binding question
 

I always pin the start of my binding to the quilt, then take it all the way around the quilt, not pinning but just going around to make sure none of the seam joint fall on a corner. Does anyone know of a way to do this without going all the way around the quilt(I am working on a king size now) Thanks

I do this as well lol. I an sure mathematically it could be figured out. You would need to know how many inches you used on your first piece, if you do bias joins how many inches long the join is etc. By the time you do all that I think it is just easier to do it the way you were describing.

Thanks. I just wondered if anyone had a better way to do it. Maybe I could to it if I had a degree in trig. or geometry or maybe just the patience to try to figure it out. LOL But you are right. It would probably take less time to do what I am doing. Thanks again, have a great day!

There’s probably a formula out there. If you know your approximate quilt size you could add all 4 sides together, build in say 3 inches for each corner and a foot for joining. Or thereabouts. I make lots and lots of binding and then save the leftovers for a scrappy binding when I need it.

It was when I was using a scrappy binding like you are describing , Stitchnripper that I realized it was going to be impossible to avoid a binding seam at the corners. Since then i realized that it doesn’t matter if that happens. I can still mitre the corner satisfactorily so I don’t spend the time auditioning the binding before I sew it on to the quilt.

Yes I found the same. It doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things!

I use an Elmer's Purple School glue stick to baste my binding on. As I approach a corner, I check for that seam and if it looks like it's not going to make it past the corner an inch or so, I open the folded binding and cut it diagonally a few inches before the border and then again right after the seam that's going to be problematic. I sew them together and continue on around the quilt. Very fast fix. :)

I'm math nerd, and there's no trig required to figure this one out. You just need to know your quilt length and width and the distance between each of your seams on your binding. (I'm assuming that your binding is made up of uniform length strips.)

Here's an example with a 90" x 92" quilt and a binding made up of 42" strips.

Quilt size: 92 x 90
Distance between binding seams = 42

Start on 92" side.
Distance from corner: 40 (See note)
Seam 1 position: 40 + 42 = 82 (92 - 82 = 10 from next corner) (this seam is on the first side)
Seam 2 position: 42 - 10 = 32 (90 - 32 = 58 from next corner) (this seam is on the second side)
Seam 3 position: 32 + 42 = 74 (90 - 74 = 16 from next corner)
Seam 4 position: 42 - 16 = 26 (92 - 26 = 66 from next corner) (this seam is on the third side)
Seam 5 position: 26 + 42 = 68 (92 - 68 = 24 from next corner)
Seam 6 position: 42 - 22 = 20 (90 - 20 = 70 from next corner) (this seam is on the fourth side)
Seam 7 position: 18 + 42 = 60 (90 - 60 = 30 from next corner)
Seam 8 position: 42 - 30 = 12 (92 - 12 = 80 from next corner) (this seam is on the first side)
Seam 9 position: 12 + 42 = 44 (92 - 44 = 48) (this strip will over lap the start of the binding by 4")

Note: The 40" in this example is the distance from the *final* corner to be bound and the start of the binding strip. Meaning that you are binding away from that corner. Those 40" are the last section to have the binding sewn on.

I'm willing to do the calculations for you with your exact quilt. You just have to tell me:
1) the length and width of your quilt
2) which side you will start binding on
3) how far from the final corner to be bound the start of the binding will be placed (40" in the example)
4) how far apart the seams are in your binding

I usually walk it around but have done it with quilt folded. i trust myself better when i go around it though. checking seams to not have them in the corners.

I don't find that "walking" it around the top does me any good. it seems that i mis-estimate the length needed to miter the corners or the binding gets too short or too loose laying it around the edges. seems that I have an equal chance of getting seams in the corners whether or not I do this. so I just skip the step and if there's a seam, oh well. it hasn't made much difference in the end.

If a seam ends up at a corner, I just cut the seam off and re-sew it. It doesn't take that long.

There is a "magic" length where to start your binding but unfortunately
I can't remember that magic number. So I just go by trial and error....
usually about a 10-12"from the corner. Then I walk the binding all around
to make sure I got it right. If not I move it a little. Seems to work pretty well.
If someone knows the magic number, please do tell.

Wow, wish i could math like that!

And. I always get the laugh of the gods on this issue! Every. single . time.

https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png I agree. I am in admiration of the math, but my head is spinning and my eyes and brain are tired. More often than not I just start my binding mid way down the side of the quilt and start sewing. This works well except with those lovely scrappy bindings then I just take it as it comes or adjust as I go to avoid the seam bulk in the corner.

