Binding by Machine

I thought I'd make a quick mention with pictures about how I go about binding quilts by machine.  Well, mostly by machine.

We'll use the Friendship Star Baby Quilt as the example, because it was my most recent finish.  Oh, and guess what?  It got 15 minutes of Facebook Fame thanks to Aurifil!

 I machine bind for a couple of different reasons.  Charity quilts, Quilts that must be done NOW, or quilts that I don't feel the binding matters so much.  If it is a MAJOR quilt, or one for a show, I would probably not machine bind it.  Mostly because I'm not perfect at it - not because it isn't necessarily 'good enough'.


 O.K.  I typically do a 2" wide straight grain binding.  I'm not going to tell you how to do this unless you ask.

 When doing all the binding by machine, the binding has to be sewn to the BACK SIDE of the quilt first.  In the above picture the binding has been sewed onto the BACK, and then IRONED out.  I find this makes it easier to turn. (This is true for hand binding as well)

A close up - stitched then ironed.

 Now this is where I say MOSTLY by machine.  I hand stitch the corners.  I find that I am very unhappy with my miters if I try to do them only by machine.  Hand stitching the corners gives me so much more control.  You don't have to go far to each side of the miter, and really you could take large stitches, it will get sewn back over by the machine.

 I don't use pins or clips when I turn my binding over.  If you want to, you go right ahead. 

 I simply fold over the binding, and working a few inches at a time, hold it with my fingers and stitch.

 (its really hard to take close-up, left handed pictures of oneself while sewing)

 Stitch close to the edge of the binding all the way around your quilt.

 I typically use a thread on top to match the binding and on the bottom to match the backing.  When things are good, they look like the above stitching.

 Sometimes I miss.  This is not enough to bother me, or motivate me to rip and restitch.

That is my story of machine binding.  If you have any questions either leave me a comment, or send me an email and I'll see if I can answer them.

Happy Weekend Everyone!