Must binding be from cross-grain fabric?
 

I'm ready to bind my first quilt. (Yay, me... and FINALLY!) I'd like to use the backer fabric for the binding, but the only pieces I have are about a foot wide with the cross-grain and three or four feet long with the lengthwise grain. I'm not going to cut a hundred one-foot segments to get binding on the cross-grain, so my two options are either to go ahead and use the lengthwise grain or go buy more fabric. How important is it that the binding fabric be cut cross-grain?

It isn't. You can use the longer side and sew the strips together. I would suggest sewing the strips together with the miter (at a 45 degree angle) to cut down on the bulk when you press the strips in half.

Thank you! I appreciate the response. :)

You can make binding from crosswise, lengthwise, or bias cut fabric (unwise to mix them in the same quilt though) with no problem. If you go with the lengthwise grain, just remember it has the least amount of give (stretch) and will be difficult to ease for that reason, so make sure you cut a bit of extra length to make sure you have enough.

I had always done bias until I saw a thread on here about using straight grain and cross grain strips. Tried the straight grain and love it. I don't have nearly as much problem with the binding laying well and the corners seem to turn better.

Madquilter, Ghostrider and Dlong are all absolutely right. My binding lays much nicer when I use straight grain. (Either lengthwise or widthwise.) Good luck. Remember, there are no quilt police, so whatever works for you is correct.

Oh, that's very interesting. Thanks! This is going to be my first time using my new walking foot, too. I'm very nervous! After all this work, I'd be disappointed if I ruined it at the end.

Jenel,

You will do JUST FINE! I will echo what was said here. Actually I prefer straight or lengthwise grain binding. I only slog thru the bias if I have a curved edge (hardly ever!). You can find good tutorials on mitered corners all over the web, or you can just do straight across. You can search on this board for help, or just ask! I have a tutorial on miters on my blog too. Just Private Message me and I will send you a link. Take a deep breath! Your FIRST quilt! Way to go! You can call yourself a 'QUILTER'!

If your quilt has scalloped edges, you'll probably need to use biased binding to fit better around the curves, but if the edges are straight, you won't have any problem with straight binding.

You need bias grain if doing scallops or something curved. Otherwise, straight grain works perfectly. Do use the miter technique to join your strips (they will be biased and lay flat). Good luck!