What am I doing wrong!

[sewUK]

... with double fold binding. I can never get a neat sharp corner or maybe I'm expecting too much - I have to say though I am slightly OCD about this things. I machine stitch to the right side and hand stitch the back - should I be trying it the other way round. At the moment I'm doing a slightly wider binding because there is no border. Could that be the problem this time? I'd be grateful for any tips on binding anyway. Thanks so much

[jjkaiser]

Re: What am I doing wrong!

I do mine the same way. I find binding goes on much smoother if I do not pin it, just hold the binding against the raw edge and line up the edges sew about 6 inches, line up another 6 inches, repeat. I do Eleanor Burns method of keeping your needle down, half turn your quilt so you are sewing towards you making a short vertical seam the width of your binding and sewing off the edge 1/4 inch before you get to the corner. Then I remove the quilt from the presser foot and make my 45 degree miter and I put one pin on the left side of the miter to keep that sharp fold, then put it under the presser foot and start sewing that side down. I sew a little slower at the corners. I find the hardest part of binding is joining the two tails at the end. I am always so worried about cutting too much off that I usually wind up trimming the edges twice. And I make a horizontal join there instead of diagonal. To me it is easier and who will even notice. I think you are doing it right but maybe you should try pinning the miter down so it doesn't begin unfolding on you.

[auntstuff]

Re: What am I doing wrong!

Using a wider binding...is it full of the batting, or "limp"? Makes a difference in how it handles.

[DeniseSm]

Re: What am I doing wrong!

IMHO Susan Cleveland is the queen of mitered corners. Here is a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci3DeKKBPcE

[KPH]

Re: What am I doing wrong!

I press my binding, first out over the edge. then I flip the quilt and press down the binding on the back. I also steam those mitered corners down, making sure the bulk is going the opposite way from the front.

[Bubby]

Re: What am I doing wrong!

I fold the corners of the binding into perfect miters and secure them with Wonder Clips until I am ready to sew them. The clips have such a strong grip that the corners act almost like they have been pressed into place.

[SuzanneOrleansOntario]

Re: What am I doing wrong!

I pretty much sew on the binding like Jocelyn and others, but I do not pin it. I start halfway on one side leaving a good 10", then as I get 1/4" from end, I stop, tack and cut thread. Then I do a 45 degree fold and stictch side. Same until I get to joining ends. I used to do diagonal as with all other joined seams of binding, now I just straight cut it. I do use wonder clips to fold over edges of binding and it's done.

[quiltsRfun]

Re: What am I doing wrong!

I fold the corners of the binding into perfect miters and secure them with Wonder Clips until I am ready to sew them. The clips have such a strong grip that the corners act almost like they have been pressed into place.

I do that and put on a drop of Elmer’s School Glue before I clip.

I press my binding, first out over the edge. then I flip the quilt and press down the binding on the back. I also steam those mitered corners down, making sure the bulk is going the opposite way from the front.

I also press as KPH does, making sure the bulk is going in opposite directions.

[Murphy224]

Re: What am I doing wrong!

Like others I do not pin first, just align edges and sew. I use 2 1/2 inch wide binding folded in half, and quarter inch seam. The two tricks that made a huge difference in how my mitred corners turned out are:
as I approach the corner, stop, measure, and make a visible accurate mark 1/4 inch from the end and make sure to stop on that mark. Eyeballing it didn't work for me. I need that visible mark. Sew just to that mark and stop, remove quilt and flip binding up so it is at a right angle and fold back down to make the miter just like always. The trick here is to use a long straight pin and holding it aligned with the top edge of the quilt, fold the binding over the pin until the binding is precisely aligned with the top edge of the quilt and the fold is straight, slide the pin out, use it to pin the corner, align the binding to the side of the quilt, and start sewing.
Since I started using these little tricks, my mitered corners are much much neater. After sewing, I also fold the corners and use a wonder clip to hold in place until I get the back sewed down by hand or machine.