Quilt Binding Tutorial

Binding my quilt was something I was really afraid to do. You have just picked up your quilt from the quilters, they quilted this beautiful intricate design. You sweated, and bleed over your quilt top. Now you have to finish it. And you might hesitate a bit, at this final stage you really don't want to muck it up! You can also pay your local quilt shop between $50 - $75 to put the binding on for you. But why bother? That is money that can go for another quilt top!

So I have come up with a little tutorial to get you thru this.

Things you need:
1. Your rotary cutter
2. Your binding fabric (this could be special fabric you bought, or just scrap) I like to use the scrap fabric from my backing.
3. A walking foot
4. quilting pins

Instructions:

cut your fabric into 2 1/2 inch strips. You can cut these on the bias, but I tend to only cut my binding on the bias if I'm binding a scallop edge. But enough strips that It will make it 1 1.4 way around your quilt. Sew the ends together so you get one continuous 2 1/2 inch strip. This strip should go around your quilt 1 1/4 times.

Iron your strips in half long ways. One one end fold over the edge so it gives it a finished look. That end I will refer to as your tail end.

Take your binding strip. With the tail section in your hand Place it on the top of your quilt raw edge of binding facing out. Leave about 4 inches of your tail free and then pin the rest down to the quilts corner.

Sew a 1/4 inch seam to the corner of the quilt stopping a 1/4 inch from the corner

Back stitch to secure it.

Fold your loose binding to the right, creating a L

Fold the binding back over and align raw edge of binding with quilt top again and pin to secure.

Start in the corner, and sew 1/4 inch seam to next corner and repeat for all your corners. Stop sewing once get 6" from where you started

Once you get all around your going to come back to your tail section. Remember that you kept this loose? Measure your binding until it overlaps your tail section.

Encase the binding strips raw edge inside your tail section and finish sewing to your starting point.

Turn the binding over the edge to the back.

Making sure to hide the stitching lines, hand stitch around.

Stitch all the way around. Yes it takes some time, and its a bit awkward in the beginning. You will get your rhythm soon enough. Just put a fabulous movies in, or some great music and you will be finished in no time!
Binding with perfect Mitered corners!