I do a lot of mine by hand also. And although I didn't read all of this thread, I hope I am not repeating what others have already said.
Sew the binding back first, then press the binding away from the quilt, running the tip of the iron into the mitre. Turn the project over and again press the top along the binding to compress the sandwich. At this point, I also pin in the mitered corners. I fold and pin the edge on one side near the corner and then the adjacent side while the corner fabric is somewhat standing up. I fold the corner fabric last and use a pin to shove the folded bias in and make a perfect mitered corner.
I also use decorative stitches, using varigated thread.
Hope this is clear. Suzanne