ILoveToQuilt

Those of you who know me are probably jumping up and down with glee...."She finished a quilt!" Yes, I did, except now I have a binding question:

1) I have read that I should leave 1/4" of batting and backing around the quilt, then bind.
2) I have read to cut the bat and back flush with the top, then bind.
3) I have read that I should stitch around the perimeter of the quilt (didn't say if there was 1/4" left or not), then bind.

I have cut my binding to 2 1/2" and pressed strip in half. Will be sewing by machine to front, mitered corners, then turned to the back and hand sewed.

Help....which is correct?

Since I never finish quilts (I am Queen of the Quilt Tops!), I have these fairly basic questions. Thanks in advance for your answers.

soccertxi

Hi Anita...and congrats on finishing your quilt! You Rock! you have asked a question that will get a different question from every quilter you ask. We all cut our binding to what works for us. I would suggest sewing your binding to the quilt , then trim (maybe just a part of a side) to 1/2 an inch. See if your binding will cover that amount and the seam line. The aim is a binding that covers the seam and is totally filled with batting. If this is too fat/won't cover the seam line/ too bulky/you don't like what it looks like, you can trim down a bit more till you are happy. Then trim the whole quilt. I hope this makes sense. You will get lots of ideas...and they will all work, but pick what works for You! (I usually sew my binding on while the quilt is still on my frame...and I cut mine at 2 inches...I think I am lonely over here at the 2 inches!) I hope this helps.


PS my DS and his family live in Methuen Mass...right on the NH border! I will wave next time I visit...

Prism99

Regarding question #1, there is no need to cut batting and binding 1/4" larger than the top. That would be difficult to do!

Regarding question #2, I cut all the layers together. Sometimes that means trimming a bit of the top off too. As much as possible, I want my quilts to be square, and that means making sure the corners are squared.

Regarding question #3, it depends.

The reason for sewing around the perimeter before attaching binding is to make sure that all 3 layers are captured before you apply the binding. If you do this, I would advise using a long stitch. That way, if you inadvertently get a tucker or puck, or get an edge folded under, it will be easy to unsew that part and re-sew. It can be difficult to sew like this inside a small 1/4" seam, but the reason to do it is so that you can correct any issues (such as excess fabric at the edge) before you sew the binding on. Since you have already cut and pressed the binding, I assume you are planning on a 1/4" seam for the binding.

After years of struggling with bindings, I finally developed my own method that is faster and excludes the "oops" I used to get every time I did it. I will not describe it here because of where you are now. It would just be confusing. Next time you need to bind a quilt, though, I would recommend posting before you do any trimming or cutting of the binding, as I think you would find some tips that would make the process easier.

Edit: I just realized that you have not cut your top yet. One of my tricks is to *draw* the cutting line on the quilt sandwich using a ruler and Sharpie marker. This becomes a "virtual" edge. When sewing the binding on, I line it up with that virtual edge. I cut the sandwich after sewing the binding on. This way I don't have to deal with sewing near the edges where stretching and folding is more likely to occur. When cutting with this method, you *must* not cut any of the binding fabric at the corners, as doing so will result in a hole in your binding.

This approach also makes basting around the edges easy, as you do not have to stay within a narrow 1/4" seam allowance to do it; you can baste anywhere to the right of the "virtual" marked cutting line.

petthefabric

Whichever method you use, the binding should be filled with batting and fabric to the fold. This makes the binding stronger.

On miniature size quilts, I use a single thickness and cut it 1 1/4" wide. Then it finishes 1/4" wide.

On small to medium size quilts I use 2 1/2" wide binding, folded in half. I place it 1/8" from the cut edge of the quilt and stitch it 3/8" from the cut edge. On the back I glue it down to fully cover the stitching line. Then stitch in the ditch from the front on the machine.

bearisgray

What I do:

When I layer the quilt I make sure that everything is as "square" as it can be - then I pin the layers together.

After it is quilted, I trim the batting and backing even with the top - so that the three edges are even.

Then I sew the three layers together about 1/8 of an inch from the edge with a longish stitch (about 6 per inch) so that I only have to deal with "one" layer when I apply the binding.

I use bias binding - and I baste the edges of it together so that it stays "nice" and one layer does not creep ahead of the other - also so that when I apply it to the quilt, then I only have to fret about keeping "two" layers even.

I cut a wider binding than most - but that is not relevant - i do a few "test runs" of about six inches using a longish stitch to see if the batting folds over to where I want it to - it's easy to remove a "basting stitch length sewing"

When coming to the corners - I learned this the hard way -

Stop Stitching Here - - -

Donnamarie

OK, this is the way I bind my quilts. Firstly, I square up the quilt (all three layers). I have never sewn across the perimeter of the quilt unless on the bias, I would then do it so it would not stretch. I then cut a 2 1/2" binding, press in half, and my sew line will be at 1/3 of the binding. The second third will be pressed up, and the last third comes down the other side, that way my binding is nice and full. I also sew the binding on the bottom first and fold over to the top and stitch it by machine (the opposite if hand sewing). Good luck, I'm sure everyone has their own opinion but I have been quilting for nearly 37 years and have done it that way with great results.

Irishrose2

I am the lone one who prefers not to sew around the edge of the quilt before adding binding. I tried it on a baby quilt recently and the last border wasn't as flat as I would have liked. I just pin and watch to make sure the extra backing doesn't get caught. I also like wider binding so mine is usually 3". I sew to the front and SITD on the front after folding the binding to the back unless I'm using a flange binding, which I usually forget to do. My edges are trimmed evenly after FMQ, before attaching the binding.

ILoveToQuilt

soccertxi: you were correct; everyone has their own style of binding a quilt! I did learn a lot and will attempt to tackle the binding either tonight or tomorrow. This is now what I plan: baste around perimeter of quilt, cut all layers flush, add binding to front, stitch with machine, fold to back, stitch by hand.

Just so all of you know...I am not new to quilting by any means. I have been piecing tops (and the occasional finished quilt) for at least 25 years! I just hate, hate, hate, sandwiching, quilting (I have a very small throated DSM and 2 Featherweights-which I have never tried to quilt on, only piece) and binding my quilts. I must say, I make very nice tops! LOL This is why I have numerous PhD's (projects half done) in my family! To be honest, I've never gotten the knack of binding, for some reason, I just would put the binding on and stitch both sides through the top with the seam showing. Looked awful, but I could never wrap my mind around how to do a binding correctly. I know, I know...for some reason, lately, the proper technique has clicked.

Thanks again everyone!

soccertxi: I am not far from Methuen, about an hour by car. I am more towards the central Mass. border. I promise, I'll wave back when you are up visiting!

Jingle

I sew around the outside edge of a quilt. Then I trim all layers even. I sew binding (cut WOF) on the back, fold to front and top stitch all the way around. I reinforce stitches at the corners. I have been quilting 53 years.

AudreyB

The binding should be full and an even width on the top and bottom of the quilt. Using a 2-1/2" binding and the 1/4" foot leaves a 1/4" binding on the front and a 3/8" binding on the back.

I have found that if I use the standard sewing foot, instead of the 1/4" foot, then when I wrap the binding over, it is full and is the same on both the top and bottom. This works with my standard foot and has worked for many of my students. Not all standard feet are the same so, if you try this, you may need to make a minor adjustment.