Perfect binding….almost

When I was finishing “Mahek the Market Girl”, I wanted to try my best to make the binding PERFECT.

I made and attached the binding in the manner that I have always used, making sure that the corner stitching met in JUST the right spot and trimming that little piece out of the corner to reduce the amount of bulk.

But, as folded the binding over, getting it ready to hand stitch, I kept looking at my corners and knew that they were not going to work well.

Then I remembered an email I had sent to myself back in NOVEMBER that had been languishing in my inbox since. The video was from Susan Cleveland and was called “Two Ways to Reduce Bulk in the corners of binding”. Click the link below to view it.

I finally sat down and watched all 20 minutes of it and found several things that were SO helpful……

• Making the binding so that it is a bit wider on the back of the quilt.
• Being sure that the fold of the flipped over binding is opposite to the fold of the sewn-on binding (watch the video….she does a much better job of explaining)
• Taking a few stitches in the corner on the top side of the binding
• Anchoring the hand-stitching thread inside the seam before heading to the binding.
• DON’T clip those corners!!!

So, I did the only thing left……CUT that binding off and started over again…..

This time I carefully marked my corners so that I could stop at exactly the right spot…..

Once sewn on, I do a few other things that I think help with the binding. Firstly, I press the binding out from the front……

Then I turn it to the back and start folding it over and pressing it as I go. When I get to the corner, I use the tip of the iron to press it out as best I can…..

As I fold each corner, I press it well and put clips on each side……

I am very happy with it and think that it makes a great finish to a fun piece.