Loving' that idea. Will use it on my next quilt! Thanks!

Marti in Mexico

I'm a little dense today, Lucy. Do you fold it as you're sewing it and sew through 2 layers? I don't see how you could lose any of it by pressing it first.

Donna

Donna, yes you do fold it over when you are sewing through the two layers. You do lose several threads as you are push it to the back over that much thickness if you press it first. It is worth a try and you are also eliminating that extra step. I don't ever see myself doing it differently again.

oh, thank you! I used to dread ironing all that binding!
Thank you!

Thanks, Lucy - I've tried that before and my binding got all twisted. I think I was pulling the top layer as I sewed it on. I'll have to give it another try!

Donna

Lisa, That is the same reason that I thought I would try this method because I think that ironing that binding is one of my least favorite things to do.

Donna, Working with anything bias must be handled carefully as you know. I pressed my binding but did not iron it and it layed so nice and smooth.

I never make bias binding unless I have curved edges. I'm too cheap to waste all that fabric cutting it on the bias! Which is probably why I get it twisted sometimes.

Donna

Ive done mine that way for years,,,,I hate folding and pressing....

Hey that's a great idea. I've always pressed first and it never comes out as even as I expect it to so from now on, I'm doing it your way. Thanks for that tip.

Thanks Lucy, That sounds like a great idea. I hate all that pressing. Colleen

Thanks Lucy, I also hate the ironing process, it just doesn't fit on the ironing board very well.
Rosa

I do what Lucy suggests, but I sew the binding to the back of the quilt. Then I fold it over to the front, iron, and stitch it down. I prefer machine-stitched binding on both back and front because it is stronger than hand-hemming, and I attach it to the back first so that the final stitching takes place on the front and I can at least be sure it looks good there (even if it wanders a bit from the straight and narrow on the back).

I am going to give that a try!

I think I'm going to try Biwakos way with the machine.

I've done it with the machine where I stitched it to the front, flipped it over, and then tried stitch the ditch on the front, but on the back I sometimes missed the binding or it was too long in areas. If the back's gonna be a bit of a mess anyhow, it's probably better to have it be a wandering line than uneven binding.

On one of the quilts which was a baby crib quilt, I did so it was entirely by machine from the front in the ditch and it worked just fine for me, but I pinned really well. I had one spot where I had to re-pin and go over it again on the front. I don't usually do a complete machine binding unless it is for a crib quilt because of all the washing that will be needed, but that wasn't really needed for this way of doing it the binding. It was only done for security on the crib quilt.

Thanks Lucy,i'll try that on this doll quilt i started yesterday.
Kathi

Do you know, it would never, never have occurred to be to IRON binding! What a waste of time!LOL

I think this is quite funny. Some of you have already been using this method and it just never occurred to me to deviate from what I have been taught. I guess I must be very obedient, LOL!

All my books and magazines say to iron the binding first before sewing it to the quilt and I assume I just thought "who am I to argue". I am so thankful to have found this new method (to me) and I can't wait to pass it along to all my quilting friends and I also can't wait to see who is already doing it this way. And, here I thought I found something new, ha!

I think I understand the technique, but would someone mind posting pictures, or a line drawing. I the type that learns better with "seeing" than "reading."

Please don't make it an imposition, just when you happen to be putting on the next border.

Ha, Lucy! I think a lot of us are still afraid the Quilt Police are lurking somewhere just waiting for us to deviate from the way "THEY" say to do it! :)

Lots of "famous" quilters have gotten their fame from figuring out a faster, easier, better, smarter, etc. way of doing something that's "always been done that way."

Donna

When I put the binding on from the back and then iron and stitch it down on the front, sometimes I use a fancy stitch on my machine. Since the stitching is wider, more of it is likely to get on to the binding on the back and it seems less conspicuous if it wanders a bit.
LOL - I only hit upon this method because I *wasn't* taught, and if I had been, or had read more books on the subject, I might well be still following the orthodox directions! A lot of my quilting has been hit or miss, and I have learned a fantastic amount from all of you here.

I still don't understand how ironing the binding crease before sewing causes you to lose threads. If you iron after sewing, aren't you basically making the crease in the same place you would if you ironed first, since the bias strip is folded in half either way?

I'm very new to this so perhaps it takes more experience to imagine it.....

Jenn: I'm not sure if this is quite what Lucy means, but here is how I reasoned when I stopped ironing double bindings before stitching them:

If you sew a doubled-over binding strip to the front, when you turn it over to hem it down on the back, the half of the strip that lies underneath (that is, the half closest to the quilt after you have pressed the binding away from the quilt) isn't going to need quite as much material as the other half of it.

