Snooze2978

I use 2.25" folded, glue and press it on the ironing board before I go to the machine to stitch it down from the front side, then hand stitch it with 1 thread, knotting it within the seam allowance so it doesn't show. When I have to end the thread I put a couple stitches where I'm ending, then add another couple stitches together to knot it within the seam allowance, then start the new thread knotting it within the seam allowance so it doesn't show and then continue. I also tack down my mitered corners as I go along from back to front and back to the back side again. I also with run the needle thru the double layer when I'm ending my thread after I've knotted it witin the seam allowance and then cut it. Similiar to how to hide your thread tails when quilting. The Elmer's glue I use as someone else mentioned washes out in the 1st wash. I also don't use straight pins as I hand sew the binding to the back but those new clips. Just use 4 or 5 and keep moving them along in front as I go. No pins to get pricked by. Its a great way for me to not munch while I watch TV at night.

Macybaby

If I had to hand sew bindings, I would not make quilts. Not becuase I hate hand sewing, but becuase it takes me so long to do it. Probalby becuase I am particular and don't want any thread showing where I've hand stitched if possible.

The number one thing I changed that turned binding from my most hated part (even machine sewing) into no big deal -is what Peckish said - do not press the binding in half. That one change resulted in eliminating all the problems I was having. I don't even need to pin the binding anymore.

Austinite

I cut 2.5" strips and use the standard French fold binding technique. I do it all by machine. Occasionally I do the wide prefolded satin blanket binding on a project.

minibarn

Thank you everyone. I would like to know what not pressing the binding helps, but am fully willing to try. I am not opposed to machine binding it's just that I don't like the looks of some of the types I have seen, however I need to investigate further (such as the flanged binding) to see some other options. I have thought of sewing to the back and the doing a decorative stitch on the front, my quilts are never show quality so that would be OK.

One of the things I don't like about the hand stitching it on the back is often you can see these tiny bites (not the thread just where the stitch is) and then a hump, bite hump, bite hump, and it just looks strange/bad to me. Maybe I'm not making sense or I'm stressing over something that only I see.

Well, thank you everyone for sharing how you do your binding, I always enjoy reading these things so that I have other ideas to try.

Onebyone

If I have a non pieced border I use wide binding turned to the front. If I have a pieced border I turn the wide binding to the back. I love how wide binding looks like a narrow border and not look like binding. And I discovered with wide binding the corners always have excellent miters on both sides.

quiltingshorttimer

I want to try a machine flanged binding soon, but have not been impressed with machine binding up to this point. So I attach to the top and hand stitch to the back side much like Tartan explained. One of the things that has really helped me is to switch to a poly thread that doesn't tangle or shred like the all cotton seemed to do. And from your description of the stitch/hump I'm wondering if your bindings are "thin" or not filled with bat/materials. I make sure when I'm trimming the quilt in prep for binding that I leave about 1/8" of bat overhanging where I plan to place the binding edge for sewing with my 1/4" seam. That way, when I roll the binding to the back there's a little bat to fill the binding roll. This seems to make the whole binding much smoother. If I cut a little to close, I'll tuck in a short string of bat as I bind that spot. I use those snap hair clips to hold the binding folded over and it makes the binding lay flat when I'm sewing.

Nammie to 7

I use a single thread and the ladder stitch when hand sewing my binding on. That is the most peaceful part of the quilt. It gives me a chance to look at the whole project and think about the person I'm giving to. Only takes a couple of evenings to finish a quilt. Have one in that stage right now!

PaperPrincess

Hard to describe. Think about taking a magazine and roll it starting at the bound edge. The cut edge of the pages don't line up, they fan. When you sew the binding on the first side of the quilt, then roll it over, the side of the binding that's closest to the quilt rolls ever so slightly less than the half that's away from the quilt (like the fanning magazine edge). If you don't press the crease, it allows the binding to find the place that it naturally creases resulting in a smoother laying binding. It's subtle, but I find it makes a difference, plus you save time (and burnt fingers) by not pressing it in first.

Peckish

Paper Princess is correct.

Another way I describe it to people is think about the track at your local high school. The outer lane is longer than the inner lane, right? So now think of your binding as a track. As the fabric curves from the top to the bottom, you have 2 layers of binding going around the raw edge of the quilt - you have an inner lane and an outer lane. If you don't press it, the fabric is free to adjust itself and make the inner lane shorter and the outer lane longer, and the binding will lay nice and flat. If you press it, the inner lane is forced to stay where it's at, and it bunches up in its "lane" (the inside layer of binding).

Try it out - make placemats or mug rugs, do one pressed and one unpressed, see which one you like better. It seems like such a small, unimportant thing, but it really does make a difference.

Mkotch

I also have been machine sewing my bindings lately. I sew them to the back first and then sew them down to the front, stitching right on the edge of the binding. If the quilt is for a child or for charity it may be washed frequently, so this will hold it together nicely. I sometimes make a self binding, cutting the backing fabric about an inch all the way around, turning it under, and machine sewing it to the front, mitering as I go.