I do the same thing as carolaug!

Me, too, although I do not always do a decorative stitch, many times just a straight stitch.

If you bind the quilt totally by machine you apply the binding to the back first and than to the front and top stitch all my quilts are done this way.

Sorry, I sew my binding to the front, then turn to the back, turn it under and hand stitch it. Maybe someone on the board can get you a tutorial to watch, as I have seen them here on the board. Good luck.

I bought the Clover clips and just used them for my first binding and it went awesome. They don't distort the fabric like pins do so everything lays flat and it looked great. I can't show a picture because I gave the quilt to my niece at her shower last sunday. The clips were not cheap, but now I am glad I have them.

Lots of great ideas. I intend to explore them all.

I bind my quilts that way too. Sometimes I use a straight stitch and other times I use a decorative stitch. My wrists and right elbow get very unhappy when I do too much hand work. So its either do it all by machine or stop being a quilter.

I really miss my Mom! I would sew on the binding and take the quilt to Mom and she would tack it down by hand. She dearly loved the hand stitching. After her health failed, I learned how to put the binding on by machine. Do this on most big quilts, but I like to do small quilts by hand using a single binding. I use the single binding on small because it is less bulky and lays better.

I have machine bound my quilts ever since I became the Project Linus coordinater for North Wales as the quilts get so much more wear, tear and laundering than a normal quilt, it can be easy once you have got the hang of it, but you must use the correct measurements.

My binding, for normal wadding, is 2 3/8"binding, folding in half longwise and stitched on with a 3/8" hem, when folded over the edges, back and front match EXACTLY. On my Elna 720 I have a blanket stitch but on the example below I used a stepped zig-zag as most of my pupil's machines have that stitch. The secret is to pin the binding in place 6" - 10" at time placing the pins in sideways so you can take them out easily as you sew. Don't be frightened of a machine sewed binding it is so much more durable for hard wearing quilts and if you use a variable thread it is stunning.

Hope this answers your query.

I tried the zig zag today, but I'm not getting it lined up on the opposite side. It looks great on the front, but yucky (pardon the technical term, lol) on the back.