The underneath half only needs to cover the binding seam, plus the thickness of the quilt sandwich, but the part of the binding that lies on top has to cover the seam and sandwich thickness, plus the added thickness of that other (now concealed) side of the binding. So if you have folded the strip exactly in half and ironed a crease into it, there will be a bit of extra material underneath there as you hem it down. Maybe there will even be a tiny fold of material hidden inside the binding, if you insist on hemming along the ironed crease.

Oh, dear, this seems as clear as mud. To put it another way, in a doubled-over binding, the part that ends up on top is bound to take (no pun intended) just a tad more material than the part that ends up hidden inside the binding.

That is exactly what I meant, Biwako. I have been ironing my binding since then after attaching it to the front of the quilt and I like it much better and the front looks nice and crisply creased doing it that way as well.

It also saves me the part of ironing the binding before attaching it and trying to make sure that it is folded exactly in half and ironed properly. Once you sew it to the front, ironing it afterwards, it folds exactly where it is supposed to fold on the back.

Thank you so much, now I understand.

Now another thing... I can't imagine dragging a big quilt over an ironing board. Wouldn't finger-pressing be OK especially if done at the same time as turning and pinning the binding on the back?

Oh, another question..... do you at least pin the edges of the binding to keep them together while you are attaching the binding to the quilt?

I always pressed my bindings on the quilts after they were attached to the back of my quilts, so I never thought it would not be done by most because of the size of the quilts. I use my large cutting table with a pressing mat underneath because it makes it that much easier.

Also, for the next question.....I definitely pin the binding as I sew it onto the front. I think it gives you more control.

Thanks. Unfortunately I don't have a pressing mat or a large cutting table (I use the dining room table) so I will have to make do with the ironing board... or just finger pressing.

Thanks again for answering my questions. The binding is ready to be attached which I will start as soon as I finish my morning coffee. :-)

Jen

When cutting borders or binding, I usually go to the trouble of measuring the length and the width of the quilt along the median lines (where the quilt would be folded in half)--a suggestion from someone here to avoid stretching and to get the binding on opposite sides to be the same length. If I didn't pin, I might get to the end of a row and find I don't have enough binding to finish it!

Once in a while, for a very narrow binding on a quilt I think won't stretch, or a quilt I don't like or respect (LOL--you all can imagine what sort that might be), I don't bother to measure, and in that case, I just push the edges of the binding together as I go along, stopping stitching to do it if necessary.

The quilt I just finished for the car (See thread on meandering) falls into that category because I had great trouble making all the blocks from a swap fit together neatly, and the colors don't appeal to me. It still looks pretty good done, though, and DH, whose car it will go in, loves it.

I have never been much for finger-pressing, unless to prepare something for "real" pressing right afterwards! :0)

I'm getting ready to bind my daughter's quilt & remembered this thread on not ironing the binding till putting it on the quilt. Does this really work? Is it hard to keep hold of the binding with the two edges together while sewing it on?

Since reading this thread, I quit pressing the binding in half. One less step! I haven't had any problems at all keeping the edges together on my last two quilts.

Rebecca

I have no trouble holding them together, but I don't expect to be able to sew the entire length of the binding while doing so. About every 7~8", I stop sewing and make sure the edges line up for the next bit of sewing. Even if I have pinned the binding, I don't mind stopping and starting, just to make sure nothing has moved.

I am unorthodox in my techique for binding which is obviously all wrong. #1. I attach my single layer via the serger. This gives a firm clean edge. #2.I never press the fold. #3. I like the single layer seam (less bulk) then I press the binding to the edge of the quilt. I then fold my binding in half, the raw edge lays along the inner front stitched edge. While I am doing this I am turning the double layer to the back, securing it with clips ( the kind we used to use for hair). I continue in this fashion until I miter the corner, finger pressing the edge I will be stitching when I am done. Usually I do this in my lap.
I still have a double thichness and have had no real problems. I have never hear others using the serger but I like it. nanajayne

Anything that means less work is ok with me! This sounds great & I'll be giving it a try if I ever get that darn quilt off the frame!
Thanks so much.

Biwako,

I am trying your method today...I am finishing UFo's. Thia will be the oposite for me back to front...and like the others I have always ironed my binding before. I feel like I will be cheating.

Nanci

'Cheating' is fun, very freeing (is that a word?). I just finished a 12 inch block with 80 pieces and didn't press or iron it once!

I'm going to try this technique next time I bind.
Georgia

I think this was the way I was taught recently in a class
(which was not on bindings) She just loves this method so much that she wanted to share it.
She says it really reduces bulk.
Although she said this is so silly but sometimes a great binding can make the difference with a judge when they are choosing between 2 quilts. It's a known quanity that they can easy evaluate. I'm not a competitive quilter but I still want them to looks the very best they can.