Originally Posted by ckcowl

i always square my quilt up- trim it straight before adding my binding- it's just the way i was taught- to add a nice straight binding- i need a nice straight edge. i lay the quilt out on the floor-(only space large enough) and start at one corner- i line my ruler up with a straight line on the quilt- and trim with a rotory cutter (or sometimes it is better for me to draw the straight line with a pencil- then cut with scissors after all 4 sides are marked)
i continue up the side of the quilt- with ruler- getting one side straight/even- then i turn it - line up with the straight edge i just cut or marked- and do the next side- continueing around the quilt until all 4 sides are either cut or marked-
then when it is all done i add my binding.
if doing a quilt that needs to be perfectly squared i measure it diagonally to make sure both diagonal measurements are equal- if they are not then one side is (off) and i need to square it up- but for most of my quilts just having a straight edge all the way around is all i need to add the binding.