Barb2018

Hello all, hope you're all able to enjoy the day. I'm taking a break from weed wacking. The past few quilts I've finished have been bound by machine and I can honestly say that I'm not very good at it. So on this quilt for my hubby I decided to do it by hand. I made a few changes and finally found what works for me.
When I made the binding I didn't press it flat...I just put the edges together and basted it closed.
Instead of pressing the binding flat after getting it on the quilt (I was afraid of damaging the Poly batting), I used a long machine stitch to get it to lay flat. I figured it would be less stress on my hands. It really worked. Then instead of using the traditional stitch (forget what it's called) I used a ladder stitch. Finally, I had purchased a few packs of different needles to use instead of the old Singer needles I've had for years. I'm using a Richard Hemming & Son Milliner's needle. I never would have thought that the needle I use would make such a difference. It's flexible and seems to fit my fingers well. It's actually going so well I didn't want to stop to do yard work.
Oh, and because I didn't press the binding, it's much easier to pick up the edge to stitch. So even though I find it faster to do a binding by machine.....I'm thinking I'll stick with this until I can figure out where I'm going wrong.
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