Binding

I have a big binding job to do and that means I have a quilt that's about to be finished.  Yeah!

It seems like binding is one of those tasks that quilters either love or hate.  I enjoy it; I find the hand sewing part relaxing, but there is also the satisfaction of having reached the finish line on a project, because the binding is the last step in making a quilt. 

This binding is going on one of my Fig Tree projects.  The fabric is a tiny check in pale pink and ivory.  I like checks, small plaids, and stripes for binding but often use other prints too.

I usually cut my binding on the bias, in strips 2.25 inches wide.  I go a little narrower on smaller quilts, like wall hangings.  I sew the binding to the front of the quilt on my sewing machine, then turn it to the back and hand sew in place.  I recently found that using a walking foot is a big help; it makes the application a little smoother, especially on a big quilt.  This was a tip I picked up on another blog.  There are a lot of tutorials for making and attaching binding on blogs and on YouTube so take a look around if you've been struggling with this step.