I agree with feline fanatic. Generally I use the birthing method, as it's too time consuming to bind placemats. What I do though is use a little Wonder-Under fusible tape to keep the opening closed (after turning right side out of course) until I can stitch it closed. When I do that I find I am happier with the results, then after quilting the central portion of the placemat, I stitch about 1/2" around the border of the placemat, giving the illusion of binding. I especially like using this method when front and sides are radically different.