How to Machine Sew Quilt Binding

I recently shared how I make scrappy quilt binding and today I am going to share how to machine sew quilt binding.

The reason I machine sew my binding is because hand sewing causes me hand pain.  If you are looking for a hand sewing binding tutorial, I do have one HERE for you to check out, I just can’t do it that way any longer; but it’s my own muscles that are the problem, not the tutorial itself. 

This tutorial starts with the binding already made.  If you still need to make your binding, THIS is the tutorial for you.  Book mark this page and come right back after you’ve made your binding.

How to Machine Sew Quilt Binding – Attaching to the Back

Start by placing the binding on the back side of the quilt, about 10”-15” inches from a corner. 

Yes, start from the back.

If you have a quilt tag, like these super sweet Handmade with Love Darcy Quilts tags, place that on the back of the quilt before placing the binding.

With the raw edges of the binding flush with the raw edge of the quilt, start sewing about 6” from the end of the binding, leaving that little tail unsewn.  This binding started as 2½” strips and is just the right size to use a ¼” seam allowance.

Sew until ¼” from the end of the corner of the quilt.

Trim thread and remove the quilt and binding from the sewing machine.  This is what it looks like where the quilt tag is!

Turning the Corner

With the sewn binding in front of you at the top of the workspace, and the next raw edge on the right, fold the binding back.  It will make a 45* angle and the binding will be above the workspace.

Then, holding the diagonal fold in place, fold the binding back down.  The newly folded edge will be flush with the previously sewn side of binding, and the raw edges will again be along the right side of the quilt.

Starting right at the top edge, sew all the way down this side of the quilt and binding, again stopping ¼” from the end.

Continue around all four sides of the quilt, making the corner folds in the same way.

Stop 4”-6” inches before the tail left unsewn at the beginning.  Make sure the needle is down. 

For this tutorial, because it’s using the Scrappy Quilt Binding from the previous tutorial, the tail of binding left at the beginning of the tutorial has a red background, and the remaining bit of unsewn binding has a white background.  Hopefully that bit of info will help to make the next few steps easy to visualize. 

Matching the Beginning and End of the Binding

Open the binding where the needle is down, this is the white binding, the right side of the fabric will be against the quilt backing.

Fold the opened binding so that there is a 45* angle and the white tail is off to the right.  The fabric is now right side up.

Tuck the binding tail from the beginning, the red fabric, into the fold made in the white binding tail.  The raw edges of both the red and white binding will be flush with the raw edge of the quilt and a little bit of the folded part of the white binding will be sticking out to the left.  Trim the red tail if needed if it is long enough to pass the needle.  

Fold the remaining part of the white binding that is on the left hand side over the red binding and pin in place.  In this photo, I am finger-pinning it.

It’s a little bit hard to see in the photos, because the floral fabric is a little busy and my finger is doing the very important job of holding it in place while also simultaneously blocking your view.    Here is the same image, with lines added to show where the folded parts of the white binding are now.

Once the fabrics are nestled together, continue sewing ¼” from the edge, right across the place where the two ends of the binding meet and all the way down to where you started sewing the binding to the back of the quilt.

At this point this is what your quilt looks like – beautiful binding attached to the back of the quilt.  Now it’s time to pull that binding around to the front to seal up the quilt and cover those raw edges.

How to Machine Sew Quilt Binding – Finishing the Front

Now it’s time to turn the quilt over to the front side, and this is where this tutorial really differs from previous binding tutorials.

You can start from any of the four corners.  It really makes no difference, but I like to start on the side that has the point where I both began and ended on the back side.

Now, you CAN do all of this without binding clips, but I prefer to use the clips.  If you don’t use clips, you’ll just need to move more slowly, and carefully so the needle is always passing over all layers of the quilt and binding.

I put a clip every 2”3”, but again, you can do them more closely together, or further apart, or skip the use all together.

Keep clipping, all the way down the right hand side.

Fold the corner so that it makes a nice, crisp point, and then continue along the next edge.  My point shown here is not quite as tight as I would like it to be, but it’s pretty easy to manipulate it as it goes under the needle.

Sewing the Edge of the Binding

Start in one corner, ¼” from the corner, and sew so that the needle is right along the edge of the binding.

This is what that first side looks like now that it has been sewn.  You want your stitching as close to the edge as possible, so that you can’t see the seam underneath, but not so close as to run off the edge of the binding and have places where it isn’t fully tacked down.

Keep on sewing, right along the edge of the binding until you reach the corner. 

Make sure that your corner is mitered the way you want it to be and then sew right up to the point made from the binding on the next side of the quilt.

With the needle DOWN, lift the presser foot, rotate the quilt 90*, put the presser foot back down, and keep on sewing.  No need to stop and cut threads at every corner.

Once you’ve sewn all 4 sides, bury your threads and you’ve got a lovely new quilt to use.

As a reminder, here is the Scrappy Binding Tutorial used today, but this technique will also work with non-scrappy binding.

And, if you are ready to machine sew quilt binding but haven’t yet settled on a quilt pattern, I have several for you to choose from!  Take a look at these quilt patterns.