for small projects i generally use a much narrower binding strip- such as starting with 1 3/4" instead of 2 1/2"
experiment with narrower strips to see what works best-you like the best. you could cut a 12" quilt sandwith & try different width bindings about 4" long--to see how each (behaves) differently...i prefer narrower bindings on most of my quilting projects-about the only time i ever use a 2 1/2" strip is for heavy flannel quilts-mine are almost always 1 3/4" - 2" wide max. when doing stained glass applique the fusable bias tape used for the (leading) is 1/4" wide- easily eases around curves, corners.