What works best for me is 2-3/4 inches wide with a 3/8" seam allowance.

For quilts, I cut my strips 2 1/2 inches, sew them together diagonally, press in half wrong sides together and sew to the top with a generous 1/4 inch seam allowance. If I am making a wall hanging or table runner with thinner batting I use 2 1/4 inch strips. I practiced making pot holders and placemats. They are quick to make and give you lots of practice turning corners and joining the ends.

The width of the strip i cut is determined by my desire at the time. Some quilts i want the binding to be brely visible, so I cut 1 1/2- 1 3/4 in strip fold in half legthwise, sew with a 1/4 seam to the front , turn to back and hand stitch down. If I want the binding to stand out, i decide how much, multply by 2. I then sew where I wanted the binding to show on the front.
You want your binding to have quilt between the layers, not just extra fabric at the edges. (Been there, done that-don't-leran from my mistake)
You'll get the hang of it. I have faith in you.:)

I have fought with binding for years until I tried this method and it works for me, finally!

Thanks for the sweet thought, because I would sure take you up on it if we lived close enough :) I know I could have it done, but my pride would surely get in the way. I have to learn how to do ALL of it, eventually, or I will just find a new hobby! I am not a "half-way" kind of person...doesn't help my sanity one bit either! lol

Does these same measurements apply for when you do a table runner????

Ditto! I struggled for a long time. You will get it, keep trying! Hugs to you!! :-D

This sounds confusingf. I you sue 1/4" on the front doesn't that leave 1and1/2 feet for the binding? Ane what if your borders ie 4 inche widr. Does the same gui

I measure the width of the quilt times 2, plus the length of the quilt times 2, add 12 inches to determine the length my binding needs to be. I cut my binding stripes 2.5 inches wide by the length. Fold binding wrong sides together and press. Starting near the center of one side of the quilt pin the raw edges of the binding along the raw edges of the quilt sandwich and stitch 3/8 of an inch from the raw edge, around four sides of the quilt, leaving about the last 12 inches unstitched. Follow the directions to make no lump binding, turn binding to the back with the edge of the binding at the edge of the stitching line and hand whip down.

I do the same. Double binding is more durable and the time I spend hand stitching gives me a chance to glance at the quilt for any top threads that need to be buried.