When Binding by machine....
 

How do you make sure that you don't get too much binding on the back side?

I always seem to get the right amount on the front and too much on the back, causing a lip of fabric.

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I usually use 2 1/4" binding, folded in half.

Hopefully you can see from the picture what I mean. There should be a lot less binding to the inside of the quilt on the back, shouldn't there?

Thanks.

Watson

I find binding by machine more difficult than it should be. Yes, mine turns out like yours and I don’t like it either.

I only did one very small wall hanging that way and it was tough. I went back to the regular way after that.

I make a sandwich with same batting and same fabric then make a test
with same binding fabric and same width. I don't get it right on the edge
but it's pretty close. Otherwise I get a lot of hit and miss then have to
redo it by hand which defeats the whole purpose of sewing the binding
by machine. You might have to adjust the width at which you sew your
binding a little. I like a larger binding on most of my quilts so I cut mine
2.5" and it finishes at 3/8". Or you could cut your binding a little narrower
like 2" and make a test.

I manage this adjusting how far from the edge I stitch when sewing the binding to the front.

Sew 4-6", then fold binding around and see how much of a lip there will be. Sometimes I even stitch it to the back, using a long stitch, if I'm not sure.

The lip is usually too wide, so I move the needle one click to the left (widening the seam allowance). Restitch that 4-6" chunk, then fold it over and check again.

Keep doing this until I have it just where I like it. I aim for less than a millimetre of lip sticking out.

Instead of pins or basting clips, I will often use strips of 1/4" wide double-sided fusible to attach the binding to the back. This way I can check the lip (approximately) as I iron it in place, and I know it won't shift as I sew it. Most of the fusible manufacturers make the 1/4" rolls; I've bought Wonder Under and Steam-a-Seam Lite at Joann's and Fabricland.

I only do machine binding. I cut binding 2 1/4 and sew on front with 3/8 seam. Run a tiny line of glue in the back stitch line, fold over binding so it just goes over the stitch line about an 1/8 inch or less and iron to set the glue. Then its just a matter of SITD from the front to catch the back.

I have used the Martelli tool for bindings and their stitch in the ditch foot when sewing both sides of the binding by machine and once I learned the technique, I found that it works pretty well. But even so mine is still never as neat looking as if I sew the back down by hand.

Susan Cleveland has a neat way of doing a piped binding completely by machine. It's different than the flange binding, but looks similar. I've done her method once and really liked the way it came out, but it takes some very careful sewing to get it right. She teaches the technique in one of her Craftsy classes.

Rob

I can't help you, Watson. I can't figure out how to do it either. I learned the hard way a long time ago that it takes me longer to do it by machine than by hand, especially when the stitches have to be frogged! :( So, I do mine by hand.

I think that's just the nature of that kind of binding. You could make your binding narrower (2") and get less of a lip, but you'd have to be extra careful to catch the back lip of the binding as you SID on the front.

This is what I do, too.

I usually cut my binding strip about 2-7/8 inches wide because I like a wider binding. (I think it should be a bit wider if I am going to sew the second stitching by machine.)

I chose that width because of the left-most needle setting on my machine!

But there is always a little bit of testing before I go very far around the perimeter.

I know of one person that sews her binding to the front, then wraps it to the back and glues the binding down - and then stitches in the ditch on the top to catch the back of the binding. I have not tried that yet, but it sounds feasible. Again - I would do a bit of testing to make sure I liked the look before going very far.