I will appologize for this question, but, I am new and I need to know. I read or saw how to make your own quilt binding. The article said to start of with 42" square of fabric....OK, here is the stupid question....Can I use a smaller square of fabric? I am making a baby quilt when top is finished should be (big doubt) 46"x46"....The fabric that I would like to use is a hair less than 36" x 44. Could I use a 36" square to make the binding? I think I would cut the binding 2" wide. Thanks for the help. I am enjoying doing this but boy is it driving me crazy. You girls would have had it cut out, and top sewn, layered basted and quilted in a night. I took me all day to just to figure out how to cut it out. Last night I started to sew it and I ran into a few (many) problem areas....I finally walked away and hopefully tonight I will be able to fix it. Thank-you all...Cindy

Never apologize for asking a question! We all started out as newbies and we've all made mistakes. The trick is to not get discouraged. You can make binding out of any sized square of fabric. You have to figure how much binding you need, then determine what sized square to start with. You can Google "making bias binding". Here's a good tutorial.
http://quilting.about.com/od/binding...g_strips_4.htm

You were smart to walk away when you did. I find that there are times when nothing goes right. So I put it down and come back to it later and things just seem to go better.

Unless you are doing curves on the outside of your quilt you can do a straight binding, just cut strips from the width of the fabric, that is waht I do even with queen size quilts.

If you are planning on making curves then you would need a bias binding, but I would not think that is a project for a beginner. (It might be easy, but I do not know. Scared to try it myself, but I will, someday!) I LOVE a curved border.

I agree about the straight binding. I'd start with 5 strips the width of the fabric. Personally, I like my binding a little wider. I've used 2-1/4, but prefer 2-1/2.

I agree also about the straight binding for just a baby quilt...I like the 2 1/2 inch width as well. Good luck! You can do it ;)

I prefer a bias cut on all my quilt bindings. I just seam to find it easier to work with. But then again I am a glutton for punishment. :roll:

Don't give up. I started quilting ablmost 3 yrs ago and have made alot of mistakes but have not let that stop me from learning the proper way to make me more successful and my quilting more enjoyable. Read alot from this group and you will learn alot as I have. I also joined a sewing group in my town and some really nice ladies have helped me alot too. I made 2 quilts before I realized I should be squaring up my blocks. Just lucky that my blocks were fairly accurate. I invested in a few rulers that has helped make my cutting more accurate and that way at least I am starting out on the right foot...lol Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions here.

I've attached a link that shows you how much binding that you would need for either straight or bais bindings. Hope this helps out.

I like to use a striped fabric to make bias binding. It gives the binding a candy-cane effect that is great for kid quilts.

Also, I usually use a 3" strip to make my binding 3/8" instead of 1/4". I like the look of a little extra width.

Thank you for posting the binding chart for us :D:D:D