Machine Binding Tutorial

with continuous mitered corners

Ok y'all, it's time to talk binding! Some people swear by hand binding and some people can't stand to hand stitch- that's just the facts of life. I am one of the people who can't stand to hand stitch, so I machine bind my quilts instead! When I first started quilting, I didn't know any other way, so I hand bound my first 2 quilts and it took forever. I quickly looked for an alternative option. I've done many quilts with this technique and tried it many ways and finally found what works best for me. I'm hoping it works best for you too!

My preferences

There are a lot of ways to machine bind. My favorite is attaching the binding to the back, then flipping and topstitching on the front. You could of course do the opposite, attaching it to the front, then flipping it to the back.

I make my binding 2.5" wide, so when folded in half and attached to the quilt, I have about 1/8" overhang to fold my binding onto the front. If you prefer a narrower binding, you could cut your strips as narrow as 2" or as large as 3". Just make sure to play with your machine's preferences to determine what works best for you!

I attach my binding to the back and front using a walking foot. Your machine is going through A LOT of layers with this method, so the walking foot helps keep things consistent.

I also attach my binding with a 2.5" stitch length.

Videos

I put together a couple of videos for all you visual learners. The first is how I sew and press my binding strips together. The second video is how I attach that binding to the quilt and topstitch it on!

Double Fold Binding Machine Binding w/ Continuous Mitered Corners

Step by Step Photos

If you're not a video person, here's the breakdown of how I attach my binding to my quilts.

Step 1:

Prep your binding. Cut your strips at your desired width (mine are 2.5"). To measure how many strips you'll need, add the total length of all 4 sides of your quilt, then divide that number by 42 (or your width of fabric). Round that number up and cut that many strips.

This quilt measured 56 x 42". So I added 56 + 56 + 42 + 42 = 196. Divide 196 by 42 = 4.66

Round up to 5 and you'll cut 5 strips from your fabric. Prep your binding strips by sewing them together edge to edge. Then press your seams open and fold in half, wrong sides together. Roll them onto an old thread spool.

You'll also need your quilted and trimmed quilt ready to go! Quilt label optional.

Step 2:

Start attaching your binding to the back of your quilt, leaving a tail of binding about 8" long before you start stitching. Make sure the raw edge of your binding is aligned with the raw edge of the quilt. Backstitch at the beginning and use a 1/4" seam.

Step 3:

When you get to your first corner, stitch until you are 1/4" away from the bottom edge of your quilt. With your needle in the down position, lift your presser foot and pivot so that you're stitching directly off the corner of your quilt. Cut your thread. Your stitching should look like this.

Now rotate your quilt so that the side you were just stitching down is now at the top and you have a new side waiting for binding. Fold your binding strip up so that it is parallel with the side of your quilt. Then fold the binding back down on top of itself, creating a folded edge at the top corner of the quilt. You'll have a triangular flap that's created on the left side of the fold. Your top and sides should be flush with the quilt. Set your corner under your presser foot and start sewing again from the top of the corner down the side of the quilt. Backstitch at the corner. Repeat for all corners.

Here's what your corner should look like!

Step 4:

When you get to the end and are ready to attach your binding to the piece you started with, stop and backstitch about 8-10" away from where you started your binding. Cut your thread and pull the quilt out from under the needle. Take the piece that you started with and cut it off at the halfway point between where you stopped and started.

You can now take the other end of binding, and overlap it onto the end that you just cut. Cut the piece of overlapped binding so that it extends over the bottom piece by 1/4". Your pieces should both now be cut, with one edge overlapping by 1/4".

Take your two edges, open them up, and match the raw ends right sides together. Fold back any extra quilt bulk so you can fit those ends under your needle. Stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance to join the two ends.

Once you've stitched those ends together, you can finger press that seam open and fold your binding in half again. It should lay back down and nicely fit in the remaining gap. If you have any puckering of your quilt top, meaning your binding is too short, unpick your stitches and do a narrower seam allowance. If your binding is loose, try a thicker seam allowance to fix that gaping. Your binding should fit snug in this spacing so you can now finish stitching it down. Backstitch where you left off and continue to where you started, backstitching again. Cut your threads and you're ready to fold it over and attach to the front!

Topstitching to the front!

My biggest advice for this step is TAKE IT SLOW. Find a groove, take your time, and I promise you'll get the hang of it. On my machine, I can't adjust my needle position, so I've found that lining up my folded binding to the inside of the left toe of my walking foot is perfect. Adjust your machine so you're topstitching right alongside your folded binding edge.

If you prefer, you can press your binding away from your quilt from the backside so it's easier to fold over onto the front. I skip this step now, but when I was first starting out, it was very helpful. If you prefer to pre-fold your corners and stick a pin in those, that can be helpful too.

Also, make sure you have a full bobbin! Nothing is worse than having to stop and change your bobbin in the middle of a pretty line of topstitching. Oh and seriously, use that walking foot. You're stitching through at least 8 layers of fabric, plus batting (more layers if you're going over seams in the quilt top).