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I cut mine 2 1/4-1/2 depending and on straight grain....

I cut mine at 2-1/2, BUT I cut the edge of my quilt sandwich 1/4" away from the edge of the quilt top. This makes sure my binding is full.

Thanks, Jan! That was a really interesting answer!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jan in VA

I'm a pretty firm believer in there's more than one way to do most things. But, that being said, "most" vintage and antique quilts (especially prior to 1920) had narrow bindings of straight-grain fabric often of a different print/color from the rest of the quilt. Indeed, Barbara Brackman, quilt historian, once said she had seen only one out of literally hundreds and hundreds of pre-1900 quilts with a bias-grain binding. Curved edges came into vogue in the 1920s and 30s and needed bias grain for those curves.

Oddly enough, quilting as a craft/art was a bit "lost" in the mid-1900s, after the heyday years of the late 1920s into 1930s. Many quilters of very late 1970s and early 1980s were either newbies or "rememberers" of their grandmother's work. Many who had mothers who were young women in the 1940s had to virtually reinvent the wheel to quilt.

Most of us at that time remember template piecing, not strip piecing, and turning the binding from the backing fabric to the front for binding. Many of the quilts had "modern" polyester batting that was thicker than nearly any generation before us had used and therefore had 'fatter' bindings.

It wasn't until 1980 that the rotary cutter, which had been recently invented in Japan, became available in this country for the garment industry, for instance. Quilters quickly found the new invention and it sold better in the US than anywhere else in the world!

Personally I'm SO glad I was fortunate enough to begin quilting with the forerunners of the "speed-piecing" method of quilting like Mary Ellen Hopkins. Because, even though there were few decent quilting books available in 1981-83, she wrote a magnificent primer for the new generation of quilters/fabric artists that truly set us free to think outside the original box and do things a different/better?/ faster way.

We can do most anything we please these days! We've come a long, long way, Baby!!!

Jan in VA

Up until my last project I always used 2 1/4" binding, doubled. On my last quilt the backing came out just a bit too short so my choices were either trim the quilt down or use a wider binding. I decided on the wider binding, 1" finished, 6 1/4" strip doubled. I really like the look of the wider binding and will definitely use it again, my daughter liked it too, the quilt was for her. I will cut my strips at 6 1/2" next time. I also learned through experimenting that you stop the distance from the corner equal to the width of the binding, for 1' binding stop 1' from corner to do your miter. Had to rip out more than once before I got it right.

I'm a 3" person too.

On full sized quilts I use 2 1/2 double folded, usually on the bias as it wears longer, but have used straight binding as well.
I sew lots of small quilts, table runners, wall hangings, etc. For these I like to use single folded binding cut 1 1/4". Before I sew the binding on, I firmly press the edge not sewn to the quilt 1/4" under and sew the unpressed edge to the quilt. Now I have the folded edge in place to either machine or hand stitch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hulahoop1

I use Warm and Natural batting, cut my binding strips at 2 1/8" and finish by hand.

I do about the same, except I cut my binding strips to 2 1/4 and then finish by hand.

I think the design of your quilt determines the width that the binding should be.

I cut 2" for wall hangings and 2 and 1/4 for quilts.
it is jut personal..whatever you think will work.
i will say, that i was showing my SIL how to put binding on, and i wish i had checked all the way around the quilt, by the time i got to the last side..i noticed when she squared up the quilt, some batting was showing, more than 1/4". i told her if we continued, and when she washed the quilt, it would probably fray at that point. you need to be sure that the binding has a good latch on the the quilt on the front.