I machine stitch my binding on before I trim away the backing and batting. The backing seems to lay smoother and doesn't get the puckers in it like it does if it's trimmed. I also pin on the binding before I stitch it on the front. After it's stitched on, I trim away the extra using scissors, leaving about 1/8th inch of the batting beyond the edge of the seem allowance and hand stitch it down in the back. I lost points at a quilt show because my binding was not full so I've done it this way since.

I do things the way tartan does too, if its a large quilt, small ones I can usually do one side at a time on the long arm table. But, I'm usually crawling around the floor, I use a roller chalk marker then have a large cutting mat I can slide under the quilt for cutting on my straight lines

This is my method also. I do trim excess backing and batting down to a few inches and then sew the binding onto the frontof the quilt. Having the extra backing and batting helps the feed dogs pull the quilt through as the binding is being sewn on.

I also do a stay stitch or long stitch or zig zag around the edge first to make sure every thing stays in place before I sew the binding on. I do this just inside the 1/4" seam allowance.

Here is a tip to help with binding that is one of the best things I have come across recently.

http://www.freequiltpatterns.info/vi...trick-lose.htm

It really helps when doing corners.
peace

By the time I get it quilted, I figure it is too late to change anything, so I just sew the binding on. So far, things have worked out pretty well. :D

LOL! I love your attitude! That's sort of how I work, too. As long as the quilt isn't going to fall apart or isn't a special gift, any problems I notice in THIS quilt are things I'll keep in mind for the NEXT quilt...I'm not unstitching anything I don't HAVE to!

It might help you to run a basting thread along the outside edges of the quilt to keep it from shifting. I can no longer get down on the floor, so I use two ironing boards side-by-side with 2 light plywood sheets 40 by 96 over the top of the ironing boards. I use rulers, as others have suggested, to straighten the sides.

I normally make my border a bit wider so I just trim it down, that's all !!

Me too, me too.

Square the corners, bind and go!! I do not make show quilts.

Mine will never go into competition. I always visually square up on my bed. I measure top side to side, middle side to side and bottom side to side. Then I measure on the diagonal NW to SE and NE to Sw. Also top to bottom, sides and middle. I use graph paper. Works for me.