I have been know to bind first then quilt by hand. Don't think it would work well at all for machine quilting. Two that I have done that way were actually finished and tied, but I decided I would like to have them hand quilted. The third one hasn't been quilted yet, but I wanted to use it on our bed and just quilt it as I have time and be able to throw it back on the bed. Unless there is a specific reason to put the binding on first, I think it's advisaable to quilt first.