rryder

I've done it both with pressing and without. For show quilts, I machine stitch to the front and then flip to the back and hand stitch. It's easier for me to consistently hide my stitches when hand stitching to the back if I've pressed the binding first, though I have at times done without pressing for small art quilts in order to save time. But I find that it's hit or miss for me on whether I'll do a good job hiding those stitches if I don't press first.

For quilts that are meant to be used, I machine stitch to the back then fold to the front and machine stitch using my adjustable zipper foot. I adjust it so that the left edge of the foot rides along the left edge of the fabric with the needle in the indent on the left. That way I get a consistent line of straight stitching just a few threads in from the fold. When doing it this way, I don't get a good smooth binding unless I press the binding in half first.

Rob