"Birthing" vs "Binding" a Quilt
 

My Mom "birthed" all the lap quilts she made - but - she lined them with something like an old sheet or flannel. And then they were tied.

From my rather limited experience - I have had a dickens of a time getting the layers to lay smoothly when I tried the "birthing" method.

I can get a much smoother effect - with a lot less fussing, actually - putting a binding on the three layers.

What has your experience been?

I never figured out how Eleanor Burns of Quilt In A Day show birthed her quilts and then machine quilted them. needless to say, the show never showed her doing the whole quilt. tying them would work great though!

for me birthing works best on small quilts - like for a baby. I have done a couple of lap size quilts because I wanted to add a ruffle to them. It was a real challenge and they were far from perfect.

On smaller quilts, it may be difficult to have enough room to join the binding... so I birth them. Then they are more 'tacked' than quilted. I don't really tie quilts. I rather enjoy the binding process.

I use to birth my quilts in my early days. I tried very hard to do as Eleanor Burns did on PBS. I failed miserably. Now I make my sandwiches and bind my quilts. I have also been binding some of my smaller charity quilts by using the extra backing of the quilt bringing it over and binding it that way. Something a bit different for me.

A few years ago I volunteered with a church group that birthed their large quilts and then tied them. I never liked that idea.

I bind mine, and lately I have been tying them. I sew the binding on the right side and I do enjoy the hand work on the back.

Bear I don't like to do binding so I always birth mine. It is a bit of an adjustment to quilt them but if you start from one side and then stop and then go to the other end and meet in the middle you can work out any puffiness. If I were doing a larger quilt I would pin and work in sections. then you would be able to work out the puffiness.

I don't have the patience for binding LOL I sew a seam about 1/4"-1/2" in from the edge and it can resemble a faux binding especially if you used a thin border around the outer edge.

Exactly the same as yours!

I've birthed a nearly twin size quilt by pinning the batting, backing a flimsy together then sewing the outside seam. Then I remove the pins and turn the quilt and then pin again. And then quilt. I've been very happy with the results so far.

I've always put binding on my quilts. It's just a personal preference.

I think binding is easier. I only tie comforters, which I haven't made for a long time.

I think what you are calling "birthing" is what I call "pillowcasing": stitching top face to face with back and batting, then turning through an opening. My local Project Linus group uses that method on all their lap and baby quilts. On my own quilts, it depends on size and construction of the top.

Same process.

I don't think either name is "great" for the process, but I don't know of a better one.

Never heard of "pillowcasing" always has been called birthing by everyone I have ever encountered (will have to remember that). At any rate the biggest quilt I ever birthed was actually a king size bed quilt and then tied it. I followed the Eleanor Burns method with no problems. Now I think I would much rather bind even though I don't like hand sewing particularly large quilts.

I have never “birthed” a quilt and have only tied 2 that were really heavy and made of flannel and denim. I sewed binding on both of those. I like to sew on binding in the evenings.

I have only "birthed" one quilt (more of a comforter)that I made from sheets back around 1974....have quilted ever since.

I absolutely hate birthing a quilt, I don't mind tying though.

I only birth smaller wall hangings. I have faced several large quilts when I didn't want the binding to frame the quilt.

I too have the same issue with the birthing method; I've seen Donna Jordan do it; hers turn out So good; and she quilts them on a dm when done. I would have puckers on the front or back if I tried that so like Tartan, I save myself the aggravation and frustration and just bind them. Maybe longer, but I'm more satisfied with the results.

When you quilt the layers, they shift. That is why you always have your batting and backing larger than the top. So, if you birth the quilt, you do not allow for this shifting. It can be done without the puckering, if done very carefully, with a great walking foot, and a whole lot of pinning and basting. Other than a crib size quilt, I wouldn't do it. If you have difficulty with binding, there is a third option. That is self-binding. Make your quilt in a regular way making sure your backing is at least 3" bigger on all sides. Once quilted, trim the batting to 1/2" larger than the top. Then double fold over the backing (might need to trim it a bit) to the front and machine sew it onto the front. I actually prefer to do this with all my baby quilts because it eliminates the ability of the child to chew off the bindings!

I think the difference between 'pillowcasing' and 'birthing' a quilt is that with pillowcasing you are only sewing three sides and having tofold over the entire end. With birthing, you only leave a small opening to pull it out and this helps force it to turn the seam for you. It also helps make a nie clean corner. I use this type for anything that has 4 corners (fold n' stitch wreaths, pillows, placemats, etc) because it keeps the corners nice.

I use traditional binding on quilts. I also use the 3rd option mentioned above on mug rug or small wall-hangings. Its quick and easy and no binding ends to join together.

This is how I make my self-bindings, too. but when I fold the back down the first time, I tuck some of that edge behind the batt. Then when you fold the second time, there are two layers on binding at the edge of your quilt.

Some say that you shouldn't do the self-binding because there is only one layer at the edge, but by tucking it under, there are two layers.
I think this is faster than regular binding and certainly takes much less fabric.

Whenever I "birthed" a quilt,I always made sure the batting or inner piece was about a quarter inch smaller in all directions. Then, I didn't have lumps and bumps when quilting.