Binding Question

I just finished a quilt and for the first time sewed my binding on by machine instead of hand. I have to say it does not look very good but did it anyway. I sewed it to the back of the quilt and then brought it over and sewed to the front. My question is what is the secret here to make it look nice? Am I sewing on the very edge of the binding. What is the back supposed to look like? My back was beige and the binding was blue. I used a beige thread. Now is the thread on the back supposed to be a nice straight line running beside the binding (on the backing fabric) or is the goal to have it in the binding? Looking at the back, my stitch is going off the binding on the binding, off the binding on the binding..I don't like this. Hope I made sense here

Patrice, this method, whether you sew on the back then flip to the front, or sew on the front and flip to the back, takes a lot of practice. Even after practice, I dont think it ever comes out perfect but in time, your bobbin thread will become straighter. You could try by making a practice quilt sandwich and use a larger strip for your binding ( if you use a 2 1/2" strip, try a 3" strip instead). Match your threads to whatever you use on top and bottom, say blue for your blue binding and beige for your backing. Try and fold/flip your binding as even all the way. You may need to use pins or clips to hold your binding down. Try measuring every few inches. With a larger binding strip, you won't catch your binding on the back but all the stitching will be on the backing. Make sense?

As I said, this does take practice and in time, you will be able to simply eyeball your width as you flip to the front.

There are gadgets out there to help you do this. They are a little expensive but they still take practice. One is the Martelli Zip Bind and/or Kwik bind systems. I bought it years ago but never tried it. It was something I thought I "just had to have".

And of course I have YouTube vids to share:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baqsTr-ECDM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDkr5oBTs9w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXemL_88vFY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PUZw-UNM5g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBfbSFbAr7Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcXEvxWXy7Q

I do my binding this way all the time. I hate doing the hand sewing. The trick is to just barely cover where you stitched it to the back and and then top stitch really close to the edge of the binding. Mine is never perfect on the back but it doesn't bother me. I like the way it looks on top and it sure beats all that hand sewing. Plus, I have found that when I have hand sewn it that after a few washings it starts coming out.

Some people use glue to secure the binding before quilting. When I do it, I use a decorative stitch so it looks like another decorative element. I figure if I use a straight line then everyone will see if I get off the line. With a scallop or zigzag, or other, the focus is on the stitch, not the line.

You could also use a large basting stitch to start (which would be easy to remove if you had to) and then see where you are off and adjust as needed.

I also put my binding on this way and use a decorative stitich. It let's me use stitiches that I wouldn't normally use and I get to try them out.

The trick is to just berely cover your stitch line on the front. Jenny ahs a tut about machine binding that explains it.

I watched a video yesterday - since I like to machine bind my smaller quilts - and this lady did basically as I have always done - with a small twist. Fold your binding in half, line up raw edges on the back of your quilt and sew the binding on 1/4 of an inch in. Fold your binding over to the front and make certain the binding covers your original stitches - pin in place - from the back. Now RESEW on the back - stitch in the ditch. You should barely catch the front binding and the back won't show the original stitching - so you only have one line of stitching that shows.

Sandy, this is basically what the Zip Bind and Stitch in the Ditch devices from Martelli's do. It has clamps that help you hold the binding down in place on the back with just enough overhang to get stitched as you stitch in the ditch on the front.

Wish I had the patience and desire to figure mine out LOL

Thank you! I think I will practice on some scraps

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Originally Posted by Denis

Sandy, this is basically what the Zip Bind and Stitch in the Ditch devices from Martelli's do. It has clamps that help you hold the binding down in place on the back with just enough overhang to get stitched as you stitch in the ditch on the front.

Wish I had the patience and desire to figure mine out LOL

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Sending you some patience. I had to tell one of my DGDs today that she needed to meet this lady Patience . . . got a lot of laughter as we were waiting in the cutting line at Jo-Anns.

It does work - I've tried it.

man i wish i had the guts to attempt this! i always sew it by machine to the front then flip it and hand sew it onto the back

I have seen the Martelli Zip Bind tool, and have been curious about it.

Was curious if anyone who has it, do you really have to pull on the fabric (quilt) when using this tool? The reason I'm asking is because I do not exactly have long arms and to have to reach behind the machine the whole time while I'm binding would get tiring pretty quickly. So I was just curious for those who have used this tool if you had to continually pull on the fabric from behind the sewing machine? The tool I'm talking about is in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBfbSFbAr7Y

My Singer Featherweight 221 has a special foot for sewing a binding on without having to flip it - have never tried it though.
Has anyone else tried it?

I cheat on alot of quilts and use the quick and easy mitered binding tool. It doesn't work for all quilts but it does for alot. Takes the frustration out of binding and mitering. I have 2 one does a regular square corner the other does hexagons and octagons, here is a link to a video on it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqkBRfQjyU8. Enjoy

i love wonder clips by clover. they have made my machine binding look wonderful! it's so easy and fast. def. stitch really close to the edge. i use 1/4" to sew it on and 3/8" to stitch on the front...

I've been meaning to ask, do you guys normally use the same size binding for quilts? or do you use different sizes?

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Originally Posted by shorte85

I've been meaning to ask, do you guys normally use the same size binding for quilts? or do you use different sizes?

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I have always used 2 1/2 in strips folded in half

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Originally Posted by a1angiem

i love wonder clips by clover. they have made my machine binding look wonderful! it's so easy and fast. def. stitch really close to the edge. i use 1/4" to sew it on and 3/8" to stitch on the front...

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Is that using 2 1/2 in strips for your binding

I really like binding my quilts by machine. Here is my favorite tut for it -- Binding in 6 easy steps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWh90tXr7g4