GingerK

QuiltE if you want the flange strip on the front and hand stitch to the back, I think you would need about a 5/8 inch flange colour strip and whatever width you need to make up your regular binding width (plus 1/2inch?? not sure about that part) Time to pull out some scraps and play around.

QuiltE

Exactly what I have been thinking ... I need to do some play, to "invent" ...
... but that's never as much fun as going for the real thing!

Some fancy mug rugs will probably be made as prototypes!

FWLover

I machine stitch to the front and hand stitch to the back and have gotten complimentary comments from judges on my binding. Here are some hints. 1) Make sure Quilt corners are square before stitching binding to the front. 2) There should be the same amount of binding on the front and back. When planning to use a 1/4” seam I cut my binding 2 1/4” wide instead of 2 1/2”. 3) If my fabrics and batting are thinner. I will leave an extra 1/8 to 1/4 of batting extending beyond the quilt edge. Judges want the binding to be “full” and I am told a full binding will last longer. 4) I use the metal hair type clips to turn hold the binding for stitching. I have more than enough clips to hold one side of a king size quilt. Starting away from a corner, have the back side of the quilt toward you. I like to do everything from here on while sitting in recliner. Bring the binding to the back and clip in place every 8” working clockwise. The fold of binding should just cover the stitching line. If you have left extra and it is too difficult to get it all to fit you may need to trim a little. The miter on the back of the quilt should fold the opposite of the front. Trim a little at a time on the diagonal at the corner until it all lays nicely. Cut too much and you could have a problem. I like to put a clip diagonally over the corner to hold it in place until I am ready to stitch. 5) To hand sew I like to use silk thread as it does not tangle as easily and a short 1” needle. I always use a thimble (Grandma made me learn that way.) Use a quilters knot for end of the thread. I usually go around the needle 10 times. To keep the thread from pulling thru the needle you can use this same knot on short end of the thread but only go around needle 2 times. 6) Place the bulk of the quilt away from you and the binding edge close to you. If you are right handed stitch around the binding clockwise. 7) I like to take very small 1/8” ladder stitches you may prefer yours longer. Anchor your knot in the selvage and bring your thread up just outside the stitching line. I brush the thread over the quilt so I can tell where the thread came out of the fabric, using my left thumb I hold the binding over the edge with the fold just past the stitching line. Then insert the needle into the fold of the binding exactly where the thread you brushed up onto the quilt lies. Slide the needle in for your desired stitch length. Pull up thread. Then brush the thread towards the binding putting it under your left thumb. This will indicate exactly where needle should enter the back of the quilt. Slide it under backing the same distance you did in the binding. 8) When you come to the corners after securing edge use the same method to stitch up the diagonal to the point, slide needle to the front, stitch down the front diagonal and then press needle thru the quilt to the edge of the binding on back and continue. MY SECRET WEAPON: I’m getting old and eyes aren’t what they used to be...CraftOptics binocular glasses with light allow me to keep the quality of my hand stitching high. To me this method, a recliner and Netflix videos are the most perfect and relaxing ways to finish a quilt.

Moira in N.E. England

I may be wrong but I think the only method not mentioned so far is using the backing fabric as the binding. If the backing looks ok on the front I use this method as it does not involve having to cut or attach a binding strip.

This is the way I like to do it -

https://newquilters.com/how-to-bind-...acking-fabric/

I don’t use glue - but that’s just a personal preference.

I once reversed this method. The quilt had a wide border - too wide for my liking - so rather than cut some off I used the excess it as the binding.

ckcowl

I machine stitch to the front, fold over and hand stitch to the back., I've never been happy with the way it looks to machine stitch both sides. For me doing that turns a beautifully made quilt into something from a store.

seazteddy

I do something similar, but if it not a special quilt I usually use zig zag, it looks cute.

molly oldham

That is a beautiful quilt!!!!

Karamarie

I use 2 fabrics to do my binding- the front binding goes with the front color, theme, etc. and the back is a piece from the backing fabric. I sew the binding to the front and hand stitch to the back. It's a couple of extra steps to do this way but I like the finish.

grann of 6

Too many years spent apparel sewing and hand sewing hems on little girls dresses, so my feeling is "Sewing machines were created for a reason, so we should use them." And my hands just can't do all that hand sewing so I machine sew to the back and machine sew to the front. I have done it enough that I have it down to a science and can do a very nice corner miter and nice miter to connect the 2 ends. I want all my quilts to withstand the test of time so the machine handles whatever I throw at it. I haven't heard a complaint yet when I have gifted a quilt with a machine sewn binding.

Watson

Quilts that are going to be used/washed a lot get machine bound by sewing to the back and then bringing the 2 1/4" binding around to the front and sewing it down. It really is a learned skill and once you've got it, it is a real time saver and looks nice.

Quilts that are for gifts or shows, I hand sew on the back.

I'll have to try the flange binding again... The one time I tried it the corners came out badly.

Watson