Come Bind with Me (A machine binding tutorial)

I have made over 50 quilts over the past 15 years and I can hardly believe it! I was reflecting on that, and how much my binding skills have improved, as I finished the binding on my Picture Perfect Snap Happy quilt. My bindings still aren't perfect and I know I can see the flaws, but they're so much better and I'm really happy with them. I feel like I've found a good balance of secure and good enough. I choose to machine bind for a couple reasons. First, it's faster. By the time it comes to binding, I want to snuggle with my quilt, and not while I'm hand sewing on the binding. Second, I don't enjoy hand sewing. I have started English Paper Piecing, but that's really it. I loathe appliqué. I tolerate hand binding on mini quilts and really special quilts not meant to be used hard, and only if they don't have minky. And third, machine binding is more secure. My quilts are for loving, and with four girls they get loved. And occasionally used for forts. 

As I thought about it, I realized I've developed my own preferences for binding and that maybe it would help you if you're still figuring out what you like and how to get your binding to place where you're happy with it. If you're looking for show quilt binding tips, this is not it. But if you want to be happy with secure and even machine binding, keep on reading!

First, I figured out years ago that I prefer two inch wide binding strips. I don't make it on the bias unless I have round corners, so straight grain is generally fine. Many tutorials use 2-1/2" wide strips, but I find this too wide. I will make a tutorial on making binding tape later, but for today, know that you need the circumference of your quilt plus 15". Most say 10-15" but I'm more comfortable with at least 15". 

Once you have your binding, you'll need to prepare your quilt. There will have been some shifting, for lack of a better word, during quilting and the edges might not be as straight as they were. I have one quilter who trims the quilt after she quilts it, but I actually prefer it when they don't because I have to trim it again anyway. The most important part here is to make sure you don't have any spots where the batting is uncovered 1/4" or more from the edge. It's okay if there are spots where the top doesn't quite meet the edge, as long as it is within the seam allowance of the binding. Less important, but still something to pay attention to, is to make the quilt as square as possible. This is something I always struggle with, and even when I think I do a great job, the corners won't line up perfectly when I fold it, which is a telltale sign I missed the mark. However, this is honestly less important. The thing with folding is that you have multiple layers so getting it to line up isn't going to really happen anyway, and who really cares how it looks folded up? 

To trim my quilt, I like to lay it out on the floor. I have a spot in my sewing room I usually use, next to the wall, but so I could have better lighting for pictures, I spread it out on my bathroom floor. You want a space with hard flooring and with a long enough space so you can have the full length you are trimming nice and flat. My space isn't wide enough to accommodate a completely flat quilt, and that's okay. I tend to drape the opposite edge on itself while I'm working. As long as you can spread the length you're working on flat, it's okay for the quilt to be rolled or folded on the opposite side. You can do this on a table or counter, but I choose to do it on the floor, for now. Maybe in 10-15 years I'll adjust. 

I use an old 18"x24" mat for trimming. Please note I'm left handed, so my set up may look backwards to you. I start it at the bottom corner and cut a full length on my 24" ruler, and then I shift the mat forward. Make sure to resmooth the quilt as you go so it stays nice and flat and even. I like to work in lengths of about 18-20 inches, so that I can line my ruler up with the previous 4-5 inches or so that I've already cut. 

I also use a seam line within the width of my ruler to try to keep the edge even. If you have a border, this is a really easy seam line to use, but I also use block components often since my quilts don't always have borders. 

Once you reach the corner, you can quickly cut the rest of the edge off, and then rotate the quilt and start with the next side. I rotate the quilt so I can line the bottom of the ruler up with the previously cut edge. This will help with keeping the quilt square, but it does assume that the first edge was cut as square as possible. 

Once you've done all four sides, you're ready to start attaching your binding! You'll want to do this step when you're ready to actually bind. Some quilters will stitch a victory lap around the finished quilt, and that will help prevent any seams from coming unstitched at the edges, but I sometimes end up clipping some of that victory lap during trimming. Just handle it with care. It's not intensely fragile, but something to be aware of. 

Traditionally, binding involves attaching the binding to the front of the quilt first. This is likely just a carryover from hand binding techniques, but it's still the way most recommend you start. I recently bound a minky backed quilt to the back first, and realized I should have been doing it this way all along! So here's a reassurance that you can bind anyway you see fit. I'm sharing my methods that I've liked, but find what works for you. The most important part is that your edges are securely bound. 

