Attach the binding and finish the cornersThere are several ways to attach the binding and finish the corners of your quilt. The mitered corner binding is one of the more traditional ways. Although not difficult, it does require a bit of patience.
Skip ahead to Square end corner binding for a quick and easy alternative (great for beginning quilters).
Take the binding strips and make one long strip by sewing them together with 45-degree angled seams. Start by laying the strips at a 90-degree angle with the right sides together.
Place a ruler on the fabric at a 45-degree angle and draw a light pencil line across the fabric.
Pin both pieces of fabric together and sew them along the pencil line.
Trim to 1/4"
Press the seam flat to one side. Sew the remaining strips together the same way.
With wrong sides together, fold the strip in half length-wise and press flat. You should now have one long strip of prepared binding.
To avoid having your binding seams land in the corners, take a moment to lay your binding around the edge of the quilt. Shift the binding one way or another to make sure the seams are not at the corners.
Leaving an 8" tail, start pinning the binding at the middle of a side. Make sure you position the raw edge of the binding on top of the raw edge of the quilt. When you have finished pinning one side, start sewing, leaving the 8" tail free.
Sew a 1/4" seam
Place a pin 1/4" from the edge of the first corner and every corner as you come to each one.
Sew to the pin and stop.
Remove the quilt from the machine. Fold the binding up at a 45-degree angle as shown.
Fold back over the first fold. Make sure to keep the 45-degree angle fold from before. Pin in place.
Starting at the top edge, continue the 1/4" seam. Repeat at all corners.
Stop sewing 4" from the end of the binding. You should be near the spot on the first side where you started.
Open the end of the binding. Fold in the raw edge 1/2" and press.
Take the loose binding (the 8" tail you left at the start). Lay it inside of the pressed edged binding. Trim the excess binding to 1".
Fold over.
Pin in place.
Pin or clip unstitched binding.
Sew the remainder of the binding down using a 1/4" seam.
Roll the binding over to the backside and pin or clip it.
At the corner, fold the excess under to make a 45-degree fold. Then fold in the other side, making a neat corner like the one shown above.
Blind stitch by hand.
At the mitered corners, push the needle between the quilt layers and pierce the bottom of the corner fold.
Pull your thread through and push midway into the corner.
Pull the thread through the top, take a stitch and return to the bottom of the binding.
Continue the blind stitch until the binding is secured.
Start by laying a strip of binding across the top of the quilt.
Make sure it is longer than the width of the quilt.
Each end of the binding should be 2" longer than the quilt. Once you have this measurement, cut two strips.
Iron the binding wrong sides together. Put these two strips to the side. These will be stitched on last.
Now measure the length of your quilt. Cut two lengths from the remaining binding. If the binding strips are not long enough and you need to piece your binding strips together, follow the first steps in mitered corner binding. This will give you the two lengths you need.
Pin the binding strips to each side of the quilt and stitch a 1/4" seam.
Press the binding out.
Trim the ends.
Now you're ready to begin binding the top and bottom of the quilt.
Pin or clip the top and bottom binding, raw edges together. Make sure the binding extends 1/4" to 1/2" beyond the side binding.
Stitch a 1/4" seam.
Once the binding is stitched down, trim the ends even.
Working with the side binding first, fold the binding over the seam allowance, pin and hand stitch down. We use the blind stitch.
As you did on the side, fold the top binding over the seam allowance to the back. Pin and hand stitch down.
Finished binding.
