24 Quilting Basics: Attaching Binding to a Quilt

So you've made your quilt binding, and now it's time to attach it to your quilt!  There are lots of different ways to do this of course, but this is how I do it.

First of all, I recommend squaring up your quilt before you begin.  I may do a separate tutorial on this at some point, but basically just cut your quilt down to the desired size you want before you start attaching your binding, making sure that the edges are straight and the corners are square.  This helps to make sure the sides of your finished quilt are nice and straight and at 90 degree angles to each other.  Once your quilt is squared up, you're ready to start!

Step 1:  Pin the starting edge of your binding (the side with the bias end) down to the side of the quilt, with the raw edge matched up with the edge of your quilt.  You want to start in from one of the corners a bit by at least a few inches to avoid bulk at the corners.  A few inches of your binding should be open at this point, you are only going to pin down the bottom layer of binding to the quilt.  You'll only need a few pins to get started.

Step 2:  Start stitching down the binding, just in from the start of the binding.  I use a 3/8" seam allowance here when using a 3" wide binding strip.  If your binding is 2.5" or your quilt has points that would get cut off when using a 3/8" seam allowance, I'd recommend using a 1/4" seam allowance instead.  Backstitch at the beginning of your stitching.  You're only going to sew about 5" of binding down at this point. 

Step 3:  After you've sewn about 5", backstitch and close the binding.  Start stitching in the same place you left off, but this time with the binding closed.  Backstitch at the beginning again.  At this point, it helps to make sure you have your machine set to needle down, so that the needle stops in the down position when you stop stitching.

Step 4:  Continue sewing with the same seam allowance (3/8" or 1/4") until you get a few inches from the corner.  

Step 5:  Measure in from the bottom edge of the quilt, and mark your seam allowance.  After awhile you'll get familiar with how far in you need to be, and you won't have to mark it anymore if you don't want to.

Step 6:  Continue sewing, stopping at the seam allowance mark you just made.  Backstitch at the end and trim the threads.

Step 7:  Now we are going to establish the mitered corner of the quilt.  Turn your quilt so that the next unfinished side of your quilt is vertical.  Fold the binding up, making a 90 degree angle between the top edge of the quilt (the side you just finished attaching the binding to) and the loose binding piece that you just folded.  Finger press the 45 degree angle that you just created in the binding to make a crease.

Step 8:  Holding the crease you just created with one hand, fold the binding back down with the other hand until the top fold is aligned with the top edge of the quilt, and the right (unfinished) edge of the binding aligns with the right edge of the quilt.  Pin the binding into place if you need to at this point.  Measure in from the top edge to mark your seam allowance.

Step 9:  Begin sewing again at the point where you marked your seam allowance, backstitching at the beginning.  

Step 10:  Continue sewing the binding down until you get a few inches from the corner of the quilt.  Repeat Steps 4 - 9 until you get a few inches from the starting end of your binding.

Step 11:  Now we're going to get ready to close the binding.  Place the loose end of the binding on top of the starting end of the binding.  Take note of where the bottom bias edge is, as well as where your stitching begins through both layers of the binding.  Cut the loose end of the binding about halfway between these two points.

Step 12:  Open the starting end of the binding where you had only attached one side to the quilt.  This will make a little pocket for you to nest the loose end of the binding in.

Step 13:  Place the loose end of the binding inside of the starting end of the binding.  Match up the unfinished edges so the two binding strips are aligned.

Step 14:  Fold the open edge of the starting end of binding back over onto the loose end of the binding to nest the two pieces together.  If you cut it in the correct place in Step 11, it should easily fit into the pocket, with the bias edge overlapping the loose end of the binding.

Step 15:  Continue sewing over the nested binding, treating it like you would a continous strip of binding.  When you reach the beginning of your stitching, backstitch again and stop.  Trim your threads.

That's it!  Your binding is attached to your quilt!  There will be a little pocket that you can stick your finger into, but it won't create any problems (fraying, etc) since the unfinished ends are so far inside the binding.  I find this way much quicker than other methods of joining the two ends of the binding.

All that's left is to handstitch the binding to the back of the quilt, which we'll talk about soon!