You'll want to use a walking foot for binding if you have one. I don't use dual feed for this because I use my walking foot, but you could try dual feed if you prefer it. I use a 1/4" seam allowance when I bind and I find the 1/4" mark on my Bernina walking foot to be pretty great. I like to bind quilts right before I change my needle if it works out, and that's probably wrong, you should probably start with a fresh one, but binding really dulls needles so you'll want to change your needle after binding for sure. 

If you're going to add a label to the binding, now is a great time to get that pinned into place. For this quilt, I added two labels. I usually use a white square folded in half corner to corner for a label with the quilt information like my name, quilt recipient if applicable, pattern designer, longarmer, and date completed. But I also opted for this quilt to add a premade label I got from a friend. I have a bunch of cute ones and I don't always remember to sew them in but I think they're fun. These just need to be caught in the seam allowance so pick your spot and pin it down. 

Pick a side to start binding, and again, I start on the back, and I usually start so I'll hit the corner with the label first. I like to start on a long side if it's not square, and I start about 25 inches from the corner. I do this so I can bind most of the first side, and when I turn the final corner, I'm really close to being done. It's a mental trick. You also need to leave enough room so you can sew the two ends together and not be too close to the corner. Line up the raw edge of the binding with the raw edge of the quilt.

For this quilt, my binding is nice and wound up because I made double the amount I needed so I could use it for a quilt that is currently being quilted. It's nice if you keep it wound, but I usually just have a pile of binding next to me that often winds up on the floor. As you sew, you'll want to make sure that you're not pulling either the quilt or the binding. If you can feed them through the machine as evenly as possible, it will prevent wavy edges. I struggle massively with this. One trick I do is to make sure my table is cleaned off so there's room for my quilt. I also pause often to readjust. 

When you get to the corner, you'll need to stop and backstitch about 1/4" inch away from the edge. If you're doing a wide SA because you're using wider strips, you'll need to stop the same width as your SA. A trick I learned a few years ago is that there is a horizontal line on the Bernina walking foot that is 1/4" away from the needle. It's really hard to see in photos, but it's just before the open part of the middle of the foot. I like to use my nail while the machine is stopped to see how close the edge is to those marks. Cut the threads and remove the quilt. 

Turn the quilt so it's oriented for the next side. Bring the raw edge of the binding to the raw edge of the quilt. This next step might feel a bit like origami if you haven't done much binding before, you can absolutely do this. Make sure the edge of the binding is tight at the corner, meaning it turns the corner without excess fabric. This will create a triangle at the corner. 

Hold the binding to the new edge with one hand and use your other hand to adjust this triangle so the fold is about a 90 degree angle. There should be a fold that lines up exactly with the edge you just sewed, and another fold underneath that lines up with the binding fold on the edge you will sew. 

Start at the edge and backstitch and then sew the edge all the way down until you get to 1/4" before the edge and repeat the corner. 

You'll do this for all four sides until you almost reach where you started. Once there's only about a 15 inch gap between where you are and where you started, stop and backstitch. 

Cut the threads and remove your quilt. Lay your quilt edge where you're working on a flat surface and smooth it so you have a flat space to work. (Note that I have a lot of binding left because I'm going to use the same binding for my next quilt. Your end will be much shorter.)

If you left the selvage on your binding tape, cut that off now. Overlap the beginning and the end piece and smooth them so they're flat.

 

Take the piece you just cut off (it's a great reference piece, but you can also use a measuring tape), and lay it over where the pieces overlap so that one edge lines up with one edge with the width of the binding strip perpendicular to the binding. You want the two pieces to overlap by exactly the width of the unfolded binding tape. (This is a tip I learned from Amanda at Crafty Fox a few years ago and it's a game changer!)  Cut the second piece. 

Open up the two ends of the binding and pin them together perpendicularly with right sides together being careful that they are not twisted. Sew the two pieces corner to corner. When you sew binding strips together, it's preferable to sew them together on the angle like this so you don't have a bulky seam on your binding. It's trickier to sew this seam with your walking foot but I usually do because I dislike changing feet so frequently. Once you have sewn it, check your work before you trim the corners. I have had to unpick more than once because I sewed on the wrong corners, because I managed to get it twisted, or just because I didn't sew very precisely. Checking is easy. Just do it. 

Once you know you're binding is sewn together and it will lay flat well against the quilt, trim your corners and press the seam open. Refold the binding and give it another good press. Return to your machine and sew the remaining 15" of your binding down. 

Return to your ironing board and press the binding away from the quilt. This helps so that the binding will be nice and flat on the back and helps make it easier to turn. You don't need to mess too much with the corners, just get the binding pressed well where it's already sewn. 

