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The Easy Way to Bind a Quilt – Tutorial

June 23, 2016 by Becky 16 Comments

The Easy Way to Bind a Quilt - themamasgirls.com

The first time I made a quilt, and I mean a REAL quilt, I wasn’t quite sure how to sew on the binding. I had spend a lot of time an effort to make a quilt for my mom’s 80th birthday, and I didn’t want to mess it up by doing a poor job on the binding. Fortunately, I have a co-worker friend who is an avid quilter. She knows it all. So, on my lunch hour, I went to her office and asked her to explain how to do it. She took a napkin and cut a strip. She began explaining it to me while using paper napkins for a visual aid! It made total sense! It was waaaay easier than I thought it was going to be. Since I am a visual learner, the explanation using the napkin was perfect. I came home and added the binding to my mom’s 80th birthday quilt just like she taught me! (BTW, it was a great birthday surprise! She had no idea that I knew how to make a quilt! The truth is, neither did I!)

This tutorial has a lot of steps and pictures, but take a minute to look through all of the steps. I think it helps to get in your mind how to do it before you begin.

I like to use a Rotary Cutter, Self-Healing Cutting Mat and Quilter’s Ruler. These were well worth the small investment!

PHOTO 1

Cut strips to desired width. I like a small binding, so I usually use a 2 1/2″ or 2 3/4″ wide strip. When I am using a striped fabric, I like cut it across the grain so that the stripe is perpendicular to the edge. You could also cut the strips on the bias (at a 45° angle) if you want diagonal stripes on the binding. The directions for sewing the binding onto the quilt are still the same. Be aware that when the strips are cut on the bias, they will stretch a bit.

PHOTO 2

After you have the strips cut, (make sure you have enough to go all the way around the 4 sides of the quilt, plus about 12 more inches.) Use a ruler and draw a light pencil line from corner to corner. (This is how you will stitch the strips together.)

PHOTO 3

PHOTO 4

Stitch on the pencil line.

PHOTO 5

Use your ruler to trim the seam to 1/4″.

PHOTO 6

Press the seams open.

PHOTO 7

Here is how it will look when pressed.

PHOTO 8

Fold the strip in half (but do not press) and pin it to the front edge of the quilt as shown above. (Leave about 8″ unpinned and start the stitching about 8″ from the end – you will stitch the ends together later when the strips meet.)

PHOTO 9

PHOTO 10

Stitch using 1/4″ seam allowance – STOP 1/4″ from the end as shown above.

PHOTO 11

Fold the strip up as shown and pin to secure. The pin will be right in line with the 1/4″ seam allowance.

PHOTO 12

Then fold the strip back down and stitch (using 1/4″ seam allowance.) The edge on the right should line up with the edge of the quilt.

PHOTO 13

Do the other three corners the same. When you get about 10″ from the end of the end of the beginning strip, stop stitching. (You need these to be unattached so that you can stitch them together.)

PHOTO 17

Lay the quilt out in front of you, right side up and unfold the strip on the left. Use a ruler to mark and cut a 45° angle as shown above.

PHOTO 18

Fold the strip in half again and lay it next to the edge as shown.

PHOTO 19

Now, unfold the strip on the right…

PHOTO 20

then lay the folded left strip on top of the right (unfolded) strip.

PHOTO 21

Use your ruler to draw a light pencil line to match the 45° angle on the left strip. (You can see the left strip underneath.)

PHOTO 22

BEFORE you cut the strip, ADD 1/2″ (this will give you enough for two  1/4″ seam allowances so it will match up perfectly!)

PHOTO 23

Pin the strips together and stitch as shown. Open the seam and press it open using your fingers.

PHOTO 24

Then fold the strip in half again and pin it the the front of the quilt. It should fit perfectly! Stitch it in place.

After you have sewn the strip all the way around, fold the strip back as shown. You will see a nice mitered corner.

PHOTO 14

PHOTO 15

Turn the quilt to the back and fold the top edge over and pin.

