...Sharing Ideas About Sewing, Quilting, Smocking and Machine Embroidery...
This is the best way to bind a quilt simply and easily. Let the sewing machine do all the work. Who says you have to sew a binding on by hand? If you are having a quilt judged in a show you may not want to do the binding this way, but for everything else, this is the best!
1. Finish the quilt by quilting through all the layers as desired. After that is done, cut all four edges even all the way around and use a loose zig zag stitch and go all the way around the edge of the quilt to baste all the edges together.
1. Finish the quilt by quilting through all the layers as desired. After that is done, cut all four edges even all the way around and use a loose zig zag stitch and go all the way around the edge of the quilt to baste all the edges together.
Quick and Easy way
to Bind a Quilt
2. Cut your binding strips 2 ½” from selvage to selvage edge. Cut enough strips to go around the whole quilt plus a few extra feet. To sew these edges together, lay all the strips in your lap right side up. Lay the first strip down on the bed of the machine. Take the next strip and lay it right side down on the other strip at right angles with selvage edges overlapping.
(See photo)
(See photo)
3. Sew a diagonal line from the left side of the top corner to the right side of the bottom corner. (See photo)
7. Press the strip in half lengthwise, pressing the seams open as you go.
5. Take the last strip sewn (the one on top) and flip it over and lay it on the bed of the machine. Take the next strip in your lap and place it at right angles and right side down to the strip that is lying on the bed of the machine.
6. Repeat step 3, 4, and 5 until all strips are sewn together along the bias.
6. Repeat step 3, 4, and 5 until all strips are sewn together along the bias.
4. Cut off selvage edges and trim seam to about ¼”.
8. With the back side of the quilt facing up, lay the raw edges of the binding along one side of the quilt and start
9. Sew with a ¼” seam to the first corner.
10. To turn the corner, stop ¼” from the end of the corner (leaving ¼” from the edge not sewn).
11. Lift the presser foot and take the quilt away from the machine. Turn the corner of the quilt under the machine.
12. Flip the binding up and away from you. Then fold the binding down even over the edge of the quilt with all raw edges even down the next side of the quilt. There will be a fold in the top edge of the binding. This will form a perfect miter at the corner of the quilt on the wrong side.
13. Repeat steps 9, 10, 11, and 12. STOP sewing about 12 to 15 inches from the beginning of the binding. This will give you enough room to make a perfect bias joining of these 2 seams.
14. Lay the 2 pieces of binding on the edge of the quilt overlapping one over another.
15. Cut the piece of binding laying over the edge of the first piece of binding leaving exactly 2 ½ inches overlapping. (This method works no matter what size binding you cut. If you cut the binding 3 inches wide, then you overlap the edges 3 inches, etc.)
16. Pick up these two pieces and place right sides together to line up the edges.
17. Shift the top layer 45 degrees or at right angles to each other. Pin down the bias edge from the left top corner to the right bottom corner and sew this seam, taking out the pins as you go. Check to see that it was sewn right.
19. Pull the bias straight and it should line up exactly with the remaining edge of the quilt with
raw edges even.
raw edges even.
20. Sew this remaining binding to the edge of the quilt.
21. Using the tip of the iron, press from the back of the quilt, pressing the binding up.
22. Turn the quilt to the front and press the binding down over the edge of the front of the quilt.
23. Miter the corners of the quilt by pressing the folded edge of the binding down over the previous seam of the binding. Fold the right side of the quilt over the corner and into the corner and then fold the top side over mitering the corners.
24. Press with the tip of the iron and pin
25. Pin all edges of the quilt down and stitch the binding down from the right side of the quilt with a decorative stitch.
26. I use the universal stitch on my sewing machine which looks like a serpentine stitch. The settings on my machine are width of 4 and length of about 2.
27. I start in a corner and when I get to the corners, I just pivot and turn the quilt.
28. Do your sewing on a large enough table to accommodate the whole quilt so that none of the quilt falls off the edges of the table and makes a jerky stitch.
29. This method works on all kinds of quilts and is a fast, easy way to git er done!
18. Trim the seam to ¼” and finger press open.
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