Welcome to my second tutorial! Quilt binding frustration is real, friends. Is it the correct length? Oh no, it’s twisted! Alright I think it’s fixed. No it’s twisted the wrong way, nuts. After learning this technique watching a video by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Co. a few years ago my life significantly improved in this respect. Bonus, she learned it from one of her students, so this is all a quilt knowledge circulation win!
I filmed this while finishing the binding of the cover quilt for my new Floating Forest pattern. Make sure to check it out in my pattern shop! After filming this, I didn’t want to redo it, but I quickly decided I probably wouldn’t film from this angle again.
As I mention in the video, Tina Hader, @milmiria on Instagram, put up this reel that’s a great nutshell on this technique. If you want the essential details for reference without my shenanigans, check out her Instagram!
How To: The text version
Don’t feel like watching the video? Read on!
- Make and attach your binding, leaving a long tail on at the start and end of the attachment.
- Laying each flat against the quilt, overlap the binding tails.
- Trim the overlapped portion to a length equal to the width of your quilt binding. If you binding is 2 1/4″, There should be a 2 1/2″ overlap in your quilt binding tails.
- Place your ruler in the middle of the overlapped portion of your binding. Trim the binding tail laying on TOP at the 2 1/4″ mark on your ruler. Without moving your ruler or your bottom binding, move the trimmed top binding out of the way. Trim the bottom binding at the edge of your ruler (the 0 point).
- With the quilt laying out in front of you, open the right-hand side binding open right side up (wrong side against the quilt). Open the left-hand side binding with the wrong side up and lay it over the right-hand side binding, right sides together. Pull towards yourself, slightly folding your quilt to make room and match the square edges of your binding strips. Sew a diagonal seam, identical to the diagonal seams with which you connected all your binding strips before attaching to your quilt.
- Clip seam allowance to 1/4″, finger press, and lay against your quilt. There should be no ease necessary. Your binding is now ready to fully attach.
Fo forth and use this knowledge to free yourself of binding frustration!