Originally Posted by tsnana2000
Originally Posted by MadQuilter
I still sew mine on by machine from the front, pull it to the back and hand stitch it down with a double thread. My stitches are not super small but also not gallopping horse size either and mine have held up to solid use. The binding on my favorite quilt is getting very thin but the seam is still solid. It is a great thing to do while the TV is on.
I have never used double thread when hand sewing my binding, but was wondering if it would help the seam last longer. I will have to try this sometime on my next quilt.
I always use doubled hand quilting thread, and match the color of the binding as closely as I can. I bury the beginning and ending knots in the seam.
I machine sew the strips of binding on all four sides first.
Also, I use straight with the grain cut binding. Either across for small quilts or long length-wise cuts for big quilts. No joints ~ one long piece. It doesn't wander, and wants to stay straight, I think straight cuts are much easier to sew than bias cuts - except for scallops or curved edges, of course.
I use flat-head straight pins to hold it in place, with the points away from the direction I am sewing. I pin one whole side at a time - pins only about every four or five inches.