Binding
 

I just finished hand quilting a quilt and am ready to bind it. I was critiqued by a county fair judge on a quilt I entered two years ago that the binding was not full enough. I have been reading that some quilter's are now cutting the binding 2 1/4" in order to not leave any space in the binding. Sounds like a good idea to me. However, I began this quilt over two years ago and at that time I cut the binding the standard 2 1/2". I don't want to cut 1/4" off. I have no more fabric in case of a slip. In order to make sure the binding fulls enough, should I sew the binding on at 3/8" rather than 1/4"? Will this be enough or is there a plan B or plan C that would work better. After all the work I have put into this quilt, I don't want to make mistakes with the binding.

Yes, like you. The 2 1/2" is a touch too big. I'm sewing the hand stitching on a binding now. I cut it at 2 1/8". I like it better.

Depending on the edge of your quilt, if it is designed so that you could use 3/8th of an inch for sewing on the binding that would be the easiest option. Since I use my GO or my June Taylor's Shape Cutter to cut my binding, I like the 2.5 inch binding, but then I don't show my quilts and couldn't care what a judge would say.

Also, is it still good practice to fold the binding in half? I will be seaming the binding on the diagonal in order to reduce the seam bulk. The binding was cut selvage to selvage. I think I read somewhere to trim the quilt leaving the batting and backing 1/2" longer than the quilt top in order to fill the binding. Would this work with a 1/4" seam?

If you have a plain border on, I agree, just sew the binding at 3/8". If you have an edge where doing that will cut off part of the design (e.g. Star points), you could cut the batting and backing a little wider and then sew the 3/8" seam.

My binding for 3/8" seam allowance is 2 3/8". That fills the binding really well.

My binding for 1/4" seam allowance is 1 3/4"

When I go around the corners, the miter is fairly tight, i don't have to sew it all down.

Use can use what you already have. You can cut small pieces of leftover batting and stuff it into binding if there are thin patches before you hand stitch to the back

This looks like a great option. Well the pieces of batting shift or bunch in this tight space?

I highly recommend NOT PRESSING your binding in half before you sew it on. Fold it in half, yes, but then simply sew it on. Your binding will lay much nicer and fuller if you don't press it first.

If you're unsure about your binding, cut some scrap fabric at various widths and sew about 6-8 inches on your quilt. Use a long basting stitch. This way you can audition various widths and seam allowances, and once you figure out what looks good, you can easily remove the basting stitch.

I usually use a 2" or 2.125" (2 1/8th) binding, with a quarter-inch seam allowance. Personal preference.

I always cut my binding 2.25" which is the standard when hand sewing to the back. 2.5" is usually what is used when you machine the binding down on the front. You might also look at Jenny of MSQC newer binding video. It has you stop a 1/4" of an inch from the edge and at a 45 degree angle, sew to the corner. You will get much neater corners. As Patrick Lose showed twice on F&P Love of Quilting TV show, I nip off just a bit of the dog ear which is excess bulk. Also make sure your fold on the back is the opposite of the front. It will even out the bulk of the corner. Judges do like to focus in on your binding. Here is a photo and if you look carefully, you will see the fold direction is different from the front on the back. This binding I cut at 1.75" double fold.

I haven't seen any shifting or problem and the quilt has been washed numerous times.

Guess I'm just old school. I will still cut my binding 2.5"... I'm also not entering my quilts to be judged at this time.

Personally, I like my binding to be a little wider...

I cut mine to 3" and love that look.

Guess a "judge" would not like my choices...LOL

I do fold my bindings in half - and then baste the raw edges together. I DO NOT press the bindings in half - because as the binding is folded over and around the edge of the quilt - the folded edge is a couple of threads over from the pressed half-mark and then it becomes more unwieldy to work with.

I like a slightly wider binding - I cut mine 2-7/8 inches - (gasp!!!!!!) This finishes to about 7/16 of an inch.

Anyway - I always do a bit of practice attaching (maybe about six to eight inches of stitching) with the longest stitch setting to get my width setting right. Sometimes it takes several tries to get it where it I want it to be.

I do prefer the look of handsewn on the back - but this is to illustrate the look of a wider binding.

We all have our favourite method for sure. I cut my binding at 2½ "; press it wrong sides together and stitch it to the front of the quilt sandwich ¼" away from the edge; then I trim away the backing and batting leaving them about an 1/8" wider than the top. This fills in the binding nicely for me and doesn't interfere with a nice mitered corner.

I too used to make my binding 2.5 but it left a little space and I didn't care for that. So I started cutting them to 2.25 and it still left just a little space so now I sew it on at 3/8 instead of 1/4. Seems to fit just right for me now.

I normally cut my binding at the time I start putting my last border on so I know I have it when I need it. Some of my UFO's had the old size of 2.5 for the binding but I didn't cut it down to 2.25 as it was just too much trouble for me at the time.

When I trim the quilt I leave about 1/4" of backing and batting so when i attach the binding there is enough filling for the binding, that makes it quite full.

Also...I will never machine sew a binding back again. Looks sooooo much nicer hand sewn

I like this idea. I have trimmed my quilt before sewing on the binding in the past. This reminded me that I have read to sew on the binding, then trim. Leaving a wider batting and backing than the top should help the finished binding to be fuller. I shall try this. Everyone has such helpful ideas. Thanks

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