What Are Your Techniques For A Perfect Binding?
02-04-2014, 09:12 AM
#22
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: West Texas
Posts: 1,129
I rarely have perfect binding - even on my quilts I enter in shows and I've been awarded a couple of ribbons.
I've gotten to the point on baby/crib/lap/utility quilts I machine bind (I personally feel its a stronger stitch).
On the one's I plan to enter, I always hand stitch the back side.
In my quilting world, it's just another part of the process there's always room for improvement on!
I've gotten to the point on baby/crib/lap/utility quilts I machine bind (I personally feel its a stronger stitch).
On the one's I plan to enter, I always hand stitch the back side.
In my quilting world, it's just another part of the process there's always room for improvement on!
02-04-2014, 01:42 PM
#23
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lowell, MA
Posts: 14,083
I use a 2.5" binding, which I iron in half, then miter the WOF together, as I like the slightly larger binding. Jenny Doan on MSQC has an excellent tutorial on binding, both with sewing the binding on the front, then hand stitching it on the back to sewing the binding on the back, then bringing it around to the front and machine stitching.
02-04-2014, 02:02 PM
#24
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: PA
Posts: 10,703
1st I cut 2.25" binding ~ miter all your seams including connecting the section together
2nd Make sure you flip up and fold down that it is absolutely perfect.
3rd I leave just the width of a pin excess of the fold down on the top edge of the quilt.
4th Make sure your quilt is SQUARE at the corner. NO wonky borders.
5th Make sure you leave enough of your quilt edges to make the binding full and not sagging
6th Sorry to say this, but HAND stitch your binding to the back. it looks much more professional.
GOOD LUCK. Hope I didn't forget anything. After 2 decades, it becomes automatic !!!
2nd Make sure you flip up and fold down that it is absolutely perfect.
3rd I leave just the width of a pin excess of the fold down on the top edge of the quilt.
4th Make sure your quilt is SQUARE at the corner. NO wonky borders.
5th Make sure you leave enough of your quilt edges to make the binding full and not sagging
6th Sorry to say this, but HAND stitch your binding to the back. it looks much more professional.
GOOD LUCK. Hope I didn't forget anything. After 2 decades, it becomes automatic !!!
peace
02-04-2014, 04:40 PM
#26
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,688
My notes from a lecture by an NQA certified judge on what judges look for include these points on binding:
Binding (more quilts are ruined by binding than anything else)
<O
Are binding edges straight?Is the binding width in proportion to the size of the quilt?
Does the batting fill the binding to the edge? (this remains a key factor)
If the binding is hand stitched, does the thread match the binding?
Are hand stitches tiny, tight and invisible?
Are all corners square or smoothly rounded?
Are miters and joins stitched both front and back? (this is a critical point, too. Miters come apart over time if not stitched closed and that is why it is preferred)
I square up, preliminary trim, and mark the binding edge line on the sandwich, but to make sure the binding is full, I don't do a final trim of the batting and backing until after the binding is machine stitched on the quilt top.
Using the stitching line as a guide, I trim the batting/backing to the width I want the binding to be. The thickness of the batting adds just enough 'extra' to guarantee fullness and using the stitching line as a guide guarantees an even binding edge and equal front and back width. This process works no matter what binding width you use because all you are adjusting is what's going inside, nothing else.
02-04-2014, 04:41 PM
#27
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Western North Carolina
Posts: 2,916
I used the Sharon Schamber method on my last quilt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2hWQ5-ZccE and I ADORE this method. it takes a lot longer than it usually does (for me) and it's slightly messy, but I couldn't stop staring at the 'perfection' of the binding. I normally just cut a three inch binding strip and machine stitch the binding on. There's always a flap of extra binding, but on utility quilts, this doesn't bother me at all. I will still do this, as it's quick and painless (can bind a queen size in less than an hour... yes please), but for the 'important' quilts Sharon's method is the one I'll use.
02-05-2014, 02:25 AM
#29
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Mechanicsville, IA
Posts: 1,497
I have found using silk thread works well when hand stitching binding. Invisifil is a brand of polyester 100 wt thread that also works well. If silk is strong enough to last in Kimonos for 100's of years it's strong enough to bind with.
I also would like more explanation of #3.
Finally when stitching corners to front of quilt make sure folded edges and raw edges line up perfectly then I drop the feed dogs to get a smooth slide under the presser foot and all my careful work doesn't get messed up.
I also would like more explanation of #3.
Finally when stitching corners to front of quilt make sure folded edges and raw edges line up perfectly then I drop the feed dogs to get a smooth slide under the presser foot and all my careful work doesn't get messed up.
02-05-2014, 03:18 PM
#30
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
#3. You know when you fold the binding at the corner to make the miter? I believe she means that instead of placing the fold *exactly* on the cut edge of the quilt, you place the fold just a pin's width beyond the cut edge.
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