Horrible bad sewing...

[Swedish leo]

Hi

I have made my firs placemat and it is horrible. I tried machin binding and i don´t like it. I like the blocks and the fmq but the rest is awful. But it is for my eyes only at home. so i will use it and i will do another one when i have my brains with me.

Annika

[Bubby]

Annika....I have never been happy with machine binding....it's not easy to make it look good and lay flat and straight...not to mention the corners! Don't be hard on yourself....you are still going through a lot of stress. Remember we care about you very much and I continue to pray for you and your girls every day....Hugs, Barb

[GrammaBabs]

i don't see it as that bad!!! Love your colors and FMQ...
Hint... when i make placemats etc ... i piece the top.. then put what i want on top RST (right sides together),,, then lay batting on top of that... i just stitch around leaving an opening for turn thru.... trim to stitching.. and nip corners... press flat,, then stitch presser foot width from edge all around.. and usually around all the seams... you coul also do a FMQ on top of the whole thing... this eliminates the binding....

[K. McEuen]

I'm like Bubby, I don't care for the look of machine binding either. Maybe it would look better with a matching thread instead of contrasting, but I'll keep sewing mine down by hand. Your FMQ is great and I do like those fabrics.

[goodyear94]

It's handmade by you - what's not to love?

Hugs,

[Mimis-quilts]

I agree with Grammababs and her technique, much easier than binding. 2 things I noticed with the binding (1) if you had used darker thread it would not be quite so noticeable (2) when you were sewing the blanket stitch it looks as if you pulled on the placemat as it was feeding thru the machine causing the stitch to pull apart, if you just let the machine pull the mat thru the blanket stitch would not look like a <. Does that make sense??? Don't give up, that is how we learn and believe me I"ve made my share of mistakes to learn from !

[meemeecyn]

I like it! We are truly our own worse critic. I do find that one of the most relaxing things of making a quilt is hand sewing the binding on.

[madampolo]

I tried to do the same thing on a quilt I had spent hours on. It turned out horrible. I ended up cutting off the binding, finding some fabric that would do since I didn't have any more of the first binding fabric, and then put the binding on the old fashion hand stitched way. I won't try that again. Ever. I wish there were a way that you could machine bind it since it is a pain to hand stitch, but I just watch TV when I do it. So, I feel your pain.

[auntiemern]

Jenny has a tut on machine binding http://quiltingtutorials.com/all/bin...ewing-machine/. Some peeps swear by it. I have been doing a little more and use a decorative stitch and matching thread. Still prefer hand binding but I also have a lot of quilts to get done. Hang in there.

[Blondie]

I also prefer stitching the binding down by hand. That said, I like the block a lot. Don't be hard on yourself. I betcha we all have something under a bed or hidden in the closet that we made when starting that we are less than pleased with!