I didn't press my binding
 

Somewhere i read a post that said someone didn't press their binding before sewing it on. I tried it...it's my best binding ever. I machine sewed the binding on the back with a quarter inch seam. Flipped it to the front, folded it over and under to the front, then machine stitchedon the front. My mitered corners are neat and tidy. This is my new method...i actually enjoyed sewing on a binding!

It might have been one of my posts - I fully believe your bindings will lay better if you don't press them first. This allows the fabric to shift across the width (not length) and lay flatter when you sew. Plus it's less work! :)

I'm glad it worked for you!

Will have to try this.

I agree! I stopped ironing that middle crease in them and they go on so much flatter and easier.

I have never heard of this!! I will have to try!

Ok I'm confused. I cut my binding at 2 1/2" and iron it in 1/2 the machine sew it to the front and hand sew it to the back. What am I doing different?

Diannia

I'd like a little tutorial also. I'm all for what ever makes binidng go on better.

Very interesting.. I will also be watching..

Judy in Phx, AZ

Well waddaya know! I'm surely going to give this a try (although I'm one of the few who enjoys ironing!)

I didn't press at all. Just cut the binding and sewed as usual, except there is no center crease. I had no stretching and it lays perfectly flat as i stitched. Thanks to Peggi...i'm never going back!

Hey Peckish! I think you were the poster of that tip and I have used it ever since seeing it. Thanks so much for the great information on binding.:D

peace

I'm so confused!! You mean you cut the binding as usual, and then rather than pressing it in half, you just fold it in half as you're sewing it on??

I lay it flat on the back, right side down and stitch it on a quarter inch from the edge of the quilt. Then flip it to the front and fold under as i go . It works beatifully...and yep, Peckish is the bomb!

Do you press it before you hand stitch it?

JoC...that's how I do my bindings now...seem to look better when I flip from back to front

Nope! I just turn it under the width that I want to and line it up with my machine stitching line from the front and away I go!

huh, I never heard of this before. I am so trying this on my next quilt to see how it works. :) Thanks for sharing.

Yep. No pressing. Cut as usual, align raw edges of binding with quilt, machine stitch on front as usual. Fold over batting, hand stitch on back.

The theory is that when you iron it flat and then fold it over, the inner layer of binding fabric bunches up inside. Kind of like running around a track - the inner track lane is shorter than the outer track lane. So, by NOT ironing it, you allow the fabric to adjust evenly and it doesn't bunch up.

Awww shucks.... :o just passing along information someone else taught me quite a while ago... I'm glad y'all have found it so helpful.

I confuse easily also, so you align just one edge of the binding to the quilt, then fold it in half and stitch it down on the other side? I understand what you are saying about the track and it makes sense.

Well, I'll be darned. I'm another who's going to try this. Geez, you never stop learning!
Maureen

I never press binding...........I always sew it on the back first, then flip it to the front, and sew it down with a cute decorative stitch.........I havent had any problem doing it this way. I use 2 1/2 or 3 inch width.

I cut my binding 2 and a half inches... fold over... then sew, from the front, to the quilt by machine... then fold over to the back and handstitch down.... makes a lovely job... mitred corners are a must too...

Would this work with Sharon Schamber's method of gluing the binding to the quilt before stitching it down. I kind of liked the gluing method but I'm not so fond of standing there ironing binding in half.

That is exactly how I am doing it right now. I align the edge of the binding to the front, sewed it on. Now I am flipping it to the back. I am lining up the raw edge to the seam line on the front and and then rolling it to the back and hand stitching it in place. I tried to take pictures to show you but I am doing a dark red binding and my thread matched perfectly so the pictures are not coming out very well.

Is it harder to align the binding to the edge of the quilt without the crease? I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this.

Not at all. It is just like sewing two strips together!

Me too. So do we fold it together (and just not press it) first, so that both raw edges of the binding are being sewn on or do we not fold it together first and only sew on a single raw edge on first. Sorry for the confusion!

You do everything exactly as you would normally do, you just skip the ironing step.

LOL omg it's gotta be way past my bedtime. I think I understand but not sure...thinking I'm confused. Maybe in the morning it all be clear....but hey sounds easy to do....thanks bunches

I am going to try this! My bindings look.. "okay"... but get that weird bunching especially at the end. This sounds so much easier.

I've never pressed my binding. I guess it's because no one ever told me that's what I should do.

I have been doing it this way for a while. There is a tutorial from a well known quilter - don't remember who! Try it.

I have always pressed my bindings in half; if I sew it on the back and machine sew on the front, or if I sew it on the front and stitch-in-the-ditch (SITD) from the front or hand stitch on the back. My bindings never "bunch up", so I don't understand that. Binding fabric is so thin that I don't see how there can be a problem. I have had the problem a few times that the binding didn't stay flat...the top layer seemed to have more fabric than the bottom. I solved this by giving a little stretch to the binding as I sew it on. That way you also don't get wavy edges either. The binding is nice and snug.

There is a tutorial www.aliciasattic.com Marci Baker shows this method. It is wonderful and the method she uses to join the two ends is fantastic. Since I viewed this tutorial I have been using this method and love the results.

I am so glad to see this post... I am a complete self taught quilter. So from the start, I have never ironed my binding (happily because I hate to iron), but then saw all the posts on here about it...and was always to chicken to say I never did. ha ha ha I have noticed my bindings are better with my own fabric use...then it was with store bought binding.

I'm not sure, but if I'm reading this right, we're talking about two different methods here. Peckish does everything as usual except ironing ( fold in half, stitch to front, hand sew on the back). Jo C on the other hand sews only one layer, sews it on the back, flips to front and folds under as she machine sews it to the front.

I noticed that. Peckish posted pictures so that helped.

I've always ironed, but will try this because it would certainly cut down on time. Thanks

I don't press my binding anymore either. It works much better.