I was looking at the Martelli rotary cutter site - has anyone ever used the binding kit

http://www.martellicatalog.com/cgi-b...gory_Code=Bind

It looks interesting, but it's a bit pricey. Better work well at that price.

I liked the rulers, but wow....they are expensive. I haven't used the binding tool. I do have the cutter.

I decided that I didn't neet to spend the money on the binding tool. I do just fine the way I do it.

I have the binding kit-have used it a couple of times. Personally, I don't think it's worth what I paid for it. It comes with a tutorial DVD, but the lady talks so fast, I have to keep starting and stopping it to keep up. The main thing about the system is you use binding clips to clip your binding down before you sew it and there is a choice of 3 mitre clips to use at the corners so you can get a perfect corner everytime. It's basically the same way to attach a binding a that we've always used, you just use these "gadgets" to do it with. I'm working on a lap throw now, and the clips won't work because of the thickness.

I'm used to sewing my binding and then hand stitching the back. I'm trying to visualize what the back of the quilt would look like. Do you know if it shows the stitching on the back side?

I do my own binding.

I have watched them demonstrate it numerous times at the big quilt shows and I am not impressed. I think that the traditional way we do it looks better. That said, I will tell you that I love their ruler, mat, and rotary cutter. Very pricey, but they are worth it. The mat is really nice and the lines are accurate. The cutter is wonderful and it is suppose to be great for people with arthritis in their hand, too. You stand to the side to cut with it, not directly in front of the ruler. Their ruler doesn't slip when you get it in place. It does look very different and you have to learn to use it. Nice items.

What you end up doing really is stitching in the ditch from the front to the back. There is a package that comes with it if you order the complete system containing a binder foot with 4 fences. The fences are numbered 1-4 from no loft to high loft batting. You put this on your machine under the needle on the throat plate and a zip bind tool that you adjust to your quilt binding edges.(I'm still working with this part to get it adjusted just right-depending on the thickness of your binding). The two work in tandem-takes quite a lot of practice to adjust this zip bind tool. If you want to practice with this I'm sure it would help-the outcome is to be the amount of binding you've turned to the back side is just perfect to stitch in the ditch from the front and have enough fabric turned to the back to have a straight stitch-in-the-ditch-not to be going on the binding-off the binding-on the binding-off the binding. Does this make sense? You really need to to to Martelli.com and watch the tutorial.

I wouldn't buy the binding kit, but I'd really like to purchase the zip bind tool. I've seen very good reviews of that one. There are some Youtube videos that demonstrate it. I think it would work for either hand or machine finishing.