How To Attach Binding

We are finally at the end of the Basics series! I had no idea when I started this quilt for my dad, way back in March, that it would lead to so many separate blog posts, nor that it would take so many months to get them all posted. Clearly, I need to work on my time management a bit. Or, at the very least, not start a new project until the last one is finished. Another thing that would help to get posts published quickly is sticking to either the camera or the phone for taking photos. Because I used this quilt as part of my 100 Days of Quilting project on Instagram, I often snapped a quick photo of the days’ progress with my phone, for quick upload. Meanwhile, I was also taking photos with the camera, for editing for the blog posts. But, of course, I didn’t get all steps on the camera, some only on the phone.

Thanks for sticking it out with me, and I hope I have given you all the tools you need to make a quilt. Without further ado, here is:

How to Attach Binding to Your Quilt

Your binding is made and is ready to be sewn onto your quilt!

1. Starting on any side of your quilt, place your strip of binding so that the raw edges of binding are flush with the raw edge of the quilt. Start about 8-12 inches from the top of the side, and leave a “tail” of binding about 4-6 inches.

2. Stitch binding to quilt, using a ¼ inch seam, all the way down the side of the quilt until ¼ of an inch from the bottom.

3. Trim threads, and turn quilt 90 degrees, so the binding is now sewn to the top edge, and there is a new side to work with. Fold the strip of binding up, so it’s above the quilt, the fold will be on the diagonal, which will cause the raw edge of the binding strip to be in line with the raw edge of the next side of the quilt.

4. Create a second fold that is in line with the quilt top, which brings the binding into place to sew along this second side of the quilt. Start sewing right from the corner, and continue all the way down the side to ¼ inch from the bottom.

5. Repeat until all 4 sides are done, and you are back to the tail of binding you left at the beginning.
6. Nestle the starting and ending pieces of binding together by folding one piece on an angle and tucking the other piece into the fold (you may have to trim a bit, binding that is a few inches too long rather than too short is the goal) and finish sewing the binding to the quilt.

It’s okay that this seam isn’t stitched, we’ll tack it down while hand stitching the back side of the binding.

7. Now you’re done with machine stitching and ready to hand stitch! For this you’ll need several straight pins, a needle and thread. This is a good time to move to the couch and watch the Mariners lose while you get to work. (Seriously though… the season was going well when I first started typing this, but they ripped my heart out again before I got this finished and published – and now I’m cleaning up and updating posts a year later, and they’ve broken all our collective Seattle hearts again!)
8. Thread the needle, and tie both edges together into a knot. You’ll be working with a double thickness of thread.
9. Start in the corner (any of the 4 will do) and bring the thread up through all 3 layers of the quilt, hiding the knot in the rough edges.

10. Fold the binding over, and secure the starting point with a knot. Pin as much of the binding into place as you can with the number of pins used. I usually work with about 6-8 inches at a time, moving pins down the line as needed. I’ve seen people use binder clips and a variety of hair clips in place of straight pins. I should look in to that, less holes in the fabric, but I’m a creature of habit.
11. Sew stitches as close to equal length as possible, catching a little bit of the backing and the binding in each stitch.

12. Continue until ¼ inch from the edge, knot the thread to secure the edge, turn the corner, fold the binding up, knot in place and start again.
13. When you reach the spot where the binding begins and ends, secure with a couple of knots, after bringing the needle through the backing, and both pieces of the binding.

14. Continue around all 4 sides of the quilt, knotting each corner, at the spot the two pieces of binding are nestled together, and every time you are running low on thread and need to replace. Always start a new length of thread through all 3 layers of the quilt, and hide the first knot in the rough edges.

If you are as lucky as me, you’ll get some “help” with the hand binding.

And… you’re done! You made a quilt!

If you are new here, this is the last post in a series called Basics that walks you through all the steps of quilt making, which can be found HERE.