Some of you know this about me, but if you are new here, you may not know that I really do not enjoy sewing bindings on my quilts by hand. I know many of you will tell me how much you love to sit in front of tv in the evening and happily stitch away. But with my eyesight failing, combined with the couple of glasses of wine I enjoy after dinner, this kind of sewing isn't for me. I have experimented a couple of times with sewing the binding on my smaller quilts by machine, and it has worked out pretty well. However, I never thought I'd want to tackle a full-size quilt because of the weight and bulk of the piece.
Well, let me tell you, I have a lot of quilts that need to be bound. A lot. One of them is actually a pre-Covid project that has been waiting over 5 years for its binding to be attached. That is ridiculous. Clearly I need an intervention. Or help. Or something.
With St Patrick's Day approaching, I was reminded of a shamrock-themed table topper (and matching full-sized quilt) that has been waiting to be bound for well over a year. Maybe two. I decided to tackle the smaller table topper and get that binding attached by machine. You see the cute little piece in the photo above. It is all trimmed up and the binding prepared. Yes, I actually found the fabric I had set aside for the binding.
The first step is to attach the binding to the quilt top as you normally would.
I press the binding down flat, turn it over evenly, and pin it in place. Here is where I differ from most other machine binders: I use pins, not quilting clips. I find them more accurate for holding my fabric in place.
If you prefer quilting clips, go for it. Obviously, whether you use pins or quilting clips, you must pull them out of the way of the needle as you reach them.
Next step is to stitch in the ditch on the top side of the quilt where the binding is attached to the body of the quilt. This is going to be practically invisible when finished. Go slowly and perhaps increase your stitch length a bit.
This is the backside of the piece. All sewn down with room to spare. Once in a great while the fabric doesn't get under the needle right and isn't held down. I don't pick out any stitches; I just go back over that little section and you can't even tell.
And this is what the top side of the quilt looks like. I think that is pretty darn good. For saving me hours of hand sewing, I think it is brilliant.
Here is my finished project. The pattern is an old one by Miss Rosie in her "Little Bites" series, called "Grain". Great for using up scraps!
I was so happy with how it turned out, that I decided to bite the bullet and try to machine bind a full-sized quilt that has been sitting around waiting for years.
I took it slowly, increased my stitch length a bit, and did one side at a time. It turned out perfectly. What have I been waiting for all these years? This technique is life-changing for me.
Here is my quilt on my bed, done and dusted. I doubt the quilting police will issue me a citation for taking a shortcut. Do you do machine binding, or are you like I used to be, thinking the only proper way to attach binding is by hand?
If you want a video tutorial there are loads of them on YouTube. I think my favorite is Vanessa Goertzen's that she did for Fat Quarter Shop.