Prism99

When I have hand stitched bindings to the back, I have used a simple overcast stitch (with an extra knot every 4 inches or so) with a single strand of thread. I would go bonkers trying to do a blind stitch, it is so slow and tedious for me. Sure, the overcast stitch shows a little, but I consider that part of the charm of hand stitching! My overcast stitches are between 1/8 and 1/4" apart with thread that matches the binding. This is plenty secure, plus easy to fix if a thread should break (because there is typically only a 4-inch stretch that needs repair), although I've never had a thread break.

But, now I do most of my bindings by machine. It does not look as neat as my hand bindings, but it's plenty good for the bed quilts I like to make. I am convinced that no one but another quilter will ever examine my bindings to see how well I did them! Most people are just delighted to have a quilt.

It did take me quite a bit of practice and development of technique to get my machine bindings to where I actually like them. They are still not perfect, but much better than my first one. Still, the first one was good enough for the quilt and doesn't bother me anymore (no one else in my family would notice).

Edit: I want to mention that machine bindings are much easier if your machine has a decorative stitch that does not have a center line down the middle -- e.g., a feather stitch that varies to both right and left. When you use this on the front of the quilt it does not matter if you are off a little; it will still look good on both sides. There are other techniques that help a lot too. Ironing the binding away from the quilt body before turning the binding helps more than you would think to get a straight binding on the other side. Also, Elmer's washable school glue is wonderful for securing the binding before sewing.