It is how I bind the majority of my quilts.
Part I-How to make the binding strip.
First, measure your quilt. The quilt that I am binding is 57" x 73".
Add 57 + 57 + 73 + 73 + 12" (to account for miters and seams) = 272".
Divide that by 40" (a conservative estimate of the usable with of the fabric)= 6.8.
Round up to the nearest whole number, which is 7.
This is the number of binding strips needed.
I cut the strips 2.25" wide.
If you wish, you can cut them 2.5" instead.
For this quilt I am making scrappy binding. Since I am using various lengths of several fabrics, I will make sure that once they are all joined together they total at least 272".
Trim the ends of each strip at a 90 degree angle.
This is a very important step for accuracy.
Place two fabric strips right sides together making a 90 degree angle.
Press down the corner and iron.
Fold fabric back into place. See the crease? That will be your seam line guide.
Pin.
Sew on the crease, back stitching at the beginning and the end of the seams.
Trim corners leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.
And your binding strip is done.
and this one is 4" from the corner...
stop and place a pin 1/4" from the bottom of the quilt.
continue sewing until you reach the pin
leave the needle down, and pivot your quilt 90 degrees
start 1/4" from the top and continue attaching the binding
it should look like this
open the binding
finger press the seam open
Iron seam, pressing the fabric to one side.
Connect all your strips in the same manner.
Connect all your strips in the same manner.
Iron in half lengthwise.
And your binding strip is done.
Part II-Attaching the binding to the quilt.
Before I start sewing my binding to the quilt, I like to lay it out and do a test run to make certain that the seams don't end up on the corners of the quilt, as this makes the mitering of the corners very difficult. I like to start laying out the binding about a quarter of the way down the quilt on the right hand side. (see sketch below.)
this seam is about 6" from the corner...
this seam is about 6" from the corner...
and this one is 4" from the corner...
which is about as close as you want to be...just in case things shift a bit when you are sewing.
pin the beginning of the binding strip to the quilt, and then place a pin about 10" after that.
using the second pin as your starting point, sew (with a walking foot) the binding strip to the quilt using a 1/4" seam allowance.
when you are nearing the corner
when you are nearing the corner
stop and place a pin 1/4" from the bottom of the quilt.
continue sewing until you reach the pin
leave the needle down, and pivot your quilt 90 degrees
back stitch to the edge of the quilt and remove from the machine
it should look like this
it should look like this
take the binding strip and flip it up
and fold it down onto itself again
start 1/4" from the top and continue attaching the binding
it should look like this
repeat for all sides of the quilt
when you get to about 8" from the starting pin, stop and back stitch
remove the quilt from the machine
measure the binding so it overlaps by 1/2" and cut
open the binding
pin, right sides together
and sew together with a 1/4" seam allowance
and sew together with a 1/4" seam allowance
finger press the seam open
and sew the seam, joining up where you first started
then I like to trim my edges with pinking shears, near the edge of the fabric
when you get to the corner
miter it as neatly as possible
make a few extra stitches in the corner
then I like to trim my edges with pinking shears, near the edge of the fabric
Part III-Hand stitching the binding
hide your knot in the seam
flip the quilt over and tack the binding down (I'll let the photo explain.)
when you get to the corner
miter it as neatly as possible
make a few extra stitches in the corner
and continue stitching.
If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them in the comments.