Binding help needed...
 

I don't have a walking foot.

Any tips and tricks for this or am I out of luck?

Many thanks in advance. :-)

I use my regular foot to attach the binding to the front. Never had any problems; then attach the back by hand.

I have been known to just use the regular foot on my machine depending of course on the thickness of my batting, especially when like you I didn't have one. Unfortunately if your batting is thick it's just a lot easier to purchase a walking foot. I don't know what kind of machine you own but not all of them are super expensive. I got lucky when I bought mine it was on sale for $19.99 and the second one came with the machine.

My batting isn't very thick but when I did the border the back of it shifted a bit so on the back there is the occasional pin tuck to account for that.

I'm thinking before I try and put binding on I may have to work with the back of the border a bit...

Or am I making this harder by overthinking?

I baste the edgs of my binding together before attaching it to the quilt. I also sew the layers of my quilt together before I put the binding on it.

I DO NOT press the binding in half - because as it is folded around, that pressed fold line is a couple of threads off from where the actual fold line is.

This way I only need to keep track of teo things, instead of five.

It does take a bit more time "up front" - but it helps minimize slippage.

Without a walking foot, I would hand baste the binding to the front of the quilt--on all four sides. This should keep the layers from shifting. Another option is to use LOTS of pins or clips to attach the binding, and sew it on really slowly. In the long run buying a walking foot for your machine should be your best quilting investment! You will be very glad you did!

Bearisgray!

Thanks!

I overlook the obvious all the time

DUH!

Of course I should sew the layers together at the edge!

I will use lots of pins and go slowly

I used to have a walking foot but it was not a genuine Singer walking foot but an off brand that was supposed to work with my 9022

I never could get it to line up right no matter how I tried.

I'd better order one soon.

Sorry about the abbreviation in first post

Didn't know that would be offensive

My bad.

(I suppose if I think it should be abbreviated I maybe shouldn't say it...)

I don't use my walking foot for the binding...go to YouTube and search for videos. I am sure there are plenty out there

go to utube and goggle "Sharon Schumer Binding Tutorial". She has one that takes you all the way through and I love the way she ends it. Good luck.

If I sew the binding over on the back by machine, that's when I use my walking foot on the front. I sew it on with a regular foot, then fold to the back and use straight pins to pin along the edge of the front binding being sure to catch the edge on the back. Then stitch with the walking foot from the front by stitching in the ditch (right next to the edge of the binding)
I hope this helps.

have never used a walking foot to attach binding, never even crossed my mind to tell the truth. And I've been making quilts since the world was still black and white and dirt was new.
Just be sure to pinch both binding and quilt as you go along so the quilt doesn't ride up and the binding slide down, same as adding borders. That creep is what makes waving borders.

..also, maybe loosen the top tension a bit so the bulk moves smoother under your pressure foot....I do that when I use my walking foot, mfgr recommendation.

I have used a regular foot and a walking foot. Either works. I always stitch my quilt layers together close to the edge before I trim the excess backing and batting away. By doing this I have less to keep together when putting my binding on. The stitching doesn't show in the end because it is in the seam allowance.

My question is how do you quilt your quilt without a walking foot? Do you do all free motion? It seems to me there is much more danger of slippage in straight line quilting it than putting on the binding. If you are going to do machine quilting then a walking foot is a good investment. There are many out there and I have numerous older machines that I have gotten a universal walking foot for as have many of my friends. They are in the $25-$30 range. For me they have worked just as well as the walking foot that came with my new machine that was specifically made for that machine.

I use my 1/4" foot to attach my binding. I have done this for at least a couple of decades. I never had a problem and won many ribbons with my quilts. I just took my time making sure that I had the binding on straight before the needle stitched it.

What KQ said, exactly. I don't use a walking foot and I don't pin a thing. And I sew bindings professionally, meaning people pay me.

Dcamarote:

Thank you soooooo much for the tute info. I've never sewn it on and had it connect so nicely before!

It's on there. I just have to turn it and sew the last seam(hardest psrt for me...)

CtrusCountyQuilter:

I did QAYG quilting outline & around DP blocks. I assembled the blocks then quilted where the corners meet working one row at a time upwards. It was tough raslling with it as it got bigger. :-)

Make sure to lengthen the stitch a bit (3 or even 3.5mm) and go slow. Hold a steady tension on both sides of the foot (I generally hold my hands flat on either side) and if you notice anything ruffling, stop and readjust. Good luck. Plenty of people don't use the walking foot.