I am a math Nerd so I do appreciate platyhiker’s post and may use the idea down the road but since I do a lot of lap and crib quilts, I haven’t had any problem just auditioning my bindings by dragging them around the quilt. I am dying to do a scrappy binding someday and I can see more of an issue ther.

Scrappy bindings are so much fun. I do a lot of donation quilts for kids and do scrappy bindings often. If you join on the diagonal and press your binding seams open before folding I think you will find there is very little bulk. I have had the seam turn up on the corner often and it really doesn’t matter. And yes, I’m picky about how the binding looks.

Tartan is right that for most people and that walking the binding around the quilt is going to be faster than doing the calculations.

Being both a math nerd and a programmer, I continued to mull on the whole question and came up with a spreadsheet that does the calculations. This allows one to calculate quickly easily where the seems will end up in any size (rectangular or square) quilt (assuming consistent intervals between the seams in the binding). If anybody would like a copy, just send me a private message with your e-mail address and I can send it to you. Amusingly, the spreadsheet shows that I made two errors in my calculations for the example (Seam 5 position is 68; Seam 9 position is 54), which illustrates that math majors are not always good at arithmetic. (In college, I like the really abstract math that didn't use numbers much - rings, groups, fields! I don't know what you do with most of that type of math - I went into the computer field after college, but boy that math is beautiful to me. Fast and accurate mental arithmetic is not my forté.)

For anybody who want to do the calculations on their own (without a spreadsheet), here is what to do.
1. Write the the number of inches between each of your seams in the binding (42 in the example
2. Write down your starting position. (40 in the example)
3. Add the number from #1 to the number from #2. (40 + 42 = 82)The number you wrote down is where the seam positioned.
Repeat step 3 (using the new number in place of the number from #2) as many times as you need to get back to first side and get a seam position that is greater than the starting position.
(Make sure you adjust the side length you use when you switch to a new side. Also, make sure you complete all of the fourth side and get back onto the first side - it will sorta seem like starting a fifth side as you do the calculations.)

You now have a list of all the seam positions. Look them over and see if them are within the range that you consider to be "too close" to a corner. If you've got one or more that are unacceptable, try again with a different starting position.

I expect many people eyes have glazed over (or stopped reading) well before now. It was a fun exercise for me to figure how to make the calculations and then how to describe in spreadsheet formulas and prose. Thanks for humoring me in my nerdiness. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png

When I first started quilting I use to fret over the join seams being at a corner. Realizing that it is only a quilt police rule for no reason other then maybe a judge to justify one quilt better then the next I said forget that. I have not noticed any problem with mitering the corner if the join seam is in there. I press my join seams open.

I trim the batting and backing 1 1/4" and fold the top back to create the binding. Search the tutorials-I illustrated with pics.

I tell myself I'm doing binding that way and then remember after I trim the quilt to the edge. LOL

I've tried doing the math and found it's just quicker for me to audition it. If a seam happens to fall at a corner I can often cut and resew it faster than shifting the whole binding. But I'm not usually in a big hurry anyway.

Brilliant!!! Thank you.

Here is a thought, maybe take four pieces of binding and pin or glue them to span across each corner then use long strips to fill in the sides. You will have to join the pieces, of course, but some people might think it is worth the trouble to make the corners just right.

Laurilli-I do the same as you do. I just don't want any joining seams of my binding to hit the corners.

I always start sewing binding in center of a short side of quilt (narrowest). Rarely do I have a binding join at a corner. I really don't worry about it.

Thanks everyone. pltyhiker thanks for the offer, but I think the math will make my head explode. It would change with each different sized quilt. I haven't pressed my seams open but that is a good idea to help in reducing the bulk at the corners.I guess I will try that and keep walking my binding round. Thanks again.

Even if seams landed at all four corners, it would take me less time to cut and resew four times than walk around a king sized quilt and maybe have to shift the whole thing a time or two. Easier than math, too, at least for me!

I do it the same way you do it if I am mitering corners. If not I do the top then the bottom and then the two sides.

Hope it's helpful to you - I've found it the easiest way that works for my brain which is also precise. :) I also press the binding to the back and glue that down with the Elmer's purple school glue stick and the iron - no pins or clips, usually. Then I stitch in the ditch from the front and catch the binding on the back. I used to hand sew the binding in the back, but finished is better than waiting-for-years-to-be-finished. :D


Me, too. Everyone has to find the methods that work the best for them. I like to figure out how I can do things faster or more easily and still not skimp on precision and quality. :)

I stitch to the back and then wrap to the front and run a narrow sitch along the edge. I find it looks neat and clean and feels really secure. If I'm feeling *fancy* I use one of the decorative stitches and a contrasting thread.

Very good idea - I just might steal that. ;)