I have been involved in a local quilt guild—the New Hampshire Modern Quilt Guild—for several years now. (I’m a resident of Massachusetts, but the group’s weeknight meetings are a short drive for me.) At times I’ve served on the board, as the events coordinator or president. Even as a rank-and-file member, though, I like to contribute on occasion and head up a make-and-take craft or lead a short tutorial.
Years ago, I gave a little spiel on how I machine-bind my quilts. In my mind, I was simply presenting what I had been doing for years. For some of my guildmates, however, this technique was novel—some of them had always finished their bindings by hand! I kind of love that about quilting—how there are multiple ways to accomplish the same thing, and everyone has a technique that works best for her.
So it’s in that spirit that I thought we could have a little conversation about bindings and have included some of my favorite past bindings here in this post.
I can summarize my binding philosophy as follows:
* I love a fully machine-finished binding. My wrists thank me for it, especially for larger projects.
* If I am going to take the time to hand-finish a binding, I use a chunky visible stitch because I want credit for my handwork!
* I cut width-of-fabric strips, not bias strips, because I can cut them fast and they require less yardage than bias strips. I know that bias strips, by nature, wear better, but I’ve never had an issue with my WOF strips.
* My secret for neat corners on machine-finished bindings is a little Elmer’s glue. Just use a little bit and set with heat before sewing.
For more details, check out the tutorials below. Then share your own binding dos and don’ts in the comments!
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Hi Michelle, I just read your post on machine binding. I mostly follow your process except that the binding is cut at 2.25" width and I've been able to stitch the binding on the back. This quilt was the second time I've done this and except for a couple of small sections, it worked great. I just go back and re-sew the binding in those spots. I also find that ironing the binding really helps. I'll be using your glue tip next time. Thanks.
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