Quilt binding
 

Machine binding, front to back or back to front? Any tips would be appreciated. Thank you, Michele

If doing the complete binding by machine I stitch to the back first, fold over to the front and stitch. That way your front is lined up, looks good.

this is the way i do it as well

I stitch to the front and then fold over to the back. I can never get a good even stitching after I fold it over - so I like having the uneven in the back - - this way the front of my quilt has a clean seam

I sew to the back and flip to the front, you can use a decorative stitch when you sew down the front binding to up your game!

My way also.

I stitch to the back and flip it over to the front and hand stitch to the front. That way I can make the front look good and make sure the back stitching is covered and looks nice.
Sue

I machine sew the binding to the front of the quilt & then flip it over & hand stitch it to the back. Binding is one of my favorite things about the whole quilting process.

If I had to hand sew all my quilt bindings, I'd never finish them. On special quilts, I still machine stitch to the front, fold over and hand sew to the back. Most quilts though, I machine stitch to the back, fold over and machine stitch very close to the edge of the binding. I match my bobbin thread as closely as I can to the backing of the quilt. I use a 2.25" binding strip.

I always machine bind my quilts. Sometimes I do it to the front and sometimes to the back. If I have straight stitching in the border area then I will bring the quilt to the back and sew it down so that the line of stitching shows on the front and it then matches in with the border.

The last few years I have been using wide binding, single fold. I love the look of the wide binding, it's easier to stitch and keep even too. I don't do a full binding because the quilts I have that the bindings are full have started to show wear on the edge, the quits that don't have full binding the binding looks good as new. I sew on the front and stitch to the back unless I want the wide look on the front to be an extra design. Doing binding is a lot of work so I want my binding to get noticed.

I use 2 1/4" binding.
I sew to the back using a scant 1/4" seam.
I use the "blind hem stitch" foot. (some call it a stitch in the ditch foot)
I bring the binding to the front so that the fold of the binding goes 1/8" past the stitching line formed by sewing the binding on the back.
Place under the foot so that the fold is against the "fence".
Move your needle so that it touches about 1/16" to the right of the fold.
If you keep the fold against the fence while you sew, you will get a perfect line of stitching on the front and a line of stitching just below the binding on the back.
Be sure to put matching thread for the back in the bobbin. :oP

Oooh, krafty14, thanks for the tip on the "stitch in the ditch" foot!!
I never would have thought of that!!

I always do stitching on the front and hand stitching on the back. Think it looks nicer and I happen to like hand sewing. For tips, I think the best tutorials are from Sheryl Driver from McCalls. For some reason, I can not copy the link to it here. Please google it. There are 4 in the series.

Machine, back to front, no tips because I hate binding.

me too,osewme!

i machine stitch to the front, fold over to the back and hand-stitch.

interesting, my friend got a negative comment from a judge for using that method. even tho it was part of her design

nice I'd love to see some of your decrotive stitching ideas

I do all sorts of bindings, I like French binding very much, I prefer to machine stitch to the front and then machine stitch to the back, I have medical issues that make hand sewing impossible. I love the idea of decorative machine stitching on the front side, I'll have to try that

Stitch to the front, fold, line up carefully and stitch in the ditch from the front. I like my binding at least 2.75", sometimes 3". I've also used Charisma's method with the colored flange.

I do both ways depending on the quilt pattern and/or the fabric I use for the binding.

This is what I do. It goes very fast.
When I first trim the batting, I leave at least half an inch hanging past the edge of the quilt top. Then sew the binding to the front, making the quarter inch seam from the edge of the quilt top.
Take a ruler and rotary cutter and cut the batt and backing, using your stitching line for measuring. 3/8 of an inch works for me with the 2.5 inch wide binding.
Fold the binding out and iron that seam open, making sure that the "ditch" is showing all around.
Pin, clamp or glue the binding to the back, just covering the stitching line on the back. The corners need a few pins.
Sew from the front in the ditch.

This looks wonderful from the front and from the back. There is just a top stitch line on the back.

I use osewme's method.

Thanks Krafty14-- I have been considering cutting some handwork by machine stitching my binding. I think I could feel confident enough the machine stitch it on the front following your directions--Love the SITD foot!

Yep, that is the way I do it, too.

I am right here with you on this! Love the hand binding time!

I stitch to the back and fold over. I run pins directly along the fold edge to make sure it is right on top of the backside seam. But, then I use a decorative stitch on the front. This way even if it bobbles a bit, it still looks nice on the front and the back. My favorite go-to stitch is one that has a gentle curve to it and every other bend has a small leaf. This is also the stitch I use for hems on the bottom of cotton shirts or skirts for my girls. I save hand sewing for the things that I absolutely have to use it (not a fan of handstitching!).

I stitch on the back and flip to the front.

I love to use a feather stitch to sew my binding down on the front. Very decorative, very solid, and catches everything in case you get a wiggle somewhere. I also use the edge stitching foot for this. I have tried using a walking foot, and had problems with skipped stitches. No idea why, but the edge stitching foot works fine. The only issue with decorative stitches is to make sure you don't let the quilt weight drag since the stitching won't be even.

Pam

I sew the binding to the back of the quilt first and then turn over to the front and stitch it down. I find it painful to do much hand stitching, therefore it has to be all done on the machine. I cut the binding 2.5".