Originally Posted by
JUNEC
I am not sure what you are asking, but your batting & the quilt backing needs to be bigger than your top - DO NOT CUT ANYTHING UNTIL YOU QUILT IT -
You need to sandwich your top, batting & backing by either pinning it together or basting it - you squaring up & binding are done after the quilted is quilting.
Oops...too late on cutting the batting. I cut it already but about 1/4" larger than the panel. Since I posted the original question, I found one YouTube tutorial on how to finish the edges. I think it's similar to ArtsyOne's pillow case approach.
However, after looking at it all afternoon, I'm now considering cutting the backing fabric the same size as the front panel and using the cut off portion (which will be a nice strip) to make a binding. Argh... I think I'm going to have to sleep on this one before I jump in and do something I'll regret. In the meantime, I really appreciate everyone's advice.