Machine Binding Tutorial

Hello! I realized recently that I have never posted a binding tutorial here for how I machine bind my quilts. I'm not sure exactly where I learned this technique, I suspect it's a blend of several picked up over the years.  It's fast and secure and I'm very happy with how it looks finished.

Assemble your binding. I use 2.5" strips for my binding. If you're feeling motivated you can join them with 45 degree angles so that the seams make less bulk, but it works fine with straight seams, too. I recommend using a fairly small stitch length to make these stronger (On my machine I use 1.8) Assemble a long strip and trim seam allowances to 0.25"

Optionally attach a label that will be caught under the binding. This is how I attach CiL labels. Align it with one corner of the quilt and stitch down the two sides that won't end up under the binding. 

Yes, the bobbin thread will show on the front. I look for a place to attach it where the bobbin thread will blend in well with the fabric. 

You can fold the binding in half and press with an iron if you like, but with practice I find that it doesn't really save me any time. I fold it and align the edges as I go.  

Sew the binding to the back of the quilt first. Start in the middle of one of the straight edges of the quilt, leaving about a 5" tail free.  None of these stitches will end up showing, so use whatever color thread you need to use up. 

Sew the binding with both raw edges flush to the edge of the quilt using a fat 0.25" seam allowance. I adjust my needle position so I can use the edge of my presser foot as a guide. As you reach the seams where the binding is joined, finger press them open. 

At this point you may need to stop to reposition your cat to give you more room to work. 

When you reach a corner sew until the needle is 0.25" from the corner. With the needle in the down position rotate the quilt 90 degrees. If you are using your presser foot as a guide, then when you have sewn to the right spot it will align with the edge of the quilt. 

Back stitch off the quilt, creating an L shaped line of stitching. 

Fold the binding straight up, creating a diagonal fold. Note that the binding should line up with the edge of the quilt. 

Next, fold the binding straight down, covering up the diagonal fold you made before. The crease should be even with the edge of the quilt. 

Start stitching about 0.5" from the corner and back stitch to 0.25". You should be able to feel the hidden diagonal fold with your fingers, you want to go just up to it, but not stich through it.  

This is how your corner should looks if done correctly. Then, continue stitching down the side as before. 

When you get back around to where you started, stop about 5" from the end of the tail you left before. Straighten out and align both loose edges of the binding, overlapping them.

Trim to a 0.5" overlap.

Shorten your stitch length and sew the edges of the binding together.  Finger press the seam open and stitch down the last 10" of binding. 

If you end up with a little fabric shifting in your binding and need to make a tuck don't worry.  

Nine times out of ten the tuck is only in the inside layer of the binding and won't show up on the finished side. 

Moving onto the top. Switch your top thread to one that matches your binding color and optionally switch your bobbin to a color that matches your backing fabric. I usually start a few inches from a corner. Once you've locked in your beginning stitches, I recommend lengthening your stitch length so it will look more even and a better finish (I use 2.4 or 2.6 on my machine).

Working about 6" at a time, use your fingers to make sure the top is well tucked in under the binding. Fold the binding around and over, firmly but not tightly. You want no un-stuffed binding where the edge of the quilt doesn't fill up the binding. But you also don't want to pull or roll any of the binding that belongs on the back around to the front. 

When you have things neat, hold it with your hands while top stitching just at the edge of the binding crease. When you reach the end of the section you had folded nicely, pause with the needle down and fix the next section. You may need to slow your stitch speed until you get the hang of it.

With practice you can get a nice straight line and consistent binding width. I'm confident that the edge of the quilt is covered by more than 0.25" seam allowance of binding on both the front and back and will hold up to years of use.

Pause a couple inches away from the corner and fold up the lower binding.

Use something like a seam ripper or a turner to press a crease to the right, all the way into the corner of the binding you're just about to sew down.

Fold the binding on the right over the lower, creating a nice crisp 45 degree corner. Move forward slowly and sew the corner down.

I will often back stitch just one or two stitches in each direction to reinforce the corner. 

Here's a view from the back. 

And that's it! Just keep sewing until you get back to where you started. Here's how the label turns out. 

