to do that. Again, the math is pretty simple - just add the binding widths you want on the front and back, and triple it plus 1/4" (to 1/2") to accommodate the folding and turn to the back of the quilt. It also makes the binding on the back a tad wider, if you wanted to sew in down by machine from the front.
Now, with all that said, that's a big chunk of material around all edges. It can feel AND look very heavy (especially if you're not removing the previous binding).
Plus, depending on your design, a 1" binding can chop of a whole mess of star points. I'm not sure that it's the best choice.
I'm sure not sure why you don't want to remove the current binding and resew it on. Pics would help. I've done this many times when I went back and redid my earlier pathetic attempts - it's really not that big of a deal. A bit time consuming but what isn't. ;-)
Good luck!