OK...I've read through all of the responses here and I can clearly see that I'm the oddball of the bunch. LOL! When I did my very first binding, I was taught to cut my binding strips 4 1/2". The strips are ironed in half, then attached to the front of the quilt using a 1/2" seam allowance, folded over the edge, and hand sewn to the back. Since that's the way I was originally taught, that's how I've ALWAYS done my binding. I don't leave more than 1/4" of extra batting around the edges, and my bindings have always turned out fine. Of course, it might make a difference in the fact that I DON'T pre-wash any of my fabrics, preferring to wash the entire quilt after it's finished. ☺
Donna