Deborahlees

I have only ever hand sewn one. I had machine sewn to the top and rolled to the back, my goodness it took for ever, and in my humble opinion not near as strong as when done on the machine. What I do now is sew to front, roll to back, and make sure that it covers the stitch line on the back. I am a pinner (for everything) but have started using the Clover binding clips, cute little effective buggers. Anyway I then stitch in the ditch on the front (with care and taking my time) I started using a foot that has a flange down the middle (don't know if it is an overcast or blind hem foot) but it works extremely well to help keep you stitching in the ditch. If you use a good matching thread, you can not see your stitch line on the front at all since the binding kinda rolls back over it. I always take my time and inspect the back, I usually only have to catch one or two very small places I missed.....works for me

carslo

I machine stitched all 12 of the quilts I gave to family last Christmas. I sewed the binding to the back and then used a decorative stich on the top side. They looked fine! I was told by a lady in the guild that unless you are entering your quilt in a show that it was okay to do machine binding. Good luck and think of how great it will feel to have them all done and moving on to something more exciting. Plus remeber now to iron the binding in half

Happy Linda

I machine bind my quilt's. Sew bing on the front, iron towards the edge, fold to the back and use Elmer's TEMPORARY WASH OUT school glue to attach it to back. Placing it just over the stitching line. Using my craft iron to dry it faster. Then turn it over and sew in the ditch. It makes that binding so much easier to do. YouTube has a tute on this technic.

peacebypiece

Machine binding is usually faster and stronger. A few suggestions to make it easier.
1. Make your corners round. Just lay any circular item on the corner and trace around it. A saucer is a good size. Stay stitch the new line then trim off excess.
2. It takes a few minute longer but bias binding is easier to apply. It will go around the new round corners very nicely. Be sure to sew it to the back side first. I usually cut mine 1 1/2 wide so it's easier to handle. I use long superfine quilting pins to pin the folded edge of the binding just over the stitching line. Put the pins in perpendicular to the stitching line every 2-3 inches.
3. When stitching this edge down go VERY SLOWLY. It's much easier to control the line, and you can poke the edge in place as you go along with a sharpened skewer.
My machine has a double cross stitch that works nicely.

I just did a baby quilt last week that everybody is raving about. Good luck and remember to slow down.

majormom

Your advice about making the binding wide enough to go past the seam on the back when sewing the binding on the front is excellent. I will remember this the next time I want to sew the binding totally on the machine. Thanks!! :-)

Prism99

I used to only hand bind; now I almost always machine bind. Machine binding can look very, very good. One of the keys for me is to avoid a straight stitch. I find that a decorative stitch can look very nice, but be careful not to choose one that takes a *lot* of time to sew out. I think it is a good idea to make several binding samples with different stitch types so you can see not only what they look like, but also how long they take to stitch out and how much thread they take. So far I have done mainly a serpentine stitch on the binding (with stitch pattern centered on the binding edge), but the next one is going to be a plain zigzag.

On my next quilt, I am going to glue-baste the mitered corners in place (and several inches before and after the corner) before maching stitching. I think this will help a *lot* to ensure that the corners come out nice. On a small quilt or an important quilt I might glue baste the entire binding, similar to what Sharon Schamber does, but on the ones I have done so far that hasn't been at all necessary.

My biggest problem so far has been the quilt corners, and I think the glue-basting before sewing is going to take care of that minor issue.

Edit: I just realized I do something else that seems to make binding go much easier. I don't cut the quilt edges before I machine sew the binding to the quilt sandwich for the first time. That way I don't have to worry about a distorted or stretched edge, or a flap of backing getting turned the wrong way. Instead of cutting, I use a Sharpie permanent marker to *mark* the cutting edge. (If I accidentally do this on the wrong side of the quilt, I follow this up by machine stitching along the cutting line with a contrasting thread, so I can see the cutting line on either side of the quilt.) When I sew the binding on, I match up the cut edges of the binding to the cutting line. Only after the binding is sewn on do I trim the quilt along the cutting line. Just be absolutely *sure* not to cut the binding at the corners! I often like to trim the tip of the batting off at the corner; just do *not* trim any of the binding there. You will not like the results!

IAmCatOwned

I have to switch to machine binding because of arthritis issues. My former LQS (they closed recently) owner showed me how to do it. Before doing it on a quilt, make some placemats or something and practice a little until you feel comfortable with it. People who don't quilt don't even notice that it is machine bound, so don't beat yourself up about it.

kplumbridge

I prefer machine stitching my binding on - I think it stands up to use and washing better. I stitch my binding to the back and turn to the front. If I am going to use a straight stitch, I lengthen my stitch because it looks better that way. As one of the previous poster's said, you want to make sure that your top stitch line does not land on the binding on the back - it looks better if it is on the quilt back itself.

EasyPeezy

I machine sew all my bindings. I usually use the same method as Linda described above
with Elmer's washable school glue. I've also used the decorative stitch on a wall-hanging.
As we say better finished than perfect. I know my quilts will never be perfect but I try
my best to make it look nice. Make a sample like a pot-holder just to practice and check
your seams, binding width and corners. I found I get nice corners if I just stop a short
stitch from the miter. The Perfect Binding Miter is also my best friend for those corners.
Costs $4 at Connecting Threads. Go for it.

Mariposa

I machine bind all of mine, as my hands can't take it for the hand-sewn bindings. I also want it done in this lifetime!!
I use a straight stitch or a dcorative one, but mostly straight.
Don't feel bad for wanting to do it all by machine. Most folks don't even notice it~