I am learning to quilt the quilt tops. I plan to square up the quilt after I have quilted it. It isn't very far off now.

I would like to know how close to the edges I can machine quilt so that I don't cut through the stitches when I trim to square and still be close enough to secure the quilt top edges. My DH asked me and once again, I had to answer, I don't know. So here I am again, hoping for advice from the helpful quilters here. :)

I tried searching many question types and couldn't find an answer to this question. I even Googled and tried You Tube. Thanks in advance for you very highly appreciated help. I really don't know how I expected to learn how to quilt before I found all of you. :)

It depends on the pattern for me. If it is a meander or freehand I usually go all the way to the edge. If it is something like feathers I leave enough room not to bind on top of the feathers.

What "Sadiemae" said..

I agree with Sadie Mae...... edge to edge means just that..... but with custom designs, leave room for the binding

Same here. I usually check to see if it is square before I decide how to quilt. If it is more than 1/2 " off, I take that into account when I do the border. If there isn't a border, I just quilt the block and there is usually 1/4" to sew on the binding.

I usually leave 1" free around the borders. This gives me room to put on my binding without having to sew over my quilting. The only exception is on the borders when I use scraps that run perpendicular to the quilt; then I quilt to the edge of the border.

I've been leaving 3/4 to 1"

A 1/4" will be the binding. And you need to quilt 1/4" from the binding, so 1/2".

You can quilt to the edge...if it gets cut off, the binding stitches will stabllize the cut threads. Of course if you need all the stitching for a special pattern, be careful to not go too close to the edge.

Thank you all so much. I am going to start with one of my baby quilts next week. It is amazing how much information is involved in quilting. Since I love to learn, quilting should fill my appetite. Thank you for helping me learn. :) :) :)