Machine sewn binding...
 

How do you machine sew a binding?

I normally sew the binding to the front then hand-sew it to the back but I LOATHE doing it. I hear of other quilters that machine sew the whole thing but when I tried it. it looked awful on the back.

Any tips or links to help me out?

Watson

I prefer the method you use. However, when I have machine stitched binding, I sew it to the front then fold it to the back. I pin from the front, very close together, and make sure I have an even width on the back so that it will look straight when I'm finished sewing it down. I stitch in the ditch, slowly, using my walking foot, and remove pins just before I get to them. It turned out pretty nice, but still not my favorite method. (Kindof stressful for me) May become my have to method as my arthritis progresses (0:

When making charity quilts I sew the binding on the back and then use a small zig-zag on the front of the quilts.

I do it this way but do not hate it.

Doing it the way you're trying, I find that gluing the binding to the back before stitching keeps it nicer looking. It takes practice to be able to get that back stitch line to not look awful.

I know a few people that do like Emmy Sue does - sew it to the back, then fold to the front and stitch with a zigzag or decorative stitch. I've tried it, and I like it; it's a chance to use all my machine's fancy stitches that I never use otherwise.

My favourite way, as long as it works with the design of the quilt, is to do a flange binding. MSQC has a video on this now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAQWwwAa2K0

I have only hand finished binding on one or two items that were oddly shaped. I machine sew to the front, fold to the back and press, then SITD on the front. I recently started doing the faux piped binding and really like that too. All by machine and it looks great! Here's a tutorial:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...g-t200207.html

This is what I do and I use YLI Wonder Invisible thread

I sew it t, then iron it out flat & fold it over, and iron again so it is on the front of the quilt.Then I use fancy stitches and sew the binding on.
I iron so many times as it is easier for my hands. For those who don't have arthritis folding should be enough.
Yes, I have used a little glue to also hold the binding in place.

I have nearly always machine sewn to the front and then hand sewn on the back. I did a very small wall hanging by machine on both sides one time. I think my machine got a headache, so I did not try it again.

I always sew to the back, flip it to the front and do the stitch-stitch-zig stich to attach it. That way the not so good parts are on the back but the front looks good. I just hand sewed a binding for a quilt I put in a show. I decided I'm not doing that anymore!

I always machine sew my binding, no hand sewing for me. I sew it to the back of the quilt, then fold it over to the front and press. Then I use my zipper foot to sew it to the front. No glue, no pins. I hold it in place a few inches at a time and sew, stop and position a few more inches and sew, etc. The seam is always right against the edge of the binding on the back and looks good. I use a bobbin thread that matches the back of the quilt.

Cari

I've found the opening in my straight stitch foot on my Juki is perfect for machine sewing binding. I fold of the binding (don't press) and sew to the back, and then pull to the front and line up so it's just barely covering the stitching line. I line up the foot so the binding fold rides just along the inside of the opening in the foot, and it sews down with a nice even stitch. I've also been told I sew a smaller stitch, but I use what I use for just about everything so don't know about that.

Since I don't press, I don't get where the fabric wants to pull and crease or tuck, it just rolls to where it needs to be.

I am doing a project at work that will end up with about 120 6" blocks that are individually bound, so I'm getting a lot of practice with binding and corners.

I sew it to the back and pull it to the front. I generally use the Roxanne basting glue to stick it in place. Then I use a decorative stitch to attach it to the front. Does it always hit the line perfectly on the back? No - but I plan my thread color so it is the least obtrusive if there is a miss. Plus the decorative stitch makes it look like a planned feature.

When it matters where the seam lands, I first set my stitch length to 5 and do a basting stitch all the way around so I can make adjustments along the way.

I always make continuous bias binding and cut it 2 1/2". The bias binding is just a little more forgiving and easier to handle for me. I press it in half and sew it to the back of the quilt and then flip it to the front and machine stitch it in place (straight, zig zag or fancy). I don't even pin it as I go, just roll it over with my fingers and eye ball it (I'm pretty accurate!) Because it is wider than some quilters like (my buddy Connie cuts hers 2" which I can't handle) when I stitch it on the front it is a little wider than what's on the back and the stitches land on the back of the quilt and not on the back side of the binding. If I use matching thread, nobody even notices my stitches and no one has ever said "Oh no, she machine stitched her binding". I can bind a King Sized quilt in an hour if I have the binding made.

If I am in a rush or don't have enough fabric to do regular binding, I do the flange binding. I find it easy to do and your stitches normally don't show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcF_FIFeStY

I sew binding to the back first and then turn it over to the front of the quilt and machine stitch it down.
I make a lots of charity quilts.
Sharon

I used the flanged binding that Paper Princess referenced. I love that it gives an additional design element, and stitching in the ditch works out great. I always get positive comments when I enter them at the county and state fairs.

