Quilt Finishing Series Part III: Binding

Here we are in our last part of this 3 part series on finishing a quilt! Today I'm going to teach you how to bind your quilt. This is one of those things that might sound complicated, but it really isn't. You can do this, and I have loads of photos to help you along!

Part 1 of this series was about preparing the quilt backing.

Part 2 covered basting. 

Let's dive right in!

Materials

• Fabric cut into 2.5" strips. How many strips you need will depend on the size of your quilt. We'll go into this in more detail below. 
• Iron
• Sewing clips or pins
• Scissors
• Small quilt ruler
• Sewing machine

First, you'll need to cut your binding strips. Binding strips are typically made from quilting cotton. Keep it folded as it came off the bolt and iron it smooth. Cut 2.5" x WOF (width of fabric) strips.

Often, quilt patterns will tell you how many strips you need for a pattern. If you're not using a pattern or it doesn't include that number then here is how you figure it out:

Measure the perimeter of your quilt in inches, and add 20 to that number.  Divide the total by 42" and the answer is how many strips you need. Easy peasy! 

Once you have your fabric strips, you are going to sew them together end-to-end on the diagonal. Take the end of two strips and pin or hold them at a 90° angle. Sew them together as shown in the photos below. 

Open up your binding and check to make sure that the binding is straight. It's easy to get mixed up and have it going at the wrong angle. If this happens, just rip out the seam and redo it at the correct angle. 

Continue sewing all your binding strips together in this manner until you have one very long strip. Trim all the seams 1/4" away from the stitch line, and trim the dog ears. 

The next step is to press the binding. Press all the seams open and then start at one end and press the entire length of the binding in half, wrong sides together. 

Roll the binding up to make it easier to manage and keep it tidy. I like to wrap mine around an antique wooden spool, but you can use an empty thread spool, or just have it rolled up by itself. 

Now you are ready to attach the binding to your quilt. On the back of the quilt, in the center of one edge, line up the binding with the edge of the quilt, raw edges together. Clip the end of the binding to the quilt and about 10"-12" down, put another clip. After this clip is where you will start sewing.

Sew the binding to the quilt using a 1/4" seam. Backstitch when you get 1/4" away from the corner of the quilt and cut your thread.

Fold the binding over on itself so it makes a 90° angle and hangs to the right.

Finger press that fold and hold it while you then flip the binding from the right to the left.

Also finger press that fold and hold it tight while you turn the quilt and position it under the needle. Start sewing just inside the edge and backstitch after the first few stitches. Continue to attach the binding to each side in the same way. 

When you have gone all around the quilt, stop, backstitch, and cut your threads at the starting end of your binding where it is clipped down. You should have two binding tails about 10"-12" apart.

Unclip that piece of binding and lay your two ends together. Fold each end back on itself so that there is 1/4" gap in between the two. This gap should be about in the center of the unbound area. 

On the left side, trim the binding directly on that fold. Open up the piece that you cut off and the width should be 2.5" (the width of the binding before it was pressed in half). Use this as your measurement for the right side. Lay the 2.5" side along the top of your folded back binding on the right, as shown below. Trim the right binding 2.5" from where it's folded over. *Be careful not to trim through the lower layer of binding!

Take the left binding and open the end. Fold it down on a diagonal, as shown below, to create a triangle. Give that fold a really good finger press so you can see the crease.

Keeping it folded down, lay the right binding over it. The raw corner of the right binding should lay in the corner of that triangle.

Now, open up that right binding, keeping the corners of the two binding ends matched up. Clip them and then your ends should meet in the same way as they did when you were first sewing all your strips together. 

You should be able to see the crease you pressed on the left binding. You are going to sew directly on that crease. You will probably have to bunch up the quilt to finagle the binding under the presser foot. 

After you sew on the crease, open up your quilt and lay the binding flat to check the fit. If it needs a little adjustment, you can unpick the seam and try it again.

If the fit is good, then trim 1/4" away from the seam you just made and finger press it open. Lay the binding flat against the edge of the quilt and stitch those last few inches down using 1/4" seam allowance and backstitching at the beginning and end.  

You've done the hard part! Now all that's left is to stitch the binding to the front! 

To do this, you will choose a spot to begin that's discreet. I usually begin on the bottom edge of the quilt. Fold your binding from the back of the quilt to the front. A clip here can be helpful to hold down the initial bit.

Backstitching at the start, topstitch about 1/8" away from the binding edge. Several inches from the corner, stop and lay the binding down straight as you have been doing, finger press that fold made at the corner of the binding.

Then flip the new side of the binding up to the front. Your corner should have a nice crisp corner binding. If it looks a little off, just flatten the binding out and try again. When you have it looking good, hold it down tight and slowly stitch until the needle catches the new side of the binding.

Then, with the needle down, holding that spot, raise your presser foot and turn the quilt to begin stitching down the new side. 

Continue in this way all around the quilt. When you reach the starting place, stitch over the beginning few stitches and backstitch. Cut your threads and you are finished! 

Way to go! Now you can wash it for all that crinkly goodness, or just go straight to the snuggles. Save this post for future quilts and refer back to it as needed! Enjoy!