Quilt Binding

I always used to dread binding. My mom ~ well I do not think she loves binding but she LOVES the trick she learned to make binding that looks fantastic. Today I am sharing with you the steps and tricks I use to bind quilts, table runners and other projects. I use it all the time. Hopefully this picture tutorial will be just as useful to you as the one my mom gave me.

The notes in blue are a different way of doing the binding so that you can machine stitch the whole project instead of doing the hand blind stitch at the end.

Follow these steps to bind your quilt.

Step 1: Trim the excess batting and backing even with the quilt top.

Step 2: Fold your material for the bias binding. Cut the width you would like your strips along the folded side. I like to cut mine 2 1/4". If you have a puffy quilt you will want to cut it wider. Cut the point off of the ends of the strips so it is a rectangle.

Step 3: Sew your ends together to make one long strip. Place the strips right sides together at right angles and pin. Draw a line from the upper left-hand corner to the lower right-hand corner. Stitch on the line. Trim to a 1/4". Press the seams open. Press the long binding strip in half lengthwise, with the wrong side together {I usually skip ironing the strip in half lengthwise}.

Step 4: Place the raw edges of the binding strip next to the raw edge of the quilt leaving a 4"-5" tail {I suggest 7"-8" if there is room and for larger projects, it will be easier to finish}. Start in the middle of the bottom of the quilt on the front {I like to start on the back side, this way when I do my version of step 7, I am able to watch the front binding as I sew it to make sure it is nice and straight}. Pin in place with the tail hanging out. Sew along the edge with a 1/4" seam.

Step 5 {Corners}: As you come to the corner stop stitching 1/4" from the raw edge. Remove the quilt from your sewing machine. Fold your binding strip up at a 45 degree angle. Fold the strip back down so there is a fold at the upper edge. Begin sewing at the top edge of the quilt, continuing to the next corner. Go around all four corner. Once you get familiar with this step you can also lift the presser foot without fully removing the quilt to do the corners. {Once you get familiar with this step you can also lift the presser foot without fully removing the quilt to do the corners. It might be the fact that at this point I am ready to be done or that I found it faster for me to do this way, but I choose to keep it all right there on my machine}.

Step 6: After turning the last corner, stitch until you have about 7" to 8" open from the beginning and stop stitching {I find it easier, especially on bigger projects, to leave about 11"-12" of open space}. Make sure that your ends overlap. You will overlap the binding 1/4" smaller than the width of your binding. {If you did a 2 1/4" binding you will want it to overlap 2"}. Cut the binding strip straight across. Lay the quilt flat with whatever side has the binding sewn on it up. Place the unfolded, unstitched tails right side together at right angles and pin. Draw a line from the upper left-hand corner to the lower right-hand corner of the binding. Stitch along this line. Lay flat to check to make sure that it fits correctly. Carefully trim the seam allowance to 1/4" and finger press the seam open. Refold the binding in half. Pin binding to quilt. Finish stitching the binding to the quilt.

Step 7: Turn the binding to the back {or front in my case} of the quilt and blind stitch the folded edge in place, covering the machine stitches with the folded edge. Make sure you take a small blind stitch. {I like to finish the quilt by folding the binding to the front and then finishing with a serpentine stitch on top of the binding.}

Step 8: ENJOY!!!

Here are some blankets I made a while ago using this binding technique. I love how they turned out and the serpentine stitch gives it a great finishing touch.

This is a pretty intense tutorial and I tried to add as many photos as I thought would be helpful to fully explain the steps. If you have any questions leave me a comment and I will be sure to get back to you. I have my copy printed out and put in my binder with all the patterns so it is always available whenever I need it. If you would like a PDF version to print, you can find it here to download.

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SIL Quilt

I love how these two quilts turned out. As I have said before I HATE binding quilts but my mom has shown me a great tricky way to do them and have them turn out fantastic. My SIL gets home from Uruguay tomorrow and I'm so happy that I was able to get her quilt done for that. She has been serving an LDS Mission there and sharing her testimony with everyone down there and with her family and friends here at home. I LOVED my mission and think that every young lady who can should serve. It is such a great opportunity to serve others and strengthen your own testimony. I really am excited for her that she choose to serve.

The purple one, however, I have had with me for some time, like I said, I hate binding. The hard thing about working on fun projects like this is then you have to give them away.

Let me know what you think!!!

Quilt in a day

Over the weekend I talked to my mother-in-law and asked if she wanted to have a quilt made for my sister-in-law when she got home from her mission in Uruguay. She thought it would be a fun idea so on Saturday we went and got the flat quarters to make the quilt Turning 20. Maybe I was being a bit ambitious of me but I was able to sew the quilt top and later in the day we went over to my in-laws and we tied the quilt. Here is my quilt-in-a-day!! I love the colors and how it turned out. My mom said that she was amazed at how we ~ her kids ~ could just take on a project and go at it to get it until we get it done. Well, you are the one that taught us. We would go to bed on a Saturday night and on Easter morning, she would have two new dresses sewn for me and my sister. She is the one who taught me to work until it is done.
~ Love you mom!!!

Because I can't afford to take the quilts in and have them machine quilted I do it my self. On the quilt I made for Paul a couple of years back, instead of tying it, I stitched by hand using a bigger stitch length. I love how it turned out. That is why I stitched both of these as well.

This is a quilt I have made for a friend of mine but have never gotten around to binding it. Now that I have two to do maybe that will help motivate me to get them done. The pattern for this one is Yellow Brick Road.