2 1/4".

I cut mine 2 3/4 inches because my walking foot doesn't make a quarter inch seam, its wider even with my needle moved all the way over. If I cut my binding smaller its not wide enough when I fold it back to hand stitch.

Thank u Judi I am learning so much from all of you. I just love getting up of a morning with my coffee and read the board. Again thanks Monica

I have always cut it 2 1/2". Never heard of "Sharon Schamber's method". Where would I find it? I always open to new things.

I usually make my binding from the fabric used for the quilt. In fact, I am so anal (not liking a lot of seams in it) that I buy enough of the yardage (based on 4 times the length of the finished quilt) so I can cut it along the selvege. Usually the binding is the same as the outer border, so I also cut the borders next. The rest of the fabric is used in the body of the quilt and leftovers go in the stash for scrappy quilts. (Guess my scrappy quilts could be freebies then!) OH my binding widths are either 2 1/4 or 2 1/2! When I first began quilting I think I was using 3 in widths. Have to go check on that.

I like bindings to fit the quilt. Sometimes a quilt looks better with a larger binding, sometimes a smaller one.

So, I take a scrap, folding it like I would a real binding, pin it in place, and see how it looks. I adjust the width until I like it, and the seam and edge allowances fit properly. When the final binding is as wide or narrow as I desire for that particular quilt, then I measure and cut that.

Sometimes it does depend upon the fabric I have left, of course, but usually it's all about how I like the looks of it. Also, since I use many different battings, that plays a roll in the width as well.

Debbie in Austin

You simply adjust your seam allowance to compensate for the wider binding. The wider the binding, the wider the seam allowance. A binding doesn't have to use 1/4" seams. At least, that's my take on it :)

Debbie in Austin

2 1/2 was the way I was taught.

If you have a binding that's flat -not enough stuffing- the fabric seems to wear a lot faster on that sharp edge.

I haven't read the whole thread, but am I the only person using 1 1/2" strips for single-fold binding? I was taught to cut single-fold at four times the finished width of the binding plus 1/4" for the folds. I use thin batting, which I suppose would make a slight difference, usually 1/16" loft (poly or cotton).