Sewing the edges of a quilt together before binding?
 

Do you sew the edges of a quilt together after quilting, before binding? I usually do not, but I have had the back move a little occasionally. This quilt has thicker batting and I feel the need to align the edges before the binding goes on. Any way to get around one more step to finishing?

I haven't but now that you bring it up it may be a good idea.

Yes, I use long basting stitches on all 4 sides close to the edges as possible. Most if not all is then trimmed off after sewing the binding on.

I agree that is a good idea and I have had problems with the back as well... but I get lazy and hardly ever actually do it

Yes, I use a zig zag stitch with a very small width so it's almost straight. It locks down the edges of the quilt. The binding looked so much better on my last two quilts.

Honestly, the extra step may have taken 10-15 minutes extra.

This is a baby quilt, so it won't take that long.

depends ..upon how soon i'll be able to get to the binding. if there's time i do it as soon as i finish the quilting

Agree!
I do the same, except just stick with a straight stitch.
I've even stitched around again, after the binding is machine stitched in place,
before I start the hand stitching of the binding.

Either or both, help hold all the layers together and definitely give a nicer finished binding.

As RhondaK said, it only takes a few minutes, and the results "pay" for the time!

I avoid this problem by not trimming the quilt before adding binding. Instead of cutting, I mark the cutting line. (I use a regular Sharpie permanent pen because I want the marking highly visible but do not want any chance of it bleeding.) I align the raw edge of the binding with this line to sew it on. After the binding is sewn on one side, I trim the quilt sandwich to fit. (Be careful not to cut through the binding at the corners! That would create holes.)

It sounds counter-intuitive, but I found that this approach eliminates the issue I used to have with having an occasional edge flip on me when sewing on the binding. Also, it lets me adjust the depth of the batting so it fills the binding the way I want it.

If you prefer to baste the edges, I recommend doing this basting before trimming. Being able to pin to the right of the machine basting line helps keep everything even.

I have begun basting with a large stitch around the quilt edge before I start putting the binding on. It does keep the back in line, but occasionally I end up with a little pucker at the end of the binding process. (I bind by machine; can't hand sew anymore)
I think the pucker is because the binding is still a little stretchy, but the basted edge of the quilt is not stretchy any more. I might need to apply a little more tension to the binding when sewing it on.