rryder

hey QM- I did the piping following Susan Cleveland's instructions in her Piping Hot Binding book-- the thing that worked best for me was to use one of those zipper feet that has grooves in the bottom-- I used a cord for the piping that fits into the grooves-- using that foot enabled me to stitch just a hair to the right of the cord when applying the piping. Per Cleveland's instructions, I used a top thread that matched the piping and a bobbin thread that contrasted with the backing. Then, to stitch the binding to the front, you pin the binding in place on the front, flip the quilt over so the back is facing up and stitch just one thread to the left of the contrasting stitch line left when you put the piping on. Using this method, you need to sew the binding to the back by hand, so it is primarily a technique I'd use for show quilts rather than using quilts. Anyway, the instructions in the book are very clear, with good illustrations. The one thing I think I'd change is to do a larger cord, and a larger binding given the size of this quilt.

Rob