I only hand sew binding on very special quilts. For quilts that will get many washings, I use the machine to sew my bindings and I am very pleased at how they hold up. I sew to the back and then flip to the front to sew it down and it works pretty good, I'm not a pro at it yet. When I do hand sew bindings, I use hair clips from the Dollar store to keep the binding in it's place, no more straight pins for me. Good Luck.

A fellow guild member told me about not pressing your binding in half (like Paper Princess suggested). I started doing it that way and found it was easier to get a nice miter on my corners without the pressed fold.

I machine sew mine. I press a 2.5" strip in half lengthwise and then sew it on the front of my quilt, mitering the corners. Then I take the time to turn it and (from the front) pin in the ditch, checking every few pins that I'm catching enough of the binding on the back. I use a lot of pins and pin close. Then, I can sew in the ditch from the top side, removing about two pins at a time as I work around. When I'm done I look to see if my stitching missed any of the binding edge and fix those spots if it did. With good pinning that doesn't usually happen.

I respect and totally admire those who hand sew their bindings. I have never enjoyed it and prefer to machine sew my bindings. When making a child's quilt, I like to use a decorative stitch that is large and often use a coordinating thread. I do this because I want it to be very strong and can be thrown, pulled, tugged and generally abused without the worry of a binding coming loose. When I teach quilting, I do teach my students how to hand bind along with how I do it. I believe that everyone should figure out what they prefer and make their quilts as they want, without the worry of the 'quilt police' coming after them.

I can't hand sew binding any more, I sew it all by machine. I sew it to the back of the quilt first and turn over to the front and stitch it down. I cut the binding strips 2 3/8" or 2 1/2" wide.
Sharon in Texas

Also, another tip - DON'T press your binding in half before sewing it onto the quilt. I quit doing that a long time ago and my bindings look and feel much, much better.[/QUOTE]

Not pressing my binding in half? Oh no. Isn't it funny that some things make the job easier to one person, but make another person panic? Maybe the difference is that I only use bias French binding? Who knows, but I am sure glad that this works so well for you.

I am making quilts to donate to kids, now I machine sew them on front and back.

I just did my first machine binding on the Juki 2010. Fearing that the walking foot would be too beefy, I opted for the zipper foot, and it worked very well. I would go slightly wider, though, next time, to 2.5", because the polished and narrow foot wanted to slip off the edge. And/or change the foot. But it was way more subtle and easier than expected. I did handsew the corner miters beforehand, as recommended by Leah Day.

hugs,
Charlotte

I still hand sew my bindings on my quilts. I use bias binding if I have a rounded corner. I use Jenny Doan's method as shown in a YouTube Video titled The Ultimate Quilt Binding Tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Company, I find it works extremely well and, I do press my binding in half. I have had very few problems with binding. For some reason, this method works the best for me. I think you have to do what works the best for you.

I am another machine binder. For my purposes it works great, and I don't have to get frustrated trying to deal with tiny needles in my clumsy fingers.
I will try not pressing the binding in half, on my next one. Can't say I ever had an issue with it pressed, but maybe I don't know what I'm missing.