Quilt Binding at the Studio

I recently attended a short class taught by my quilting friend, Rita, who showed us eight different ways to bind a quilt. Some of those techniques were completely new to me. Am I ready to try them? Not quite yet—but I thought I’d share a few of my current favorite methods with you.

First off, I’m a 2½-inch fabric strip kind of quilter, always. I know plenty of my quilting pals swear by 2¼-inch strips, but here’s my reasoning: I baste the perimeter of my quilts on my longarm machine. After squaring everything up, I like having that little extra wiggle room to cover any renegade basting stitches.

I’ve mostly stuck to what I’d call traditional binding techniques. My old reliable method? Double-fold binding sewn to the front, then turned to the back and hand-stitched in place. It’s classic and secure—or so I thought! Turns out, quilts that get a lot of love (as they should!) can suffer from binding blowouts. Have you ever seen a quilt binding come undone, possibly thanks to someone’s overly enthusiastic toenails? Guilty quilts, anyone?

The real problem arises if I’ve gifted the quilt to a non-sewer. Cue the embarrassment when they discover the loose thread and don’t know how to fix it! I get it, though—some folks feel about sewing the way I feel about changing my car’s oil: not gonna happen.

So, I’ve made a change. These days, I sew my bindings down by machine. It’s fast, secure, and perfect for someone like me, juggling way too many works-in-progress at once.  For more information about how I use this binding technique visit my show and tell blog post 

But wait—there’s more! I’ve also been having fun experimenting with hand-stitching bindings using pearl cotton. Those big, bold stitches in high-contrast thread look seriously cool on the front of a quilt. It adds such a unique touch! Just one note of caution: I make sure to secure the thread to the quilt top because no one wants those decorative stitches pulling loose.

As for those other binding techniques Rita showed us? Well, maybe I’ll give them a whirl someday. For now, though, I’m sticking to my get-‘er-done methods.

Happy binding and happy finishing!
Calamity