Quilt Blocks Tips for Finishing: Binding

The binding on your quilt needs to be a hard working accent, not just a pretty picture frame. The binding will get a lot of tugging and rubbing over the years, so let’s make it to last. We like the French-fold binding, or double-fold French binding. Here’s a quick review of the steps to make your binding:

1. Cut strips 2 1/2″.

2. To sew them together at an angle – cut the 45 degree angle first, or pencil mark the angle.  Beginners may want to sew them end to end, but you’ll have a little lump in the binding.

3. Press the seams open and clip the little bunny ears.

4. Fold wrong sides together and press. Don’t use starch, but a little steam will help keep it crisp.

Tips for picking the perfect binding:

Match your border fabric if you are just learning or your machine has difficulty sewing a straight line, it won’t be noticed if you wave a little.

Pick a dark tonal to frame the quilt design. A bright pop of color will keep your eye moving around the edges.  A stripe will add a little whimsy.

For a scrappy quilt, an economical binding would be to seam together short lengths. Use up odd  2 1/2″ strips or fat quarters.

For your Garden Trellis Quilt Blocks quilt, we sell an already prepared binding in a length to go around the queen/king-size version – that’s over 11 1/2 yards of binding!

For small quilts, table runners or art quilts, Quiltologie’s Kristin will show you how to do a faux, or ‘self’ binding in this YouTube video.  Small quilts can use a 2 1/4″ binding, but you should plan to hand stitch the turn. It will wrap tighter around the edges and show less on the front.