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-   -   How many machine bind their quilts? (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/how-many-machine-bind-their-quilts-t203008.html)

everbtrue 10-13-2012 06:00 PM

My friend will hand sew the corners so they are perfect & then machine sew the entire binding. She will also use a decorative stitch. She's won many ribbons this way.

MS quilter 10-13-2012 06:02 PM


Originally Posted by MamaBear61 (Post 5579612)
I have done machine binding when I was on a time crunch too. Make a little practise sandwich and try a few different stitches to see what look you like. When I did mine I sewed the binding from the back first so that I was putting the decorative stitch on the top side and this let me have a little more control over the placement of the stitch (less critical on the backside). Good luck.

This is what I do all the time. I HATE hand binding myself. I like it when other people do it, though.

w7sue 10-13-2012 09:17 PM

I don't usually machine bind my quilts, but my last two charity quilts were flannel and I wanted to get them done and to the group, so I did do them by machine. Not sure how I was able to manage it, but the front looked just as nice as the back (sewn from the back). I still would rather hand sew my bindings down, but I think that either way is just fine and it really does depend on the user - if a child, probably would last longer machine done - if a wall hanging, it probably would look better if done by hand ...

Pilgrim 10-13-2012 09:20 PM

I so agree with all the comments.

ghquilter53 10-14-2012 02:43 AM

NQA certified quilt judges accept machine binding as a legitimate of binding a quilt. They judge on how well it is done. I machine bind 99% of the time. Most often I do a blanket stitch on the front as small as I can with a matching thread. It is such a time saver.

calicojoan 10-14-2012 04:05 AM

I have never mastered the art of machine binding. I for one love to hand bind. I crawl into bed at night especially in the winter when it's cold to watch TV and bind my heart out!:)

maviskw 10-14-2012 04:06 AM


Originally Posted by Deborahlees (Post 5579899)
What I do now is sew to front, roll to back, and make sure that it covers the stitch line on the back. I am a pinner (for everything) but have started using the Clover binding clips, cute little effective buggers. Anyway I then stitch in the ditch on the front (with care and taking my time) I started using a foot that has a flange down the middle (don't know if it is an overcast or blind hem foot) but it works extremely well to help keep you stitching in the ditch. If you use a good matching thread, you can not see your stitch line on the front at all since the binding kinda rolls back over it. I always take my time and inspect the back, I usually only have to catch one or two very small places I missed.....works for me

This is a very good explanation of how stitch the binding on the front and then roll it to the back; pin, clip or glue and then stitch in the ditch on the front. One more step would enhance your experience. When the binding has been sewn onto the front, press the binding open well, off the edge of the quilt. This makes sure you can see the "ditch" to sew into it. If you don't finish this process in one sitting, press again before you start again. After the binding relaxes, it seems to roll back and cover the stitching. Hope this helps.

stchenfool 10-14-2012 04:15 AM


Originally Posted by jcrow (Post 5579596)
I do not like to bind my quilts. I have 9 quilts waiting to be bound. That must tell you how much I don't like binding quilts. I want to machine bind them all.

I know they don't look as good. I know that 100%. My LQS owner bound my last quilt and she machine bound it with flowers and it looked wonderful. I want to try it. It wasn't a straight stitch, so it didn't matter that it wasn't straight all the way around.

It was a wide flowery stitch, about 1/4" wide. What is your opinion? I use to hand bind years and years and years ago. I need these done by Christmas and the only way I will get them done is to machine sew them.

I even send them out to be bound (shame on me). But I want to do it myself and machine sew them. Is that so awful? The people they are going to don't quilt. So they won't know the difference.

Honestly, I feel quilting should be fun so you should do what makes you happy. Experiment and have fun!

mcdaniel023 10-14-2012 04:19 AM

I machine bind all my quilts. I sure have gotten better with practice and learning to take my time. My hands hurt when doing handwork. If I didn't machine bind, I would have a stack as large as yours. LOL!

patchsamkim 10-14-2012 05:43 AM

I had hand surgery 10 years ago, and haven't been able to do hand bindings on large quilts...just too hard on my hand to do for long periods of time. So now I only do hand bindings on smaller projects and do machine binding on my larger quilts. I often use the blanket stitch, or feather stitch. I sew the binding to the front of quilt, turn rest to back, and then stitch along the ditch. It looks great on the front of quilt, maybe not so great on the back, but is very sturdy...and done. If I had to do them by hand, they would sit unfinished.


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