Back to the sewing machine. Where you start is less important now that your binding is sewn all the way around, so pick a spot you like and get started. I do not use binding clips though some people do. I prefer to turn it as I go, working with about 4-6" at a time. I do not move my needle, and instead just eyeball it, making sure my binding is over far enough to just catch the edge. This way, it looks like top stitching. 

Once you get to your first corner, you'll need to do some finessing. You can do this in reverse and I often will try it in reverse if I feel like the mitered edge doesn't look neat and tidy. But, I always start with pulling the edge of the next side up so that it will be underneath and then fold the side I'm sewing back down on top. 

This should result in a nice crisp corner with a miter at about 90 degrees. If they are uneven, you can try again, making an effort to pull things more precisely, or you can try the reverse so that you pull the side you're working on over first and then bring up the bottom. Hold the corner tightly, a stiletto tool can be helpful but I usually just my finger, and once your stitches have just crossed where both fabrics meet, stop with the needle down, raise the presser foot, and rotate the quilt. 

Lower the presser foot and resume sewing the next side. Continue all the way around until you reach where you started. If your corner is particularly bulky and not cooperating, you can do a little bit of surgery. This may happen if you had a seam end up on the corner or if your seam allowance was a tad heavy. VERY CAREFULLY, trim a very small amount of batting and backing making sure you don't accidentally clip the binding. 

And that's it! Don't forget to fill out your label if you added one. I like to use a fine tip sharpie and then iron it when it's dry to set the ink. 

Picture Perfect (A Snap Happy pattern)

When I saw the Pen and Paper Snap Happy pattern release, I had to have it! I was so excited about it. I love photography and I felt like it would a great quilt to showcase some fun travel prints. Or, to use her tutorial to print some of my own travel photos onto fabric and have a real memory quilt. I was so excited I bought the pattern at Sewtopia in Milwaukee, even though I had no intention of sewing it during the trip.

I quickly decided on using Rifle Paper Co fabrics, because their Bon Voyage line had come out just about a year ago. I knew it would be perfect. I opted to fussy cut the feature prints and I also added in a few prints from other lines and I really love all of them. Because I was so excited about this pattern, I made it pretty quickly, for me, anyway! I didn't manage to participate in the sew along, but within a year of the release is still pretty quick for me. I'm usually pretty late to the party. 

I realize the camera colors look a lot like the colors she used for the cover quilt. And I did draw inspiration from them for sure, as much as I wish I could say it was all me. BUT, I color matched with the prints I chose. She provides exact Kona color matches in the pattern, and I didn't use that at all. 

The camera block was a lot harder than I expected, and while I tried to be precise, I definitely should have been a bit more careful. I'm glad it turned out as well as it did! It took several hours. I'm glad the polaroid blocks were so quick. I did opt to add another row to the bottom and the side to make it larger because I like big quilts. It increased the number of blocks by almost 50%, which was a lot, but it meant I had more space to use the prints I had, which I loved. 

This was the first Pen and Paper pattern I have made and I have to admit I didn't love her instructions. I found her cutting instructions to be frustrating. I felt they could have been written more clearly, but mostly I felt they were very inefficient. Which meant I spent a lot of time cutting, trying to get the pieces out of my fabric as economically as possible. Still, her patterns are adorable and I'll probably buy her Book Nook pattern soon, because it's really one of the cutest book quilts out there. And...I wouldn't be surprised at all if I made another Snap Happy. I really would like to try printing my own photos and using those. 

Curio Quilt

Every Christmas, our sewing gang has a favorite things gift exchange. There are only four of us, so we buy a favorite for everyone. Last year, Kat gave everyone charm packs of the Curio collection by Rifle Paper Co. I LOVE Rifle Paper, so I was really excited to get it and sew with it! Curio probably isn't my favorite Rifle collection, but those books are dreamy. I feel like Curio kinda had a bit of a retro vibe with the sunflower print; who wasn't obsessed with sunflowers in the nineties? They were everywhere! 

I don't use precuts often at all, but I really wanted to use this charm pack and show off the great prints. So I settled on recreating a quilt I had seen at Garden of Quilts at Thanksgiving Point. It offset half square triangles so they were sprinkled all over the quilt, and it I felt like it was a really fun, modern way to show off prints. 

I opted to use Essex linen for the background and the backing and the binding. I wanted the texture to really add to it, since it was such a background-heavy quilt. I went for a yarn-dyed seafoam green, and I think it's perfect. 

