INSTRUCTIONS - Read through the instructions first before you start.
1. Trim the quilt making sure the corners are square. Often times I use a large acrylic square to check my corners and edges. Sew a small zigzag stitch around the outside of quilt being careful not to stretch the corners. Attach your hanging sleeve and sew it on. I find it easier to already have the hanging sleeve completely finished before I do the binding.
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2. I cut my binding in long strips 2 1/2 inches wide. Often times I will rip the fabric if it isn't a low thread count. If you rip you will need to iron the strips flat. If you prefer not to rip then use your rotary cutter. Cut enough strips to go around the entire quilt with at least 18 inches to spare.
3. Place end of two strips perpendicular to each other and draw a diagonal line as shown in the picture.
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| 4. Stitch along the drawn line and trim as shown in the picture. Join all the strips together to create a long piece of binding. Double check that it will go around the outside of the quilt with extra binding to spare. |
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| 5. Press open the seams as shown in the picture. This will make the binding lie flatter after attached. Fold the binding strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Iron to create the double fold. I iron the bind on both sides to make it very flat. Use a dry iron and while ironing the strip don't do a back and forth motion. Instead press with the iron not moving. |
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| 6. Align the binding on the right side of the quilt about 3/4 of the way down one side. I pin the starting spot and wrap the binding around the outside checking to make sure that none of the seams I used to attach the strips is on a corner. Sometimes I need to adjust my starting place. You do not want any of the joined seams on a corner or else the corner will not lay flat.
7. Use your walking foot to sew on the binding with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Leave some binding free (6") on the end. Sew to the corner stopping 1/4 inch from end. Backstitch, take out needle and trim threads.
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| 8. Place the quilt on a flat surface. To form the mitered corner, fold the binding creating a 45 degree fold (picture) and then fold it along the new edge with the binding folded along the top edge and pin. Study the two pictures. Begin stitching again from the edge along the new side. |
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| 9. When you have sewn on all the binding stop about 6 inches from the end. Butt the two end together until all the slack is taken up. Draw a sewing line on the inside of one of the strips and attach the two strips. Trim and using the tip of your iron open up the seam. Refold binding and finish attaching the binding.
10. Fold the binding to the back of the quilt and sew on by hand with a matching thread. At the mitered corners do small slip stitches to close the miters.
Sewing on the binding by hand is one of my favorite steps in creating a quilt.
For miniature quilts cut binding 1 1/2 inches wide and do a single fold binding. Iron under a 1/4 inch seam allowance along one edge. This will be the edge you will fold back to the back and stitch by hand.
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