I like that, going to try it. I've done baby quilts that way, so why not large ones too...

I go from back to front then stitch. My back is normally large enough to wrap around to make binding

If your going to machine bind stitch to back and machine stitch on the front. If your going to hand sew , stitch your binding to front and turn to the back and hand sew.Hope thi helps ???

Me too. Any quilt that I think will be washed a lot I finish by machine to make it sturdier. Machine stitching the front down looks fine!!

You can also machine sew to the front and machine finish from the front also. The process used is "Stitch in the Ditch". You have to press the front seam open well so you can see that seam line ditch. Turn the binding to the back and use School Glue to hold the binding so that it just covers the seam line by about 1/8 of an inch. Glue the corners well also. Then turn it to the front and stitch in the ditch. It goes so fast, and if it is glued in place well you don't miss spots. You could also put a decorative stitch on the front this way, too, if you wish.

Susan,
I sew the binding strip to the back and turn it over to the front and then stitch it down. I make my quilts entirely by machine as I can't do all the hand sewing. I also have carpal tunnel syndrome and can't do all the hand work.
If anyone has a problem with me doing the bindings like I do; I suggest that they could do all the hand work if they'd like to. :D
Sharon

Since I taught myself how to quilt before there were classes or the Internet, I looked at quilts my grandmother had made. She pieced by hand and machine, but quilted her pieces by hand. Before she married, she was a seamstress. She was very fussy -- so I was never tempted to ask her "how" to quilt. Twenty years later, I regretted that.

That being said, she sewed bindings on the back of her quilts, and hand stitched it onto the front. I have one of her quilts that the backing was made larger that the front and became the binding that was hand stitched to the front. That binding has not worn as well as the ones w/individual bindings stitched on last. Knowing that, I stitch the binding onto the back, and hand-stitch it to the fronts of my quilts.

This is what I do too.

I always sew my binding on the back, and flip to the front to hand sew with blind stitch. I sew small stitches, and I just like the look of it. It gives me some thing to do while TV at night.

I attach the front first and slipstitch the back. So sorry you can't do any hand stitching at all.
I had cts in both hands but minor surgery made them good as new.

I do the same as most others when doing by machine, but no one has mentioned that using the walking foot is the BIG secret to success for applying the binding. Thanks for the thread.

There is a method where you sew to the front, flip to the back, then SID on the front. This only works if you have at least 1/8" more binding on the back than the front, so the stitching will catch it. I, personally, don't like the look of this and if I was giving it as a gift, would never do it. For the charity quilts I do, I stitch on the back, flip to the front, then use a buttonhole stitch to secure the edge.

I've been making these wallets, and I have found that by using my 1/4 inch quilting stitch on my machine that if I keep it on that stitch and line it up with the edge of the binding with the middle marking line on my presser foot. (when I turn it to the other side) it almost comes out perfect every time. LOVE IT. Follow the stitch line that you sewed the binding on other side. I don't know if I am making myself clear or not. On my quilts I have always hand stitched them

I do it like quiltnNan and Jan. I tried machine sewing the binding on once, didn't like it. I plan my next quilt as I hand sew the binding to the back.

I attach binding to the back first and machine sew on the front for charity quilts. If I made a competition quilt, I would sew it to the front first and hand sew the back.

You are right about the walking foot. My Pfaff with IDT is the best machine I have for bindings because of that IDT.