- 1). Prepare the quilt by sandwiching the quilt top with the batting and backing. Make sure the quilt top is facing up and the quilt back is facing down with the wrong sides of the fabric on the inside of the sandwich. Sew the sandwich together using the desired quilting method.
- 2). Measure the perimeter of the quilt to calculate the length of binding needed to complete the quilt. Cut 2 1/2 inch wide binding strips across the width of your binding fabric for a narrow binding and 3 3/4 inch wide strips for a wide binding.
- 3). Sew the binding strips together to make a long strip that is 16 to 20 inches longer than the calculated length. Create a double folded binding by folding the strip in half horizontally so the wrong sides are together with a fold on one side and raw edges on the other. Press the fold to hold it in place.
- 4). Place the binding onto the front of the quilt two-thirds down on one side, making sure to line up the raw edges of the binding with the quilt. Leave an 8 to 10 inch tail of binding for use when joining the binding upon completion. Pin the binding in place on this edge if needed to hold it in place.
- 5). Sew the binding to the quilt with a 1/4 or 1/2 inch seam depending on your preference. Sew the first side of the quilt within 1/4 or 1/2 inch of the edge of the fabric depending on the width you are making the seam, meaning you will stop stitching just prior to the end of the quilt. Back stitch the seam to lock the stitches, cut the threads and remove the quilt from underneath the sewing machine.
- 6). Fold the binding up to the corner in a 45-degree angle to create a triangle, and then down over the top of the triangle so the binding edge lines up with the raw quilt edge. Place the folded corner of the quilt under the sewing machine and sew the binding to the quilt on the second side of the quilt, stopping just prior to the end as outlined in step 5. Repeat the process of folding the binding at the corner and sewing for the four sides of the quilt, leaving a 6 to 8 inch gap between the end of stitching and the beginning point on the first edge of the quilt. You will have a starting binding tail and an ending binding tail with an unsewn gap in between.
- 7). Join the binding by folding each end tail of the binding so they meet on the quilt edge. Trim away the folded excess so the fabric ends touch when laid flat.
- 8). Place the two ends of the binding with right sides together so the binding tails form an "L." Sew a diagonal seam across the ends to create a mitered seam finish. Trim the seam allowance to 1/4 inch, lay the binding flat on the quilt and sew in place so the binding is sewn around the entire quilt.
- 9). Fold the binding to the backside of the quilt to cover the raw edges. Hand sew the binding on the backside of the quilt to hold it in place. The corners will naturally fold into a mitered frame as the binding is pulled to the backside of the quilt due to the way the binding was folded at each corner during the stitching process.
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