Krisb

Another nonpresser here.

PamelaOry

interesting. I think I will try it without pressing next time.

Iceblossom

I've been trying the non-pressing for the last year because of a thread here. I never noticed the issues with the crease being off, I think because my binding is a bit larger (I cut at 3") and I typically use rather high loft batts anyway, but I make sure my edge are full.

None of the problems I was worried about happened. I was afraid that I wouldn't get my nice crisp corners, but they were fine. I was concerned about putting in warpage along the bias, no issues. No more problems making sure both sides were stitched down than by pressing first.

The only thing I have for pressing the bindings is I like the way they look when they are stored better (I wrap mine around 12" pieces of cardboard for easy counting). Since my tops may sit years before they are actually quilted, it is a consideration. For a more normal person, I'd say -- go ahead, don't press and see what you think. You could save yourself some time.

I should mention that my bindings are still pretty crisp once I cut them and wrap them on their cardboard. If I was concerned that they were floppy and wouldn't store well and that I had to press them again anyway, I'd probably press them closed for the extra 5 minutes of effort.

sewbizgirl

Sounds like a good deal, to me.

grannie cheechee

Boy, was I cheap. For some stupid reason I like doing bindings. A friend at guild didn't like binding quilts, so I would do them for her. She would give me a gift card of $50 for 10 queen to king size quilts. I didn't know what the going rate for binding was, but I found out when we had a program about binding quilts at guild meeting. She doesn't make the large quilts now, and has her quilter do them by machine. lol

DACO48

I do not press my binding either, just an extra step not needed. IMHP.

cashs_mom

That's how I do mine.

Peckish

It doesn't really have anything to do with whether I sew it on my hand or machine - I simply don't press my bindings in half before I sew them on. I find the fabric wraps much smoother around the raw edge of the quilt if I don't press, and it looks and feels nicer.

If you think about a high school track, the inside lane is shorter than the outside lane, right? Now imagine the binding, as it wraps around the quilt from the front to the back, is like that track. The inner lane (the inside layer of the binding) is shorter than the outside. If you don't press a fold into it, the fabric has the ability to shift and adjust to lay flat and smooth against the quilt. If you've pressed it, it has a memory and will want to stay in that position, which results in the "inner track" being the same size as the outer track, and you end up with excess fabric inside your binding.

Just my personal preference, to each her own.

SusieQOH

That sounds like a really good deal to me. Whenever I send quilts out I do the binding myself. If theycould do it for that price I would let them.

Peckish, thanks for the tip. I'm going to try it.

bearisgray

I usually use bias binding (cut about three inches wide) and I do baste the raw edges together - to make sure that one edge does not creep - but I also do not press/iron that crease at the center.