Squaring up before adding the binding strip
01-11-2015, 09:54 AM
#21
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: west central Illinois
Posts: 1,048
You must square the top up before you sandwich it. You then sew the binding on, and by doing it this way you make sure to have batting in the binding, then you cut off the batting and backing to the left of the binding. This is not squaring up the quilt as the top has already been squared up.
01-11-2015, 11:18 AM
#22
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Littlefield, TX, USA
Posts: 1,077
I thought I read somewhere that it's ok to sew your binding strip along the edge of your quilt before you square it up. Am I way off base with that? In otherwords, can I just leave my quilt sandwich bigger around the edges (not square it up), sew on the binding and then trim? Is there any advantage to this? Thanks!!
01-11-2015, 07:14 PM
#25
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
Posts: 7,850
I am self taught and I am thankful for this thread. I have always trimmed of my extra batting and backing before I sew the binding on. I will now try the other way. When I do cut the extra off I have been leaving about 1/8 of an inch more because it seams to fill the binding better. My binding is always 2 and 1/2 folded in half and pressed. I square up my blocks as I go or before I sew them together. I would square up the entire quilt if it needed to be.
01-11-2015, 07:36 PM
#26
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 2,644
Interestingly, the second thread on this topic today. Here's my perspective on squaring quilt tops. I square up each element of a block as I go along. Square up each block as it's completed. Even when chain sewing, I still press/square up at each step. It's unlikely, at that point, that your top will not be square. When measuring for borders, I measure the center length and width. Ease or stretch as needed. My quilts are certainly square enough after this (to within a 1/8" measurement and who is going to notice that!) After sandwiching, I will trim off major excess of backing/batting to within about 4" of the quilt top. I hand quilt so I'm sure my distortion is less than those that machine quilt so that may be a factor. Once the quilting is finished, I sew on my binding strip to the front lining up raw binding edge to the edge of the top. Sew with 1/4" seam. I then trim the excess backing/batting to 1/2" from biding seam. I have never cut off my binding doing this. I then proceed to hand sew my binding to the back of the quilt.
01-11-2015, 08:34 PM
#28
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Clovis California
Posts: 2,259
Hi
I have been doing some searches on the internet for the creative grid rulers and realized where your original question might have come from. If I am being overly simplistic here, I apologize; I just don’t know what your skill level is.
First, before any batting or backing is added to your pieced quilt top you will square your pieced quilt top. Here is the advantage of making sure each block you make is square. If you have sewn accurate 1/4 seams, each block should be pretty square and if it’s not, it gives you a chance to correct the problem before you get too wonky of a quilt top.
Once your quilt top is square, you measure your backing and batting to be at least 3 inches wider on all sides of your quilt top. Example: If your quilt top is 84 x 90 inches, you would cut your batting and backing at 90 x 96 inches. Center your quilt top leaving a 3 inch margin around your quilt top. After you have centered and basted you layers together your quilting takes place. Having that extra margin around the quilt top allows for any minor movement or possible stretching that might occur during quilting. If you are making small quilts you can reduce the width of the margin around the quilt top proportioned to the size of the quilt.
Here where I think you might have gotten confused. Once all the quilting is done, you can measure 1/4 of an inch away from the edge of your quilt top onto the batting and backing and trim the rest of it away. However, if you are going to do this, you need to do the trimming before you sew on your binding so don’t accidently cut you binding. Once trimmed, you will line up the raw edge of your binding with the raw edge of your quilt top and sew a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Not everyone does it this way. This way is suggest so the binding is filled out and supposedly wears better over the life of the quilt. Most people just trim the batting and backing off right next to the edge of the quilt top, then bind.
Here are the links to a couple of video which I think will help you make sense of what I just wrote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnARfOO5otE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgaXP6kd8bc
I have been doing some searches on the internet for the creative grid rulers and realized where your original question might have come from. If I am being overly simplistic here, I apologize; I just don’t know what your skill level is.
First, before any batting or backing is added to your pieced quilt top you will square your pieced quilt top. Here is the advantage of making sure each block you make is square. If you have sewn accurate 1/4 seams, each block should be pretty square and if it’s not, it gives you a chance to correct the problem before you get too wonky of a quilt top.
