I'm another one who has never been happy with the many ways I've tried to machine bind. I've seen people who can do it excellently but that's not me. So I still machine sew on the front (so I can watch my seam allowance if I have to) flip to the back and then hand stitch.
I am considering trying my next child type donation project to try sewing to the back and then flipping to the front -- but then finish with a decorative stitch close to the fold edge but extending up into the the binding a bit.