I agree with doing a basting stitch at the edge of the quilt sandwich. It takes less time that fixing all the slips and tucks. Mostly I notice the problem when my quilting doesn't hold the edge of the border well.

Wow that sounds like over kill to me there is no way I would do it that way. though I will admit I may have had to many margaritas tonight. I never iron my binding in half and I never pin it to the quilt and only baste my quilt when on the long arm with stitches about 2 inches apart and never use the walking foot and never have tucks in the back or binding.

Lucky I didn't have to use pins to sew it to the front. Yay!

The back might be a different story. We'll see. I didn't get that far yet. Errands this afternoon & need to make noms for the fam.

I don't use a walking foot either. Same 2.25" width as another poster. Frankly, don't increase my stitch length either, although I probably should. If you are having difficulties that may be the easy fix. I also sew mine to the back by hand.

I use my regular quarter inch food.

I don't use my walking foot either; I just sew the edges of the quilt, then sew the binding to the front and hand sew the back down.

Last month I purchased a walking foot for my vintage 1951 Singer 15-91 and I am so glad that I did! I was able to purchase from Sew Classic (online) for just over $22 with shipping.
I did inquire with the local Singer store and they were considerably more for a generic walking foot.
I agree a walking foot is a good investment! Hope this helps!

I think a walking foot is a must or you risk having the layers shift. I love using my walking foot!

I don't use my walking foot for binding and so far, knock wood, it hasn't been a problem. I sew on my binding to the front of hand stitch it down on the back, works like a charm. So if it ain't broke I'm not fixin' it.

Use Elmer's School Glue (only this brand which is washable) and you don't have to worry about a walking foot. Go to the videos of Sharon Schamber on YouTube. There are three of them, Binding the Angel. Her method is fantastic.

I use my regular presser foot to sew the binding to the back and then turn it over to the front and top stitch it down about 1/8" from the folded edge.

I've never used my walking foot to attach the binding. I use my 1/4" foot. Don't pin, don't baste....haven't had a problem yet. I go slow and check as I go. So far so good!!

Her tutorial (Binding Angel) is what inspired me to do my quilt bindings, especially on large quilts. I baste with Elmer's washable school glue and it is a big help

GLUE BASTE. It'll change your life lol.
Max
Burke, va

Found this good tut yesterday on applying binding. 4 parts. Short :). Mccallsquilting.com
check it out...

I have attached lots of bindings using my regular sewing foot. I usually cut my binding 2 1/4 inches and finish my binding at 3/8 inch. Be sure to square your quilt before applying the binding-especially the corners. I always pin binding to the quilt to be sure that I don't hit the corner with a seam. Be sure to use a sufficient number of pins. You don't want the bottom layer to be advanced more than the top layer which will sometimes happen because of the feed dogs. Baste those areas that have the 'pin tucks' and they should disappear if they are just 'pin tucks'. Go slow.

The little pin tucks are on the back where the border attaches to the quilt. You can't tell by looking at the front.

I sewed all the way around the outside edge of the border like bearisgray suggested.

Then I sewed the binding on like in the Sharon Schamber tutorial.

When I turned it, I used lots of pins and stitched it from the back.

After that I went to the front and put 1/4" tan zigzag all the way around where border meets quilt.

Then I put a honeycomb stitch where the binding strip meets the border.

Thanks everyone for your tips and tricks. My quilt is completely done, washed and ready to give away. It turned out far better than I dreamed-I'm really thrilled with how it turned out.

I have to finish the pillow sham and two matching pillows and downsize a queen sized dust ruffle.

I was thinking of doing piping around the edge of the pillows

I make my own piping by crocheting a tight thick chain stitch out of regular yarn and sewing fabric around that.

Oh and the only time I used glue was whenI had to join the binding strips together

Look and see if you can adjust the pressure of your sewing foot, if so lighten the pressure a little then I always zig-zag the edge so it won't move on me then sew the binding to the back then hand sew the binding down on the front. I also like to do a 3/8" or 1/2" binding since it is easier to control the quilt and I personally think it looks nicer. Also you can put on a wider sewing foot which can help with the drag of the quilt.