How to Bind a Quilt Using Your Sewing Machine

Once you have completed the assembly part of your quilt you will now want to know how to bind a quilt to completely finish it.

Binding adds the finishing touch to your quilt. This is especially so if you have completed a quilt as you go project. In this case, its essential to bind your quilt to cover the raw edges and give your quilt some stability on those edges. The binding also adds a decorative finish to your quilt.

Neither of us are keen on hand sewing so we bind our quilts using a sewing machine.

Watch the video below or scroll down for the step-by-step written instructions

TOOLS WE USE

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• Creative Grids Ruler 8½” x 24½”
• Olfa 24″ x 36″ double sided healing mat  
• Olfa 60mm rotary cutter
• Oliso Iron
• Quilters slidelock
• June Taylor Shape Cut Pro ruler
• Gutermann Sew All thread

How to Machine Bind a Quilt

Before you start you will need to do a quick calculation to ensure that you have enough fabric to go around the outside of your quilt.  Here is our tutorial on how to measure the amount of binding that you need.

• We make our bindings 2½” wide.
• For this baby quilt, we cut 5  x 2½” strips across the width of the fabric.

• Sew the strips together with a 45º angle from one ‘V’ to the other. You can see the sewing line drawn on the fabric. This reduces bulk on the seam lines and spreads the bulk out.

• Once you have your long strip of binding, fold it in half and give it a good press to get a nice crisp fold.
• Now your binding needs to be attached to the edge of the quilt. Lay the raw edges of the binding to the raw edge of the quilt.
• Start on one of the long edges.

• Leave a tailpiece of about 4″- 5″, which we don’t sew to the quilt.  Now sew down the edge with a ¼” seam and stop ¼” from the corner.
• Take the quilt out of the machine.

• Fold the binding back at a 45º angle so that the binding runs parallel with the quilt.

• Fold the binding back so that the folded edge is parallel with the side you have just sewn and is now laying along the edge of the quilt that is to be sewn next.
•  Sew from the folded edge, along the edge of the quilt and again, stop ¼” from the next edge.
• Repeat the previous step until all four corners have been sewn.

On the last edge stop about 10″ from the loose tailpiece that we left un-sewn at the start.

• Cut a piece about 2″ from the end of the binding. You are going to use this as a measure. Lay this piece on top of the tailpiece keeping the edge straight.
• Lay the other piece of binding that has yet to be sewn down flat over the tailpiece and the measuring strip.
• You are now going to cut the top piece of binding only, along the edge of the measuring strip.

The purpose of cutting this piece from the end of the quilt is so that your overlap is the exact same size as your binding strip.

• Join the two binding pieces together the same as you joined the binding at the start. Lay the two pieces one on top of the other, pin and check that the binding isn’t twisted, and sew from ‘V’ to ‘V’ on a 45º angle.

• Trim the excess fabric, lay the edges together and finish sewing the binding to the quilt.

• The pieces should fit nicely and the binding should lay flat. Stitch to finish.
• Fold the binding to the quilt front and pin in place. Sew the binding in place trying to match it to the seam line on the back. But don’t stress if this seems too hard. Simply sew the binding with cotton that matches your backing.
• As you get to the corners, fold in the excess to form a nice neat miter.

So that is How you Bind a Quilt to get that nice finish and cover the raw edges.