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How to Quilt>How to Bind a Quilt
How to Bind a Quilt - Answers to a Question about Mitering the Corners
Q: I am having trouble with the binding. I follow the instructions that I got off "How to Quilt", but my corners are really hard to miter and they want to curl. What am I doing wrong? I hope you can help me. A: Without seeing it, it's difficult for me to say exactly what the problem is, and what will help. But, I'll give it a try. Sometimes it depends on the width of your binding. I have found that narrow binding (less than 1" wide) tends to be not as crisp at the corners. Partly, I think, because of the fabric that is folded over inside of the corner. If that's not the problem, you might try pinning each fold to hold the fabric in place as you sew the next side. That would work like this: When you get to the end of the side of your quilt, end your stitching 1/4" away from the edge of the quilt, and then remove the quilt from the machine and cut the threads.
Fold the binding at a 45 degree angle over the stitching you just completed. The fold of the binding should be at the end of the stitching. Once you have a nice 45 degree angle, place a pin in the binding - securing it to the quilt. Now fold the binding straight down on top of the 45 degree angle, matching the raw edges of the binding up to the next side of the quilt. Then pin the binding down to the quilt top, securing the fold you just made. This will result in two pins being very close to each other, so you need to be careful as you attach the binding to the quilt. Begin stitching at the edge of the next side (not 1/4" away from the edge). This will secure all of the folded fabric, and should make a nice, clean corner. If you begin 1/4" away from the edge, all of the folded fabric making the mitered corner will be loose inside the corner, making it difficult to flatten when you fold the binding onto the back of the quilt.
Once the binding is completely secured to the quilt (i.e., all 4 sides are stitched), fold the binding around to the back of the quilt. You may need use your fingers or some other skinny tool to flatten the fabric inside the binding. If the binding is narrow (less than about 1"), there will be some bulk that may make the corner look a little "bunchy." Because the fabric is secured with stitching, you may find that trimming the excess binding away from the corner will help smooth it out. Be sure not to trim too much. If it is trimmed too close, the stitching might come out. Something else that occurs is that the seam allowances at the corners are not exactly the same width. One might be 1/4" and the other might be 3/8." This will also prevent the corner from being square. To solve that problem, you can either re-sew one side, or trim the side that is larger. I do not clip the corners on my quilt. If the seam allowances are correct, the quilt corner will help keep the corner of the binding square and smooth. I hope that helps. Here's a video showing the process:
Happy Quilting!
P.S. If you are looking for more information about binding a quilt, check this out. Sit back and relax, this video is about 45 minutes long, and walks you through 6 different methods for binding a quilt:
Penny is a quilter of more than 27 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts. www.How-to-Quilt.com www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com www.Fabric-Postcards.com This article courtesy of http://www.How-to-Quilt.com.
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