Once your quilt top is square, you measure your backing and batting to be at least 3 inches wider on all sides of your quilt top. Example: If your quilt top is 84 x 90 inches, you would cut your batting and backing at 90 x 96 inches. Center your quilt top leaving a 3 inch margin around your quilt top. After you have centered and basted you layers together your quilting takes place. Having that extra margin around the quilt top allows for any minor movement or possible stretching that might occur during quilting. If you are making small quilts you can reduce the width of the margin around the quilt top proportioned to the size of the quilt.
Here where I think you might have gotten confused. Once all the quilting is done, you can measure 1/4 of an inch away from the edge of your quilt top onto the batting and backing and trim the rest of it away. However, if you are going to do this, you need to do the trimming before you sew on your binding so don’t accidently cut you binding. Once trimmed, you will line up the raw edge of your binding with the raw edge of your quilt top and sew a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Not everyone does it this way. This way is suggest so the binding is filled out and supposedly wears better over the life of the quilt. Most people just trim the batting and backing off right next to the edge of the quilt top, then bind.
Here are the links to a couple of video which I think will help you make sense of what I just wrote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnARfOO5otE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgaXP6kd8bc
01-11-2015, 08:56 PM
#29
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Clovis California
Posts: 2,259
Here is one for hand binding, but the preparation is the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k63ZGAS2Xo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k63ZGAS2Xo
01-12-2015, 01:05 AM
#30
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: North-Central Indiana
Posts: 4,909
Hi
I have been doing some searches on the internet for the creative grid rulers and realized where your original question might have come from. If I am being overly simplistic here, I apologize; I just don’t know what your skill level is.
First, before any batting or backing is added to your pieced quilt top you will square your pieced quilt top. Here is the advantage of making sure each block you make is square. If you have sewn accurate 1/4 seams, each block should be pretty square and if it’s not, it gives you a chance to correct the problem before you get too wonky of a quilt top.
Once your quilt top is square, you measure your backing and batting to be at least 3 inches wider on all sides of your quilt top. Example: If your quilt top is 84 x 90 inches, you would cut your batting and backing at 90 x 96 inches. Center your quilt top leaving a 3 inch margin around your quilt top. After you have centered and basted you layers together your quilting takes place. Having that extra margin around the quilt top allows for any minor movement or possible stretching that might occur during quilting. If you are making small quilts you can reduce the width of the margin around the quilt top proportioned to the size of the quilt.
Here where I think you might have gotten confused. Once all the quilting is done, you can measure 1/4 of an inch away from the edge of your quilt top onto the batting and backing and trim the rest of it away. However, if you are going to do this, you need to do the trimming before you sew on your binding so don’t accidently cut you binding. Once trimmed, you will line up the raw edge of your binding with the raw edge of your quilt top and sew a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Not everyone does it this way. This way is suggest so the binding is filled out and supposedly wears better over the life of the quilt. Most people just trim the batting and backing off right next to the edge of the quilt top, then bind.
Here are the links to a couple of video which I think will help you make sense of what I just wrote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnARfOO5otE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgaXP6kd8bc
I have been doing some searches on the internet for the creative grid rulers and realized where your original question might have come from. If I am being overly simplistic here, I apologize; I just don’t know what your skill level is.
First, before any batting or backing is added to your pieced quilt top you will square your pieced quilt top. Here is the advantage of making sure each block you make is square. If you have sewn accurate 1/4 seams, each block should be pretty square and if it’s not, it gives you a chance to correct the problem before you get too wonky of a quilt top.
Once your quilt top is square, you measure your backing and batting to be at least 3 inches wider on all sides of your quilt top. Example: If your quilt top is 84 x 90 inches, you would cut your batting and backing at 90 x 96 inches. Center your quilt top leaving a 3 inch margin around your quilt top. After you have centered and basted you layers together your quilting takes place. Having that extra margin around the quilt top allows for any minor movement or possible stretching that might occur during quilting. If you are making small quilts you can reduce the width of the margin around the quilt top proportioned to the size of the quilt.
Here where I think you might have gotten confused. Once all the quilting is done, you can measure 1/4 of an inch away from the edge of your quilt top onto the batting and backing and trim the rest of it away. However, if you are going to do this, you need to do the trimming before you sew on your binding so don’t accidently cut you binding. Once trimmed, you will line up the raw edge of your binding with the raw edge of your quilt top and sew a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Not everyone does it this way. This way is suggest so the binding is filled out and supposedly wears better over the life of the quilt. Most people just trim the batting and backing off right next to the edge of the quilt top, then bind.
Here are the links to a couple of video which I think will help you make sense of what I just wrote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnARfOO5otE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgaXP6kd8bc
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