Using an entire collection can be hard because they usually include low volume and/or prints with white backgrounds, which make it difficult to pick a background color that will adequately show the quilt design. This green I thought worked great. I pulled it from some of the prints, but it's different enough from all the backgrounds of the prints that you can see the design well. 

It went together pretty quickly and I really like it! I swapped out some charms that weren't my favorite and added in some extra book fabric, because, hello, books. :)

And I took pictures of it using tips from Matante Quilts, who recently hosted a mini webinar about quilt photography while she prepares for her next workshop on photography. I can't believe how much better they are!

Tiles Take Two

Right now, I don't actually have a leaders and enders project prepared, because I can't seem to pick one. I'm using my slow project (which has roughly 4 million curves) as leaders and enders, but I hope to get a new one picked soon. I got my last one bound, and it's making me feel even more pressure to get a new project picked already! :)

This quilt is my most recent leaders and enders, and I used the Sunset Tiles pattern by Jeni Baker in Scraps, Inc. Vol 1. I've made the pattern before but I messed up while assembling and some of the rows are sewn together incorrectly, which messed up the pattern and made it pretty out of square. I love that quilt, though, and I wanted to have another go to try and get it assembled correctly. It's set on point, and it was the first time I've done a quilt on point, so it's understandable I messed up, but still disappointing. 

Plus, the pattern is a great one for leaders and enders. It's simple to sew, the pieces are a great size to use up scraps, and color placement within blocks is a non-issue, making it pretty perfect for a leaders and enders.

I made this version a bit larger, and like my others, I backed it with denim to make it more durable for picnicking. I don't love the colors quite as much as the first one I made, but a friend on IG said it's cheerful, which I think is a great way to describe it. 

Fringe Dress

I want to like sewing clothes more than I do. I'm so tall it's hard to find things that fit properly, and it's nice to be able to make something you want instead of trying to find it. But, quilting really has my heart. Still, I sew clothes somewhat regularly, and this is my most recent make. 

I bought the Fringe dress pattern (finally hopping on that train, it's such a popular pattern!) during a sale at Chalk and Notch. I was specifically looking for a pattern to use for a cut of linen I was given by Harmony Fabric in Provo for winning a giveaway! I won 3 yards, and it's such a lovely light blue linen. Since I'm tall, I had to be careful about pattern selection, since I need to add so much length generally, I couldn't risk running out of fabric. The fringe dress was well within the fabric requirements, I think it specifies only 2-1/2 yards or so, so I felt like I'd have plenty. Plus, there are so many fringe dress pictures on the internet in all sorts of different fabric selections, and I felt confident it would look great in my linen. I snagged a paper copy during a sale they had, and eventually got around to sewing it. 

Honestly, I think this is among the quickest I've ever sewn up a planned project, haha. I got the fabric in April, and I sewed up the dress a few weeks ago, in August. I tend to stock up on fabric and/or patterns when they're on sale and then sew them when I'm feeling inspired or need it for a specific reason.

Maybe my reason just came up quicker than usual; I made it for family pictures, which we just did a few days ago. 

Part of the reason I dawdle is I dislike making muslins. I know it's so important and definitely not wasted time, but it feels like it. And, half the reason I like to make clothes is so they fit me, but what that means is often I don't fit in a straight size, so then I have to decide which size to start with, etc etc. And then tracing the pattern...I don't love prep work. 

Still, I persevered, and added the length I thought I'd need to check, and was pleasantly surprised it fit pretty well straight out of the envelope. So, I set about making it in the linen. 

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it. I opted to straighten the hem out, and I made the v-neck with buttons and added the sleeve tabs. I love that I didn't have to adjust the neckline at all for good coverage (I'm not into showing off cleavage, sorry! I get cold, what can I say?), and I love the ties detail. I opted to add mine to the back darts because it seems like such an interesting detail. However, now that I've made it, I think I probably should have made it a size larger. I was really thrown off because the muslin (and the dress) genuinely look like the right size. It doesn't feel too snug when I wear it, except for perhaps across my arm, but that's easily explained by the drop sleeve construction. HOWEVER--because the buttons only extend to the waist, which is flatteringly situated just a bit above your true waist, the opening isn't *quite* big enough to comfortably put on and take off. I kinda feel like a gymnast every time I wear it, and I'm always worried I'm going to pull something (I am 40, after all...) or rip it. It might be my fault--I left in the basting stitches from gathering the skirt. But, I don't logically think it would do that. If I could take them out easily now and check, I would, but I serged the seam so it's nice and finished. I don't think those stitches are coming out, haha. Once I really struggled, I realized that most dresses take the opening down past the waist, so I feel like it's a slight design flaw and I'm surprised no one else has complained. 

