Originally Posted by
Peckish
Ditto, and I wanted to add that whether you use the backing or cut it off and sew on binding is totally a personal choice. It's your quilt, do what you like.
I think that "it's your quilt, do what you like" is the part that gives newbies fits. The real problem is not knowing what you like yet when you're new to something.
That said, I folded over the backing on the first quilt I made. A lot of really old quilts are bound that way. The problem with that method is by the time the edge wears out you don't have any of the original fabrics left to repair it with.
I personally like French fold, straight grain binding. French fold is the one where you fold the binding in half and sew both raw edges to the quilt. Single fold or double fold are where the raw edges are folded in to the center of the binding and it's only one layer thick over the edge of the quilt. All of them can be cut on cross, lengthwise or bias grain lines.