:wave:Due to carpal tunnel, I don't do any hand-sewing. :thumbdown: If it can't be stitched by machine, it does not get done.:D:D

I sew:sew: binding to the back, flip to the front and stitch down with a decorative stitch on my machine....it adds another design element to the quilt. <3<3<3<3
A kingsize binding takes me 2 hours to sew.:cool: :thumbup:

Fast and easy!:D:D

I sew on the back and fold to the front, then use my stitch-in-the-ditich foot along the edge of the binding, and move the needle so the sewing line is exactly the same distance from the edge. Hope you can understand what I mean. It looks so neat. No need to use a zigzag or decorative stitch.

I have often wondered why charity quilts are treated different from the others we do.

I am always on the lookout for alternative methods of attaching binding. I do think hand sewn on back looks the best, but I too loathe taking the time to do that. I've come up with what I call my raggedy binding using flannel, which is on my blog, and I've also found this approach, which I haven't tried yet:

https://ukcitycrafter.wordpress.com/...sible-binding/

When I make baby quilts I sew the binding to the back and use a fancy stitch to sew it down on the front.

I use 2.25" strips, and sew it down to the back first. Then on the front, I use whatever stitch appeals to me, and sew away! No hand stitching here....due to carpal tunnel and that I want my quilts done in this lifetime! ;)

Charity quilts often go to institutions and get rougher handling. Hand sewn bindings wouldn't last long in a commercial washer. I've even seen an information sheet from one charity declaring that the bindings must be machine sewn.

I machine sew most of my bindings. I bow to those who hand sew theirs, I do not have the patience! I sew the binding on the back and machine stitch from the front. The trick is to be very careful with the turning and pinning so you know they match perfectly. I often use some form of decorative stitch. One a child's quilt, I may just use a zigzag. Sometimes I use a tight blanket stitch but most of the time I find a decorative stitch that matches to top. This can hide a 'shaky' spot. All my imperfections shine huge when I use a straight stitch to machine bind a quilt!

I use this method for binding. Great tutorial. The flang gives my quilts an extra pop

http://www.52quilts.com/2012/05/tues...c-binding.html

I never liked the look of machine binding the first few times I tried it. So now I just use the machine to sew it to the back, bring it over to the front , pin it and hand sew it. Doing it this way, I can spend time with my husband and still sew. :) We usually watch a movie if I have hand sewing to do.

I use this BACK TO FRONT method as well. I use different decorative stitches when I sew the binding onto the front. It makes a beautiful binding and takes much less time. It is also more durable then a hand stitched binding.

For charity quilts I machine sew on the back, fold to the front and sew binding down. If I were doing other quilts I would hand sew on the back.
For charity quilts I think machine sewn is better and more important to make more quilts. I don't know who will get them or how they will care for them.

What a great idea! This would be a perfect finish on my NICU quilts!

[QUOTE=bj;7493904]I prefer the method you use. However, when I have machine stitched binding, I sew it to the front then fold it to the back. I pin from the front, very close together, and make sure I have an even width on the back so that it will look straight when I'm finished sewing it down. I stitch in the ditch, slowly, using my walking foot, and remove pins just before I get to them. It turned out pretty nice, but still not my favorite method.

This is the way I do my binding for charity quilts. However, I use my zipper foot so I can get very close to the ditch.

[QUOTE=Jannie;7495349]This is also the way I do binding but I will use Elmer's glue to hold the binding in place while stitching on the front. The zipper foot is great for getting close to the binding ditch.

It always looks terrible when I do it. I think the key is to really take your time when clipping or pinning and maybe to use a glue stick to hold it in place. Also, check it often. I'd love to have perfect results, also - it's so much faster.

some of the ladies I know do it this way because they have difficulty hand sewing. They use decorative stitches which cover the back edge.
Personally I sew on the front and hand stitch.

i will be using that flange binding tutorial on my next quilt. thank you for posting the links.

Go to Binding the Angel on you tube for a three part tutorial by Sharon Schamber on machine binding with Elmer's Glue.
It works great and I use it exclutsively with great results.

I use the regular tip on the glue bottle instead of buying the special tip. Open the cap only far enough to let a fine stream come out.

I sew binding on by machine from time to time. I sew the raw edges of the carefully pressed double binding on the back of the quilt. Be sure that the quilt has been squared up. Then I press it from the back side using steam to be sure it is flat against the stitching. I sew the fold of the binding on the front being sure it just barely covers the first stitching. The mitered corners turn very nicely. Sometime I use a flange but not always. I do match my bobbin thread to the back. I am happy with the way it looks and sometimes speed it important.

I hope you don't mind Willferg, but I was interested in your raggedy flannel binding and hunted it down. Here is the link to the specific post and tutorial on her blog. It looks so soft and cuddly! I'll definitely be trying this out.


http://quiltingquick.weebly.com/blog...f-my-existence

I don't have arthritis, but found this is my preferred method.
For me it's just the easiest way to get a nice finish with a machine binding. The ironing is enough to hold it in place so it stitches up nicely. I actually have never done any hand bindings. :$