Binding - probably a stupid question
 

I know this is probably a stupid question, but I have never had a class so I don't know. So I have my quilt pieced. I have the backing, binding and quilt top all quilted together. So I am ready to bind. My question is.... do I cut the binding flush with the backing and top? All three layers the same? Or should the binding and backing be little bigger? Like 1/8" so when I put the binding on the batting fills out the binding? What do you guys do?

I think you're using the same word for two different things. I think in several places you mean border.

I trim my quilt so all three layers are the same. Some people leave a little bit of batting beyond the border. It really depends on how you do your binding. There is no one right way.

I am also a little confused about the terms you are using but this is what I do:

1. Quilt together the top (the part I cut up all that fabric and sewed it back together in a nice pattern), the batting (the puffy stuff) and the backing (whatever I choose to be the reverse side of my quilt when finished.

2. I use my rulers and rotary cutter to cut the entire quilt along the edges, being careful to cut the corners square, the sides the same length, and the top and bottom the same length.

3. I use bias binding, self made..... 2 1/4" wide, sewn length to length, and folded and pressed so that it is now 1 1/8" wide and ...l.o.n.g....

4. I use a walking foot and stitch the raw edges of my binding to the cut edge of the quilt, folding at the corners and sewing the two ends together so it makes one continuous length all around the quilt. (There are tutorials about the exact instructions about stitching the binding on.... My explanation is very vague, I know.)

5. I fold the binding around the cut edge and hand stitch the folded edge to the back..... DONE!

We are all anxious to see your finished job. .... hope this helps.

nanna, spoken like a true home ec teacher. I cut mine 2 1/2 inches.

Ditto what Nanna said.

Follow Nana's instructions. I use 2" for cotton batting, and 2.5" for the thicker poly batting.

And I sew my binding to the back side and fold over to the front and top stitch with machine. Because I don't have time to hand sew a lot. So there are many ways to do it.

I think you are asking whether we leave the batting hanging out past the cut edge of the squared up quilt top and back. I don't, because I've never figured out how to do that when squaring up the quilted quilt. I just line up my biggest square ruler and use the rotary cutter to cut and square up the quilt. Then I stay stitch all around the squared up quilt again. (I always stay stitch around my quilt top once it is finished and before quilting.)

I'm another in agreement with Nana's instructions. Here is a pretty good tute with illustrations, to check out . http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/HB_QuiltBinding.pdf

Go with Nanas instructions, the only difference in my bindings is the width of them. Like charsuewilson said, I go with 2 inch unless using extra thick batting then 2 1/4. I also alter which side of the quilt I attach to depending on whether its for a show or just for my use. If its for a show i attach to back then fold to front. For personal use I attach to front and fold to back.

My binding is 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inches wide. I fold it in half - wrong sides together, then I sew my binding to the front of the quilt, trim the quilt top, batting and backing 1/4" from the edge of the batting. Turn the binding to the back and hand stitch. That way the binding is filled with the edge of the quilt.

I'm new to binding, so excuse my question, but for shows, I'm curious about why you attach to the back and fold to the front? I thought it was supposed to be the opposite. Do you then hand stitch to the front instead of the back?

Thank you for your responses..... I recently started to do my binding just as explained. My issue is that when I sew to the back and fold over to the front the sew line on the front is not even close to the line sewn when the binding was sewn to the back. I cut my binding strips 2-1/2" wide. Then I fold in half and iron flat. This leaves me with a strip that is 1-1/4" wide. So when I sew the cut to the back with a 1/4" seam that leaves 1" to fold over. That leaves the binding to fold over way more than 1/4" on the front. On the quilts I worked on I did not have any batting in the layers. The back was fleece so I didn't think they needed batting. Maybe its the lack of the batting thickness that is causing the extra border that I am noticing. If I don't have batting in my layers maybe I need to start with a 1-1/2" strip and then fold in half to a 3/4" strip to bind with???

Again, there's a problem with terminology. I think you meant that you have quilted backing, batting, and top together and want to know whether to cut even with the top or outside the top. I have done both ways. If it's a big quilt and I want a 1/2" binding, then I cut the backing and batting a scant 1/4" outside the quilt top, and sew my 2.5" folded binding so that the edge is even with the quilt top and the stitches are a scant 1/4" inside the quilt top and binding. Then when I fold the binding to the back side of the quilt there is just enough to barely cover the stitch lines. The two "scants" make up for the width of the batting that the folded binding has to cover. I could accomplish the same thing by using a 3" binding and placing it even with the cut edge, but then I'd have more bulk inside the binding and that's not my goal.

