meyert

Ok I have been making pot holders with my scrap material. I keep practicing and I do feel like I am making headway, but I have some questions. I am machine binding... 1) I have it figured out how to miter the corners, and the miter is pretty good - -but do you guys sew the miter down? or is it ok not to sew it? 2) I sew the binding onto one side and then fold it over to the other side. I pin it down and stitch in the ditch... and 99% if the time I catch the other side of the binding (yay me) my issue now is that sometime the stitching is too far in.. leaving some fabric to flop around. A little I don't mind, but some areas is more than a little. I am thinking I will hand sew those down. If do hand sew can I leave the machine sewing there or do you think I need to pick it out?

ManiacQuilter2

You might want to watch Patrick Lose demo he did on F&P, He stitches up to 1/4", then he sews off to the corner and cut the thread. Make your folded corner and continue sewing and repeat this process three more times. Then you can open the seam and clip the dog ears that is just extra fabric and your corners will fold more neatly. I saw him on the F&P TV show on PBS. Not sure if there is a U tube video. I have been quilting over 30 years and this, once you got it, helps to get that perfect miter corner and get rid of some of the excess bulk. I sewed 1.75" double folded binding on my Mug Rug, sewing it to the front and hand stitching to the back.

Terri D.

I always stitch the miter closed.

If you decide to hand stitch the binding, I would pick out the machine stitches, particularly if you're giving as a gift.

0tis

I do sew the miters on the corners - just a couple of little stitches or just run through the middle of the corner - I always sew the binding on the front then hand stitch the back - However, with potholders I usually machine bind those - I really don't worry about the threads showing on the back - another tip is to use thread that matches the back of your potholder so if the seams do show - they will blend in better.

Tartan

I don't like how my straight machine stitches are never the same distance on the reverse side. I use a fancy stitch like the feather stitch as it isn't as noticeable if the edge is a little off. I only hand stitch the miters on quilt corners.

meyert

Thanks for your thoughts.. I will investigate Patrick Lose... if he is on Kindle at Amazon its all free now!!

Jeanne S

I do usually put a couple of stitches in the corners so they lay flat and are "sealed". As to your question on correcting the back edges, I would just use an invisible hand stitch to tack down the excess edges and leave the machine stitches in for the strength of the binding. I guess I am a messy cook because I have to wash my pot holders a lot and would worry the binding might come loose if you picked out the machine stitches. I view pot holders as a utility piece and little imperfections like that just do not bother me!