Okay, I go with wide bindings (most often 3" cut, 5/8" finished) beacuse my quilts are generally bold designs and I just want wider bindings with them. Square up the quilt as usual before adding the binding, but leave an inch or so of batting/backing surrounding the top. It'll be trimmef down later.
You still sew the binding onto the quilt sandwich with a ¼"seam just like any other binding. You don't lose any points, you don't have empty bindings, there are no fancy measurements, judges are happy with the look, and it's easy as can be. The only difference is you do
not trim the batting and backing even with the top. That's what fills the binding, not the top. Once the binding is sewn to the front, measure out from the seam line and trim the batting to the finished width of the binding (3½" cut will be a ¾" finished binding, a bit less with a thick batting). Perfectly stuffed binding every time because you're trimming to fit exactly what you just sewed.
