ManiacQuilter2

I always cut my binding 2.25" which is the standard when hand sewing to the back. 2.5" is usually what is used when you machine the binding down on the front. You might also look at Jenny of MSQC newer binding video. It has you stop a 1/4" of an inch from the edge and at a 45 degree angle, sew to the corner. You will get much neater corners. As Patrick Lose showed twice on F&P Love of Quilting TV show, I nip off just a bit of the dog ear which is excess bulk. Also make sure your fold on the back is the opposite of the front. It will even out the bulk of the corner. Judges do like to focus in on your binding. Here is a photo and if you look carefully, you will see the fold direction is different from the front on the back. This binding I cut at 1.75" double fold.

Pagzz

I haven't seen any shifting or problem and the quilt has been washed numerous times.

orangeroom

Guess I'm just old school. I will still cut my binding 2.5"... I'm also not entering my quilts to be judged at this time.

cat23sas

Personally, I like my binding to be a little wider...

I cut mine to 3" and love that look.

Guess a "judge" would not like my choices...LOL

bearisgray

I do fold my bindings in half - and then baste the raw edges together. I DO NOT press the bindings in half - because as the binding is folded over and around the edge of the quilt - the folded edge is a couple of threads over from the pressed half-mark and then it becomes more unwieldy to work with.

I like a slightly wider binding - I cut mine 2-7/8 inches - (gasp!!!!!!) This finishes to about 7/16 of an inch.

Anyway - I always do a bit of practice attaching (maybe about six to eight inches of stitching) with the longest stitch setting to get my width setting right. Sometimes it takes several tries to get it where it I want it to be.

I do prefer the look of handsewn on the back - but this is to illustrate the look of a wider binding.

thimblebug6000

We all have our favourite method for sure. I cut my binding at 2½ "; press it wrong sides together and stitch it to the front of the quilt sandwich ¼" away from the edge; then I trim away the backing and batting leaving them about an 1/8" wider than the top. This fills in the binding nicely for me and doesn't interfere with a nice mitered corner.

Snooze2978

I too used to make my binding 2.5 but it left a little space and I didn't care for that. So I started cutting them to 2.25 and it still left just a little space so now I sew it on at 3/8 instead of 1/4. Seems to fit just right for me now.

I normally cut my binding at the time I start putting my last border on so I know I have it when I need it. Some of my UFO's had the old size of 2.5 for the binding but I didn't cut it down to 2.25 as it was just too much trouble for me at the time.

mamagrande

When I trim the quilt I leave about 1/4" of backing and batting so when i attach the binding there is enough filling for the binding, that makes it quite full.

cat23sas

Also...I will never machine sew a binding back again. Looks sooooo much nicer hand sewn

Genden

I like this idea. I have trimmed my quilt before sewing on the binding in the past. This reminded me that I have read to sew on the binding, then trim. Leaving a wider batting and backing than the top should help the finished binding to be fuller. I shall try this. Everyone has such helpful ideas. Thanks