The other disappointing thing about this dress is actually the fabric. When I got it, it was so soft, I was so excited to wear it. And it IS very soft. But, it is a deadstock linen and I'm learning that you just need to be careful with deadstocks. This one had some really thin spots where the weave was uneven and just thin. So I carefully cut around it as best I could. But it just seems like kinda shoddy fabric, which I find really disappointing. I'm really glad I won it in a giveaway and didn't purchase it, because I would have been upset at the quality. I don't know how long it will last with the quality of the fabric, but I really like the dress even still and will probably make another. It wasn't a difficult sew at all, and again I love the neckline and the ties detail. 

Birds of a Feather (a Glare quilt)

I've finally finished my quilt from Sewtopia! Latifah Saafir taught her Glare quilt pattern, and I was excited about it. Latifah's patterns are graphic and modern, and I already had several patterns and templates. When I decided on fabric for the project, I wanted to make sure I used a focal print that the large centers would really show off. I opted for Tula Pink's Daydreamers flamingos. And from there, it just kinda snowballed. I ended up using exclusively Daydreamers fabric for the quilt, and even used Tula Pink solids for the alternating blades and background. I don't think I've EVER made a quilt from exclusively one line. I always mix in other fabrics even if it is primarily from one fabric line. But I don't often use Tula Pink fabric. When my friends saw my quilt, they said how unlike me it was. I disagree, I think, but I can see where they are coming from. Even thought the Daydreamer line doesn't have the garish clashing colors that some of Tula's lines have, it is ALL BRIGHT, and my quilts tend to be at least a little tempered. 

I really love how it turned out, though, and my kids fight over it right now, even though I backed it with a Tula wide back instead of the usual minky. I love how the rounded corners give it a little extra something, and that it wasn't that hard to bind. 

This quit pattern was a fun one to sew and went together relatively quickly. The blocks are large. It does take some finessing, some getting used to the technique, and I did do some unpicking. It's interesting that on curves, the way you iron (whether toward the curve or away from the curve) can impact the puckering, and not every circle was the same. 

I would definitely make this pattern again. I loved how it turned out and would love to try out some different fabric choices. I used the background fabric as some blade fabric as well on a couple of the blocks and hoped it would blend into the background to make it appear more spiky, and I'd love to try that with all the blocks, to give it a feel like the suns we all used to draw in elementary school. I think that would be cool.

Winning Ribbons

I posted my Garden Gem quilt already, and I mentioned I planned to enter it at the Springville Art Museum for their annual quilt show. I like seeing my quilts hang in museums, it's fun! And I was really happy with how it turned out. I try to not worry about winning things, because it's not why I make quilts and honestly, I'm not technical enough to really worry about it. Still...I kinda thought, *maybe* it might win a ribbon, my points (the very few there were) lined up really well and Marion did a fantastic job quilting it. I didn't dare hope, but honestly, I really hoped. I just tried to say I didn't care. 

But luckily, I DID win a ribbon, which makes my second this year if you count my Sewtopia ribbon, which I do. :) Interestingly, both quilts use designs by Jenny Haynes of Papper Saxsten, so clearly, she's designed award winning quilts. As a ribbon winner, I was invited to the opening reception award ceremony and of course I went, I was anxious to find out what ribbon I won! I didn't dare take my girls because I didn't know how long it would be and I didn't want them to be disruptive or bored... but I probably should have taken them. Instead, just my husband and I went. Of course, they began announcing the winners from the bottom up, starting with those that had been awarded honorable mentions, and then awards of excellence, and then judges choices, and I kept waiting for my name to be called and it kept not being called. Finally, there were only a few ribbons left and they finally announced my name as the director's choice! She was announcing the awards so she shared a little bit about my quilt and how much she loved it and was so glad she got her first choice, which doesn't always happen. I was absolutely thrilled! 

We brought our girls down a few weeks later to see it at the museum with the ribbon and they weren't all that excited...but I did see another quilter who had won a ribbon in the same gallery and we talked for a bit. She told me there was some drama on the ribbon wining for the Dear Jane quilts and I realized going for ribbons is not for me. I'm so glad I won, and I'm not going to lie, I'm excited to see how much money I won for winning a ribbon, but I don't think ribbon seeking is for me. I mean, I machine bound my quilt. :D