You can see the bobbin thread from top-stitching down the binding ends up about a sixteenth of a inch away from the binding on the back.  Even on this relatively dark backing I think the white thread doesn't look bad as long as it's consistent. I find that most people's eye considers white a bit of a background color anyway and will overlook it. Of course you could switch your bobbin thread to a matching color if you have one spun up.

I know some people can stitch in the ditch of their binding and catch the other side, but I'm just not consistent enough for that.

Here's a view of another corner from the front. The quilt police wouldn't approve, but I think it's nice enough for anyone else. I hope this tutorial helps some of you who haven't been brave enough to try machine binding or haven't found a technique you prefer! 

  Linking to Finished or Not Friday

Assembling Foundation Pieced Batting

I know a lot of people have been curious about how the Jan/Feb string blocks that are foundation pieced onto batting will be put together.  I took advantage of the snow days to start putting some together so you can see.

I sorted out red and orange blocks for my first quilt.  Step one is to put right sides together and sew with a fat quarter inch seam through all the layers.

Step 2 is to finish the seam. I've done this before by finger pressing the seams open and stitching over them with a triple zigzag (visible in close up photos on this post).  

I decided this time to push the seam allowance to one side and top stitch it down about 1/8th inch from the seam.

And basically that's it. I like to assemble mine in columns and then join those into rows.  Make sure to push your seam allowances in different directions so they will nest. 

It does take longer to basically sew every seam twice, but it's worth it because of how easy the quilting is!

I use glue basting to put my quilt sandwiches together.  (More details in this post).  Since there isn't really going to be much quilting, just enough to tack the backing onto the top, the glue can be sparse.

I FMQ'ed 6 wavy lines across the quilt, through the center of each row. 

Trim, bind, and ta-da! All done.  I hope this helps answer some questions for you, feel free to ask in the comments if you have any others :)

Like many of you, we've had tons of snow and cold weather. I'm told we're breaking 100 year records. Fortunately we have had power and water throughout, knock on wood. Sundae and Fudge were very curious about the snow, I think the bright sunny day confused them into thinking it would be nice to go outside. They dash out the door and straight down the steps before realizing the problem...

Nope, nope, nope.

Covered in Love is a 501(c)(3) charity that donates quilts to patients dying in the hospital, over 700 so far! The Jan/Feb drive is going on now.  Check out the main post HERE if you want to get involved. 

Linking to  Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finished or Not Friday

String Scrap Buster {Tutorial}

(Edited to add: See the finished quilts here)

Seems like I mostly only make Finish posts these days, but I have something different for once!  Every January I get the bug to clean out my scraps, organize them and make something.  My strings (long narrow strips) I cut down to either 2.5" or 1.5" wide.  You can look back at previous projects at this link (this post will appear on top; scroll down past it.)  This design was inspired by a top that Christine from FL sent in.  The way I made it produces 2 blocks, which can yield 2 different quilts.

I started off this this loooooong strip of scraps 4" wide.

And sewed white/low volume 1.5" strips to both sides.

As I added strips to the sides I carefully alternated directions to avoid warping and ironed after each addition.

Next I started adding 2.5" strips to the sides.

I decided to add (3) 2.5" strips to each side because that made the final panel have a total width of 18".

My target width was 18" because that was just enough to cut 12.5" blocks on point.

The 12.5" blocks with the "railroad tracks" down the middle are the primary block and will make the design you see at the top of the page.  I had enough to make a 48"x60" top, which I'll add borders to.  You do have to be very careful because these are nothing but 200% bias edges.  You have to be very careful and mindful of that when handling and sewing them.

The secondary blocks are triangular and you get 2 per primary block.  These can be put together in 2 ways, either 2 of them back to back or 4 of them point to point. 

The design below is made from the first option, combining 2 triangles into one block.  You can see it's basically the inverse of the primary block, with the big strips down the middle instead of the narrow ones.

This (below) is the design you get from combining 4 triangles into one block. It make the same design but the strips appear horizontal and vertical instead of diagonal. The other big advantage of this one is that it sews up the bias edges inside the block.

I decided to go for the second option and had enough to make a top 54" square with a block leftover. I'll be adding more borders to it as well.

If you make anything with this tutorial please send me a picture! Obviously I'm not the first person to come up with this idea, I googled and found this blogger who did the same thing making one block at a time instead of a big panel.  I did come up with this technique on my own though, and I hope some of you will enjoy it and find it helpful!