Employees at the local quilt shops (not including the chains) are required to know the basics about sewing. When they fill out an application, they are provided with a test to show what they know and their score determines their possible employment. They also have to know how to operate the machines.

As far as I have been able to determine, it takes exactly the same number of square inches to make a given amount of binding no matter which way I have cut it.

I prefer to use bias binding, and one has to look really hard to find the joins.

I do prefer to cut longer strips so there are fewer joins, but I have also made a binding from scraps that had many many joins.

Google 5 yards from one fat quarter. There are several good tutorials on the tube technique. I've only used it once but found it easy.

I always figure my binding the way ckcowl explained above and never run out.

I am of the mind of several of the above posters; I never ask for advice in JoAnn's--I just estimate what I think I might need and buy it. If you are near Whittle's in Kentucky, now there is where you can get some excellent advice from everyone there, even some of the customers!

But I see you're from Florida, so remember that when you are passing through Tennessee on I-65 and watch for them; they are just above Bowling Green in Kentucky.

None of the cutters at my Joann's sew or quilt !

I usually cut my binding into width-wide strips, as I like a bit of give to snug up the binding as I go. It gets rid of a wavy edge, especially if there has been a lot of quilting in the quilt. I do like my sashings and borders cut length-wide.

I usually make my binding with the same fabric as my last border, but I also do pieced borders and pieced bindings. When buying fabrics for a quilt, I usually round up to the next whole yard (if it says 5/8th, I buy 1 yard) to take care of the oops! factor, so I always have extra.

I cut my binding WOF. The only time I used a bias binding was when the fabric I chose was striped, and it gave the binding a candy cane look, which was great, because it was a child's quilt. I've not done any curved quilts, so haven't had to make bias binding for one.

Thanks Katier825 for the site for binding calculator. That's a real saver for me. If nothing else it tells me how many strips I need to cut.

length x width gives you around the quilt then you divide by 42 that gives you the strips and say you need 8 you x that by 2.5.....so that will give you the amount you need so you don't over by so much but we always need something in the stash.