PHOTO 16

Then fold the side over to meet the top edge and pin. See? You have a perfectly mitered corner!

PHOTO 25

I like to hand stitch mine using a blind stitch or whip stitch- but if you prefer, you can do it by machine. You just need to “stitch in the ditch” on the top side making sure that it gets stitched through the binding on the back.

Here are some of the tools I used:

Filed Under: Helpful Hints & Tips, Sewing

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Comments

  1. Denise DeMarco says

    January 21, 2017 at 7:27 am

    Becky,
    You did a wonderful job of creating an easy to follow example. This is how I create my bindings except for the ending, which I will try, and your instructions not to press the binding material prior to attaching it. Your beautifully bound quilt is lovely. Job well done!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Denise

    Reply
  2. Sue Wordsworth says

    March 22, 2017 at 2:45 pm

    Becky, thank you so much for your excellent tutorial! Your explanations are easy to understand and, as a visual learner, the pictures are clear and show exactly what’s needed, so these are a great help to me.

    Reply
  3. Melanie says

    April 21, 2017 at 7:30 am

    This is the method and explanation of how to end your binding with a bias seam. I love it! Thanks

    Reply
  4. Gina says

    April 21, 2017 at 7:54 am

    This looks way easier than the way I connect my ends. Can’t wait to try your method. Also I was always taught to press it when I fold it in half lengthwise. What are your reasons for not pressing it?

    Reply
  5. Sewbusy says

    April 21, 2017 at 10:06 am

    THANK YOU! Love the pictures and explanation.

    Reply
  6. bonnie says

    April 21, 2017 at 12:30 pm

    Thanks so much for the great tutorial. I’ve bookmarked this for later. I’ve only made a few small baby quilts but want to attempt a large one. Wish me luck.

    Reply
  7. Sobana says

    April 21, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    That last bit about cutting at 45 Degrees was new to me. Will try it next time as it sounds easier than what I am doing now. Why do you say do not iron the folded binding? Any particular reasons?

    Reply
  8. Erinn says

    April 22, 2017 at 8:21 pm

    Really great tutorial! Thanks for putting it together!

    Reply
  9. Eden Taylor says

    June 8, 2017 at 3:13 am

    I am a self-taught quilter but this was an awsome tutorial and my quilts will be better bound from now on. Not to mention myNV sanity. Thanks!

    Reply
  10. Rose Zapel says

    August 5, 2017 at 7:26 pm

    could not figure this out at the end no matter what I did. I ended up with wrong angles. It looks like a good way to do but but did not work for me.

    Reply
  11. Sue G says

    August 17, 2017 at 10:51 am

    Hi Becky, thank you for the fab tutorial. Your friend must have explained it very well to you because you have explained it beautifully too. Your way looks to be far easier than the method I use.

    Reply
  12. BONNIE CAMERON says

    September 13, 2017 at 3:53 pm

    OMG I can finally figure out, (from your excellent instructions and pictures), how to join the 2 ends together once I have stitched the binding onto the quilt!!! Thank you so much, now I will be able to finish my quilts without pulling my hair out!!!!

    Reply
  13. Debbie says

    November 14, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    Being one who has
    struggled with bindings, this made bindings seem easy to do.
    Thank you for the exceptional tutorial. The photos made it much easier for me

    Reply
  14. Tammy says

    August 19, 2018 at 11:09 am

    Thank you so much for the very clear and detailed directions! Your method will look better compared to the last tutorial I used on a couple of grandsons’ quilts.

    Reply
  15. sal says

    October 21, 2018 at 10:34 am

    Awesome job of explaining and great photos to help understand the process. This is what I’ve been looking for! THANK YOU!!!

    Reply
  16. Kerry Cook says

    January 24, 2020 at 9:12 am

    I have been quilting for a long time and I always dreaded the binding process, but with this tutorial, I now look forward to binding. This tutorial is so good and so complete in its pictures and explanations that it is easy to follow. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

    Reply

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