A little disclaimer...I'm by no means an expert on this subject...my first "big" quilt bound by machine was back in March of this year, so I'm still almost a rookie. But, I looked back at that binding this weekend and I have learned a thing or two since that quilt. Hurray for progress!
To machine bind a quilt....
Make the binding. Cut strips 2.5" wide from selvage to selvage, not on the bias. Join as many strips as needed, mitering the seams as you go. Make the binding strip long enough to go around the perimeter of your quilt.
Take your quilted quilt and trim off the excess batting and backing so all the edges are even with the quilt top.
Attach the binding "as usual" (you can read my indepth tutorial here) with a 1/4" seam allowance, except attach it with your machine on the back of the quilt, rather than the front. To finish it off, join the ends together with a mitered seam, just as you would if you were binding a quilt "normally".
Now that the binding is fully attached to the back, here comes the fun part!
Flip your quilt over and pick a point to start from. I start about 12" down from the top right corner. Here's the kicker...I don't pin a bit! In my first attempt I tried to, but I hated it. I got better results from just folding over the binding as I went. I was delighted to find this out! It sure beats getting pricked 1000 times during the top stitching process.
Fold the binding over and top stitch slowly, close to the left hand edge of your binding strip using your walking foot. I use my right hand to fold the binding into place and I use my left hand to hold it in place AND guide the quilt all at the same time. Go slow and steady. Take breaks to readjust it after every few inches or so, or as needed. I'm here to tell you that this gets MUCH easier with practice...just like anything else. Going slow is better than stitch ripping. And it's still much faster than hand stitching. :)
Keep going in this fashion until you are close to the corner. At this point stop stitching, adjust the corner so it's mitered nicely, holding it in place with your hand and stitch slowly until you catch the corner point.
Stop, pivot the quilt and keep top stitching. It's really that easy! Continue until you make your way all the way around the quilt. When you get to the point that you started at, back stitch a bit to secure the stitches and you are done!
A few thoughts...
I don't machine bind every quilt. If the thread color won't blend with the binding AND the back, I will bind it in the traditional way, with the hand stitching on the back.
The binding shown on the back is significantly skinnier than on the front. Consider this if you are thinking of machine binding a quilt that has a lot of points. The wider binding strip on the front will chop off your points. But on a quilt like this, with a solid border it's a non-issue. This is just something that I consider.
When top stitching, try not to go off the edge of the binding. If you do, just stop, go back a few stitches so they overlap (to secure that spot) and keep going. The goal is to keep the edge tacked down, all the while doing it with a consistent seam allowance, and keeping the back line of stitching from showing on the back binding part. Doesn't sound scary at all, huh? It's really not so bad, trust me!
I'd like to give a big shout out to the lovely Anita for posting her lovely tutorial on machine binding awhile back. That is the first time I thought "I just might be able to do this!" Then I tried it six months later. :) I ended up doing a few things differently, but it gave me the pointers that I needed and more importantly the hope that I could do it. Thanks Anita!
If you are one of those people who have always wanted to try machine binding but have been afraid to attempt it, I hope this gives you the nudge to jump in and try it. You might be glad you did!
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12-7-11
edited to add:
after reading the comments, (thanks for the tips you shared!) I've done a little more experimenting with my machine binding. The issue of the front of the binding appearing so much wider than the binding on the back started to bother me. I tested out this little change and it helps a lot!
When trimming, I left 1/8" of the backing/batting beyond the quilt top's edge, rather than trimming all the layers even with the edge of the quilt top. Then I proceeded to finish the binding as directed above.
After top stitching, the binding was a bit more even on the front and the back....
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12-7-11
edited to add:
after reading the comments, (thanks for the tips you shared!) I've done a little more experimenting with my machine binding. The issue of the front of the binding appearing so much wider than the binding on the back started to bother me. I tested out this little change and it helps a lot!
When trimming, I left 1/8" of the backing/batting beyond the quilt top's edge, rather than trimming all the layers even with the edge of the quilt top. Then I proceeded to finish the binding as directed above.
but there was still plenty of room to fold over the binding and do the stitching without getting too close to the edge of the binding on the back.
This is a view of the back. The binding is nice and full but still plenty of room for stitching.
It's amazing how much that little 1/8" changes things!