I tried a new binding technique this time. You can read about it here.
After trimming down to a scant 1/4 inch, I turn the binding over, and sew down with a 6 mm basting stitch, using the same color thread, 1/8 inch from the edge. This gives you a little lip to work with.
After basting, I can wash and start using my quilt. Then, when I have a road trip, or am watching a movie at home with the family (yea, I had to get a tiny flashlight cuz the kids like ALL THE LIGHTS OFF), I work on hand stitching the back down.
I like to take out the basting stitches every few feet. It gives me that satisfying feeling :)
I'm interested in your thoughts on "hand sewing the binding down". Leave a comment sharing your ideas.
Hi Linda! I do my binding by machine, I sew it to the back, then bring it around to the front and then sew it down with a decorative stitch. I guess I do it the cheater way!
ReplyDeleteI always hand sew binding down...even on little things like runners and mug rugs! Just the way I was taught!
ReplyDeleteI always hand sew the binding to the back, mainly because I have not been able to machine stitch the binding well enough. I can't seem to line up the stitching on the backside so that it only stitches on the binding and not the quilt itself (guess I am picky, picky that way). I'm taking a binding class in May at a quilting conference and looking forward to learning the tricks so I can eliminate hand sewn bindings because I think the machine sewn bindings are more durable.
ReplyDeleteInteresting way to do it, I always hand sew the binding down on everything no matter how big or small, looks neater I think.
ReplyDeleteHelen
I always hand sew the binding on my quilts. If I thought I could make the machine stitched binding look nice, I would do that.
ReplyDeleteHi! I hopped over from Amy Ellis's Challenge Linky party...love your finish! I always hand sew the binding to the back. I tried machine stitching it once and didn't do too well. LOL
ReplyDeleteI always hand stitched to the back, however, lately most of my quilts are machine bound. I find that it's a little more able to stand up to being washed multiple times for kids quilts. If it matters to me, I will still hand stitch the binding down.
ReplyDeleteI always try to hand sew. The few times I have machine stitched, I just didn't like it. However, I saw an adorable blanket stitched binding today, and thought that would be doable. I do not like the zig-zag rage right now...but I think it is all personal opinion!
ReplyDeleteWill always hand sew my binding because I've never been able to perfect sewing it on by machine. I like the hand sewn look much better but that is just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI used to machine stitch it to the front and then hand sew the back but came across a great 'machine binding' tutorial on Red Pepper Quilts. It was tricky for the first 5 quilts but now I am able to sew in the binding ditch at the front without missing a section on the back. Not convinced it is faster yet. I think hand stitching is a lovely way to watch a lot of ABC and BBC shows though.
ReplyDeleteI've done a combo of both machine and hand stitching the binding, but I think I like hand stitching it the best, very nice end to the quilt, don't you think! Beautiful quilt BTW!
ReplyDeleteI have done both. It depends on the end-user. If I know someone is going to wash/dry the quilt often, I machine sew the binding. If I know it is going to be a treasured gift and treated as such, definitely hand stitching the binding is a must.
ReplyDeleteI almost always hand-sew my binding to the back, since my attempts at machine sewing have turned out poorly every time. The basting is a great tip, though, especially for take-along projects!
ReplyDeleteNormally I hand sew mine, but I just tried the zig zag tutorial from Stitched in Color and I loved it. SO much quicker and sturdier!
ReplyDeleteI didn't make so many quilts yet but I sew them always by hand. But I love to make my whole quilts by hand.
ReplyDeleteI always hand sew my binding on, I think it looks nicer. I saw a zigzag method for machine stitching it and I thought it looked awful!
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