hutch farm

Is it really sloppy craftmanship to have a gap between the edge of your quilt and the top of the binding strip? It called for a 4 inch binding strip. I sewed it onto the front of my quilt but when I flip it over to sew the back down by hand, there is a space or gap between the binding. Most of the time my binding strips are tight against the seam but in this case there is a gap between the top of the strip and the seam. Did I mess up or what? Thanks for your help. Also, will the binding pucker if there is nothing in the top part of it? Make sense?

MadQuilter

can you post a picture? In reality, anything that has a gap where there shouldn't be a gap is probably worth the frog move (rip it, rip it) Particularly the binding which gets handled a lot, you don't want things to fall apart on you.

Leota

I would think it may make a hump because if the binding is tight against the quilt edge everywhere else...
I would re-pin or how ever you attached the binding to make sure the binding is tight all the way around.

hutch farm

Thank you! I think I will just make it tight, even though it won't be the same on both sides. I read a comment that someone wrote, asking if the binding has to be the same on both sides. In my case, the binding will be a little wider on the back of the quilt, but at least the front will be tight without the gap. Thanks for your help.

alikat110

Four inches is a large binding strip!

Holice

should the 4" have been folded for a double binding.

guess i'm a little dumb tonight, but i don't understand what you mean by gap. did the binding not fit. was it too short or too long for the quilt. if too short then should add some to it, it too long the cut some off. i'm real hazy about what you are describing.

momcpo

Wow, 4 inches? I usually use 2 1/2". Maybe a misprint...

featherweight

I use either a 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 inch binding folded and the sewn on. 4 inches sounds a little wide to me.

jayelee

4 inches is too wide I usually use two and a half and do a french fold binding With four inches you would need batting in it too give it some heft

AFQSinc

I had the same problem with a binding that I did not too long ago. I wanted the binding to look wider on the quilt so I made the strips 3 inches. The problem is in the trimming of the quilt. If you have a wider binding strip then you have to compensate with how much of a batting border you leave on the quilt after quilting. That bit of batting border is what fills your binding. I hope that makes sense.

Personally, I would think about redoing the binding in a narrower width ( 2 1/2 or so) and then you won't have the gap. The next time you want a wider binding trim the quilt accordingly.

ETA: I think that you may have wrinkling or puckering once you wash the quilt if the binding is not filled. This is the reason that I suggest you remove it and redo it. The other option would be to remove the binding and then insert a strip of batting into the binding to fill it and then restitch it down. I think I may have read a post on this but I can't remember if it was on this board or another.