Silver Needle

Just finished granddaughter's quilt with best machine finished binding ever! Here's what I did:

MAKE BINDING: Lay 1 strip of binding right side up in front of the machine with most of it to your left. ** Take strip 2 wrong side up with most of it in your lap. Cross 2 strips at 90 degree angle with right sides together. I like to insert a pin and draw the diagonal line for stitching. Draw diagonal from upper left to lower right. Stitch diagonal line. Move strips to your left keeping the tail of strip 2 right side up in front of the machine with all the rest to your left. Repeat from **. This is shown in Missouri Quilt Company Video on YouTube. Cut diagonal seams to 1/4 inch. Spray the strips liberally with starch and PRESS (not iron) with hot iron til starch is dry but not so long as to scorch. The folded halves will slightly stick together. Handle gently.

ATTACH BINDING: Follow this part of Sharon Schambers instructions on her YouTube video "Binding the Angel". I did not trim excess batting from quilt. I square my tops prior to quilting if necessary. The excess batting gives my walking foot a complete surface to work on . I used a needle tip on my glue bottle and ran a narrow bead within the 1/4 inch seam allowance on top of quilt (front side). I carefully laid the prepared binding onto glued quilt, matching raw edges of binding to raw edge of quilt, treating binding gently. Take care not to stretch or ease binding. Take your time. I worked on an ironing pad on my cutting table, a folded towel would also work. I continued following Sharon's instructions until binding was all stitched on. Then I trimmed excess batting even with binding. I did however take the time to pull the binding to the outside and pressed from backside with lots of steam as she instructed. I slid my ironing board right up to cutting table so most of quilt was on the table.

FINISH STITCHING: I used Wonder Clips and Stitch in the Ditch to finish the binding. The pressing from previous step made this so much easier. It is helpful to watch the Clover Video on Wonder Clips on YouTube. I placed the gripper bumps on the red half of the Wonder Clip just off the binding right where I wanted SID to go. Then checked the backside to be certain the binding was under the bumps on the clear side of the clip or sticking the tiniest bit past it. Low and behold when I started sewing and checked on the backside it was stitched a pretty even 1/8 inch from edge of binding. SID hint look at the needle not your presser foot and take your time. When coming to a corner stop a ways ahead and make the miter on the backside. Hold it with a Wonder Clip placed at a 45 degree angle. Stitch as close to the clip as you can get then hold corner with a awl or similar tool. Stitch up to but not on binding. Leave needle down and Pivot to SiD next side which should already be prepared with the Wonder Clips. I was so pleased with how this looked on the back side. The stitching was 1/8 of an inch from the edge and pretty darn straight if I do say so myself. I was also pleased with how mitered corners were stitched. Took combining 3 different methods but I will be doing more machine finished binding for myself and pleased to offer machine binding in our longarm business. Though I still favor the look of hand finished.

GemState

Wow!!! Thanks for the detailed information. I am going to try this on my next quilt.

Cybrarian

Thanks for the step by step I've got to get some wonder clips and try to find a tip for my glue bottle. My Michials only has a set of several way to much to pay to use just one. I've used just the glue bottle tip but not liking that.