I always leave between an 1/8 and a1/4 inch of my backing and batting. It helps to fill up the binding. I sew on the front with 1/4 inch seam and hand stitch to the back. The woman that sews to the back and folds to the front machine stitches her binding to the quilt.

Your question is not stupid and it is a very valid question since you have not taken a class. The fun comes in because there are different ways to bind a quilt, smile. This thread has a lot of great information. If you can, take a basic class for beginners. It will usually be once a week for a few weeks. All the steps (including the binding) in making a quilt are taught, and I bet the teacher will also pass on all kinds of tips, too.

There are so many great tutorials on You-Tube Please Please Please look at them! You will be so glad you did!

This tutorial is very good. I would add that maybe you would want to get a tool called: The binding tool by Fons and Porter to help with attaching the ends of the binding. I love it and that is the only way I finish off my ends.

Recently there was a reference to a full fledged tutorial on how to glue binding to a sandwich. I am including only the page on how to figure out where to sew the binding to the front of the quilt so that when you flip it over to stitch down it will fit perfectly:

Determine and Set Seam Allowance
Depending on what width strip you are using in my case 2.5″ we will need to figure out what the perfect seam allowance will be.

• Step 25: Use some excess left over folded binding. We will fold it into 3 with the goal of leaving about 1/8″ extra at the fold. Start by folding the raw edges inward.
• Step 26: Fold it one more time and wiggle it to get about 1/8″ extra binding hanging over at the fold (see pink box). Press those folds in place with a dry hot iron to create a crease.
• Step 27: Open the binding back up and you should now see the creases.
Step 28: Head over to your sewing machine and place your needle down into the crease closest to the raw edge.

I would like to clarify one thing. The binding should be full of batting, so cut the sandwiched quilt leaving about 1/8 to 1/4 inch batting left to fill the batting. I usually do 1/4 " that way I can trim it down a little more if necessary as I go. One other thing is at the corners you need to run your needle through from back to front and down again so the thread holds the corner together. I learned this from a quilt show judge who stayed at my home during our local guild quilt show.

Generally speaking, it would be hard to plan it so that the final edge of the binding is lined up exactly on both top and back of the quilt. If it bothers you that the machine stitching that you might use on the front will not be properly lined up on the back, you may want to hand sew the final line of stitches all around, using an invisible stitch. In that case, you would usually machine sew the binding to the front and hand sew on the back.

Machine stitches will usually not land precisely on the binding on the back, or at least not consistently. Some people do the final sewing down of the binding with a wide decorative machine stitch that will tend to catch the binding on the back, but even that is usually not perfect.

You may have seen binding on factory made items, such as placemats, and wondered how they lined up the stitching so perfectly. The answer is with a bias binding foot. It feeds strips of bias into the machine, and binds something with one step, but the binding would have only one layer of fabric at the edge, and would not hold up well on a quilt. Also, I have never seen one of these feet designed to hold the thickness of a quilt, though I assume factory machines are designed to handle specialized tasks. I have never known anyone who could get those stitches lined up that perfectly without the foot, but again, it's not suitable for a quilt. For one thing, in order to do your miters on the corners, you have to stop, fold the corners in and restart. There's no way to feed the bias into the bias binding foot from a mitered corner, as far as I know.

Since you have a thin quilt with only 2 layers, you could experiment with a bias binding foot. Here's a tutorial, but as she says, it's not suitable for a quilt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91oM00_L28 You'll need to test it on a sample of the fabrics that you're using, keeping in mind that it may balk when you reach a seam. I have no idea how to do the mitered corners. To be honest, I think it would be easier to do the hand stitched finish.

irishrose..i see you cut your binding to 2 1/2 inch then do u fold in 1/2 and then stitch to quilt 1/4 inch?

This is the way I do my binding except I use straight binding instead of of the bias binding.

If when sewing the binding on what ever size if you are not filling it with the back batting and top when folded over ,do this; using the walking foot sew slightly more than 1/4 inch. I find if it doesn't fold over and reach sewing line cheat and slither a piece off .
Putting the binding all round in one go makes aneat edge and corner with the special fold is so easy and not bulky. Always start part way down one side.

Small projects could be done without binding using the forget name. Then quilt. Right sides top and bottom facing and batting on top. Machine all round leaving an opening to turn through. Then quilt.

I also like to sew mine onto the back and flip to the front....machine stitch down....flanged binding looks nice too....good luck with your quilt.........it's all a learning process.........youtube has tons of tutorials......