This tutorial will show you the method that I use to sew my quilt binding in place – 100% sewn with sewing machine stitches. I rarely hand sew, only when it’s absolutely necessary. I’m someone who wishes she was a neater stitcher. However, I haven’t been able to force myself to practice more. If I had to hand-sew my quilt binding in place, I think my work-in-progress pile would be even worse than it is now! Meep!
Typically, the binding is sewn in place from one side, then folded over to the other side and hand sewn in place with neat, almost hidden stitches. As much as I admire those bindings, I’m a big fan of machine binding because I feel like the extra line of machine stitches actually adds to the quilt. It’s like an extra component of top stitching! I’m into it!
So this is a Guide for Quilters Who HATE Hand Sewing! Or alternatively, maybe a guide for quilters who need to finish their quilt in a hurry.
This video tutorial will teach you:
- How to calculate how much binding you need (or you can use a quilt binding calculator like this one if you don’t feel like doing the math)
- How to cut out the binding strips
- How to join the binding strips
- And finally, how to attach the binding strips to your quilt 100% by machine. No hand sewing!
I LOVE this machine binding method because you can’t distinguish the last joined end from any of the other joins in the quilt. I wash and use my quilts repeatedly and haven’t seen any issues with the binding coming loose, etc.
Here is an example of what it looks like. Sewing along the edge and catching both the top and bottom takes practice and careful pinning/clipping.
You can either watch the video embedded below or click through to the full-size video on my YouTube channel for the How to Sew Quilt Binding 100% by Sewing Machine tutorial.
Thanks for watching!