Prism99 is right on the money. When I started quilting a year ago, I tried to follow all the directions on the web and in the books and they just didn't work. So I started practicing on 9 inch squares (which became nice pot holders) and I do exactly the same as she does. Her directions are perfect and yes, I like either a 3/8 binding or even better for me is 1/2 inch. They look nice when I get done and I have gotten very good at this with the 11 quilts I have done - hand quilted 6 of them (3 were baby quilts and 3 were twin size).