I am with quiltingcandy. I don't show quilts either so using my go at 2 1/2 is fine with me.

I have a friend who leaves 1/4' of backing and batting beyond the quilt top when she trims her quilt. This extra batting and backing adds bulk to fill her binding. I've tried it a few times and liked the results when I'm doing a traditional binding. It doesn't work when I do a faux piped binding, since you machine sew the binding onto the back and pull it to the front. With Faux Piped bindings, the extra fabric from the seam allowance on the piping fills the binding nicely.
In the end, it's your quilt. You have to decide how much you care about the judges comments. After all, she's just a person who has some knowledge about quilting and has been asked to offer her opinions...I've entered many quilts in the local county fair open class and won lots of ribbons. My mom encouraged me to enter a couple in the MN State Fair last year, and while the field was much more experienced and vast... the only comments I received were pretty nit-picky about bindings, etc. Those comments don't depreciate the value of the quilts to me at all. You have to decide how much you care. I've decided I don't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2hW...eature=related

If you watch the above video at minute 8:14, you will see how Sharon Schamber makes sure her bindings are filled completely. This method works to fill the binding completely no matter how wide your bindings are.

As with most things in quilting, we all have to experiment to see which method(s) work best for each one of us, and to determine which results we personally like. I use a 2 1/4" binding, fold right sides together and press it, attach it to the front by machine. Then I turn it to the back and hand stitch it. Recently, I have been pressing the attached binding on the front of the quilt right at the edge where I've stitched before I turn it to the back. It really gives a much neater, cleaner and more finished look to the quilt. And I was surprised one night at our Guild (300+ members strong) when the Tip of the Month was given by a very experienced quilter who said she was doing the same thing that I do! Good luck with whatever method you choose to use on your quilt -- and forget about those judges and quilt police. LOL It's your quilt, and you will be the one looking at it and using it, not them.

No, the pieces of binding will not shift after you bind. I have a friend who stuffed the entire binding by hand when we convinced her that she should enter her quilt in a show.

My suggestion too. I have used this technique several times and the results are wonderful. I usually cut pieces about 3/8ths of an inches wide and tuck it in as I go.
Good luck!

If you haven't squared your quilt up yet, you can leave a little extra. After sewing on your binding, you can then decide how much extra quilt to leave on to fill the binding area.

thanks for the link