Originally Posted by ktbb

Everyone seems to have their own "formula" for how wide to cut strips. Here's a little math I was taught to help me decide. Because some quilts "like" as smaller binding than others,,,,and some like a bigger one, try this.

For a folded double binding (French?) - Determine how wide you want your finished binding to be (I use 3/8's for most of my larger quilts) then multiply that by 7 to determine how wide to cut your binding. 3/8th inch times 7 is 2 5/8ths. that will do for a hand finished binding. If, like me, you finish your bindings by machine, add 1/4 inch to the finished dimension: 2 5/8 + 1/4 = 2 7/8 inches to cut. Why the extra quarter inch for a machine finish? when strip is folded in half, this gives me an extra 1/8 inch to allow for stitching in the ditch.

Use a 1/4 inch finished binding? 1/4 inches x 7 = 1 3/4" for hand finish, 2" for machine finish.