Originally Posted by
cat-on-a-mac
I'm not sure if this is what carolaug meant, but this is what I do -- a trick I learned from Libby Lehman during a class she taught: When you're sewing the binding to the quilt, pause when you reach 1/4" from the end of the side. Pivot, and stitch at 45 degrees out to the exact corner. Then cut your threads, and make your miter. That extra stitching seems to make it much easier to get nice corners when you turn the binding to the other side.
I've just recently been successful at sewing bindings on all by machine -- I usually make my strips 2.5 inches instead of my usual 2.25. Then I sew to the right side, flip the binding to the back and pin it. (I've not tried glue, but I guess that would be safer). THen I machine stitch in the ditch on the front. Sometimes I use one of the decorative stitches on my machine, so it shows, and sometimes I Just SITD with invisible thread. Sometimes I even add a decorative piece of trim right in the ditch, and zig zag over it with invisible thread (ie, couching)
I do my bindings just like this, EXCEPT, I don't cut the threads when I have stitched into the corner on the diagonal. Leaving some batt and back will help with this. Leave the needle in the fabric when the needle just leaves the quilt top and is in the batt and back fabric, just off the edge of the binding fabric.
DO NOT TAKE QUILT OUT OF MACHINE. Turn quilt to sew down the other side. Slide your thumb or a finger under the binding and lift to make a "tuck" and bring the binding toward you down the next side you will be sewing. Line up the raw edges of the binding with the raw edges of the quilt. Pinch the tuck so that the folded edges are exactly even. Lay it down away from you so the fold in the binding is exactly at the top raw edge that has been sewn.
NOW, lift your needle and move over the width of the seam (1/4 or 3/8 inch?) No need to cut the thread. Put needle down at sewing line and continue sewing next side. No need to backstitch.
I watched someone do this and I was amazed at how fast she was making corners, but she never told us what she was doing. It took me six years to figure it out. Hope you can do it too.