I like to sew the binding to the front first if I hand stitch to the back but if I machine sew the binding I like to sew it to the back first & bring it to the front because if you do slip a little bit, it barely noticeable. I just figured out recently that I could actually sew it on by machine. I use a 1/4" stitch then line the edge with the previous stitching (just a tad bit over that stitching line) & line the edge with the middle line of the foot. I was excited when I figured out I could do this & make it look good.