How to attach binding. When binding a quilt there are lots of ways to attach the binding. Usually it starts with machine sewing the binding around on one side. Then you can finish it with hand-binding or machine stitch the rest.
Part 1: About Binding and How to Make It
Part 2: Attaching the Binding
Part 3: Hand Binding
Part 4: Machine Binding
Here is what you need:
-Quilt
-Binding
-Sewing Machine
-Pins
-Scissors
-Iron
Layout your binding around your quilt. You want to make sure that none of the seams are at a corner. It makes it really bulky and hard to sew. You can pin/clip it in place if you like.
Using a walking foot, start sewing the binding on with a 1/4 inch seam. Leave a 6-12 inch binding ‘tail’ before sewing.
You might want to play around on a practice piece to figure out what settings to use for your machine. You want the binding to wrap around the other side and cover your stitching line.
Sew along the binding and stop 1/4 inch from the edge.
Stop and pivot the quilt 45*. Sew a diagonal line to the edge.
It will look like this, doing this helps with nice sharp corners.
Fold the binding horizontally away from the edge of your quilt.
Fold the binding back over itself, lining it up to the edge of your quilt.
I like to clip/pin the fold in place to hold it while I sew.
Stop sewing around the quilt when you have at least a 12 inch gap from where you started. Do a little backstitching to lock your threads.
Lay the quilt flat and trim the ‘tails’ so there is a 2 1/2 inch overlap of the binding.
Pin the binding together at a 45* angle and pin in place. (Just like when you made the binding)
Sew from corner to corner. I use two pins to hold it in place. This can be a little tricky with the bulk of the quilt.
Trim 1/4 inch from the seam, and press open.
I like to iron my binding. Set the seam and then press the binding away from the quilt.
Make sure to get the corners really well. This makes them super sharp.
Thanks for reading!
~Emily
Next in the series: Hand Binding