I too hand stitch through the stitching about every 3rd stitch. It can be sometimes difficult to get through the stitching, but a good thimble works wonders.

Thank you, thank you! I just watched Sharon Schamers site on bindings! Wow! What a wonderful tutorial. So prescise and clear as a bell. Can hardly wait to use her method on my next quilt.

I have only had one quilt judged. I did get a ribbon and one comment. Guess what the comment was? "The binding should be the same size on the front and on the back". Actually, I was shocked that was the only comment. But ever since then, I try to make it even. It helps when I trim the batting to within a scant 1/8 " of the quilt top, instead of trimming it even with top. However, I think the best advice is what was already mentioned, the front should be a consistent size and the back a consistent size, but not necessarily the same size.

My philosophy is that they're on different sides of the quilt, so who cares? :) I try to get them close, but I'm so glad to be done with the quilt, I'm not going to fret if one's slightly larger

thank you for all the information. God bless. Penny

AS ALWAYS, IT GOES BACK TO HAVING A TRUE 1/4" SEAM. I always cut my strips at 21/4", and it comes out right on the line. But, I only have 1/4" binding on front and back, I like the look of a small binding, but I have not been successful making a larger border. There have been times that I would have liked to have had a larger binding.

Kwiltkrazy, do you sew your binding on using a 1/4" seam? I've read some people use a 3/8's.

The secret to making wider bindings is not in changing the seam allowance, it is in not trimming the batting/backing even with the edge of the quilt top. The seam line remains a quarter inch from the edge of the top, but is a greater distance from the edge of the batting. That way saves any points on the top and makes a nice full binding any width you want.

Melinda: my quarter inch binding always turns out, it's when I want a wider binding, that it never turns out properly.

Ghostrider: let me see if I got this straight, I still sew on binding as usual, but when I trim it I measure out, say, 1" and then trim it at that measurement, then you just do what you normally do, and you still get a good miter and all.