Preparing for binding
 

OK I've got my first ever quilt squared up as best I can and am ready to put the binding on. Should I sew the edge of the quilt down before putting the binding on or leave it loose and sew it with the binding stitch?

You just put the raw edges of the folded binding even with the raw edge of the quilt & sew on with a straight stitch & 1/4 inch seam before turning.

Thank you.

And take care to keep all of the edges together, so you catch them all. Good luck.

I do my binding totally different. I don't use folded binding. I sew a strip 2.5 inch onto the quilt with a 1/2 inch seam. then I fold over and under and bind by hand. Its a little old fashioned. But, it is the way I learned and it works for me.

This is how I do it also!

Be sure and use your walking foot for even feeding of all those layers. :)

I like to baste stitch, just outside to the right of the 1/4" seam, around my quilt before adding the binding. It is so much easier to keep everything in place and not have to worry about it pleating on the back.

Also,When I trim the extra bat and backing off I leave about two inches of bat and backing around the edge. It is an extra step but I think it is worth it. Leaving that little bit extra around the edge gives the feed dogs something to grip while sewing the binding on and helps prevent the fabric from wondering. I go back and trim it after the binding is sewn on. Just a little tip to try.
peace

I actually never had any training so I just guessed that 1 1/2 inches would do it for me. I machine sew on the front, and hand sew the back.