Other posts in this series:
Quilting Basics:  Making Straight-Grain Binding

8 Quilting Basics: Making Straight-Grain Binding

I think it's about time I started posting some quilting basics for those of you who are just starting to get into quilting!  I'm going to start near the end of the quilting process to supplement my patterns and tutorials, but maybe we can head back to the beginning stages with a simple quilt tutorial sometime soon.  

Today we're going to talk about how to make your own straight-grain binding!  The advantages to straight grain binding over bias binding are that it uses less fabric and is easier to cut.  It can be used for square and rectangular quilts, anything with straight edges!  Once you get into curved edges, you'll want to use bias binding instead.

Alright, let's get started.  First of all, you'll need to calculate how much binding you'll need to make.  Let's do some quilt math.

I'm making a little baby quilt here, so my dimensions are 35" x 42".  I am making a thicker binding, so I'm going to cut my strips at 3" wide.  So plugging those numbers into my equation:

     2* 35" + 2*42" + 6" = 160"

     160" / 40" = 4 strips

     4 strips*3" / 36" = 1/3 yard of fabric required for binding

So now I know I need to cut 4 strips, and if I cut each one at 3" wide, I'll need 1/3 yard of fabric for binding.  Now we can actually start making our binding!

1.  Cut your binding strips.  I like the look of a thicker binding, so I cut my strips 3" wide and attach them to my quilt with a 3/8" seam allowance, so the entire binding is filled with batting.  If you like the look of a thick binding and the edges of your quilts don't have any points that you could potentially cut off, this is the width that I recommend.  If your quilt does have points along the edges, or you prefer a standard thickness binding, I suggest using a 1/4" seam allowance and cutting your binding strips at 2.5" wide instead.

Once you've figured out what width you're going to cut, line the folded edge up with a line on your cutting mat and square up the edge of the fabric.  Then measure in from there to your desired width (3" in this picture) and cut your strip.

Continue this process until all of your required strips are cut.  

2.  Lay two strips right sides together at a 90 degree angle.  To do this, lay one strip on your cutting mat right side facing up, aligning the top edge of the usable fabric (below the selvage) with a horizontal line on your mat, and making sure that the strip follows the vertical line of your mat as well.  Place another strip on top of the first strip, with the wrong side of the fabric facing up (so both strips are right sides together).  If you align the top edge of the usable fabric of this strip with the left edge of the first strip, and make sure that the length of the strip follows the horizontal line of your mat, your fabrics should be at a 90 degree angle.

3.  Pin strips together.  Place one pin in the top right corner, and one in the bottom left corner.

4.  Mark a diagonal line at the intersection points of the two strips, from the bottom left corner to the top right corner.  You can use a fabric pen or a pencil, the marks will be hidden in the seam when you're finished.

5.  Flip your strips open so the right side of top strip is facing up.  You are going to pin the next strip to the other end of this top strip.  Find the end of the strip, and repeat steps 3-4 to join the ends of those strips.  Continue this process until all of your strips are joined.

6.  Stitch along the line to connect each of the binding strips.  Continue until all of your strips are connected.

7.  Trim the seam allowance of the joined edges of the strips to 1/4".  You can trim the dog ears that are left after making your 1/4 seam allowance as well if you want.

8.  Press the joining seams between each of your strips open.

9.  Fold binding in half, starting at one edge and pressing as you go until you reach the other end of the binding.

10.  Cut one end of your binding at a 45 degree angle.  Open the end of your folded binding and make sure that the long edge of the strip is on your left side, and your angle is established from top left to bottom right, as shown in the picture.

When you fold your binding back in half, if you cut correctly, it should look like the picture below when the raw edge is on the bottom and the length of your strip is to your left. You will see why this is important when we attach it to the quilt!

11.  Fold the bias edge that you just cut over at least 1/2" and press.

It will look like this when you fold it in half again.

12.  Trim off the excess little triangle you see in the picture above (it's cut off in the picture below).

Your binding is finished!  Roll it up and get ready to attach it to your quilt.

Other posts in this series:

Quilting Basics:  Attaching Binding to a Quilt