There are many many great ways to bind your quilt. And, each technique has a 'best use'.
For example, when I'm making a quilt for charity, I will sometimes sew the entire binding (front and back) by machine. It's quick and neat and sturdy. My guild gives most of the quilts to a residential group home for children so they will get lots of use and possibly be washed in commercial laundries.
However, when I'm making a quilt for myself, friends and family, I will almost always finish the back of the quilt with hand stitches. This activity is great hand work when my Hubby and I are watching TV in the evening, especially if they are reruns and I'm listening more than watching. I thread 4 or 5 needles at a time and line them up on the arm of my sofa.
I also keep a small wire basket with a couple batting scraps in the bottom as a mini trash can for all the random threads and bits of fabric. The batting catches whatever I have in my hand so I end up with less random thread on the floor and sofa. All of my supplies for the current hand sewing task are kept on a tv tray right next to me so I can pick up the hand sewing whenever I need to.
I love to make scrappy bindings, like the one shown here. I piece them randomly --I think they add a nice bit of modern improvisation to the quilt.
If you want to learn more about the quilt above, check out this blog post.
Scroll down, and you'll see that I've created a round up of links to some of my favorite tutorials. But before that, I have a confession......
I confess that I NEVER cut my binding strips on the bias. I know that's a quilter tradition but frankly, I don't see the point. [Cue Music: "She's a Rebel cause she never does what everybody else does...."]
Practice FIRST!
If you decide to try a new binding technique, I suggest that you practice on a small quilt sandwich first.
I use leftover fabric and make sandwiches that are about 14 inches square. I quilt them and later use them as plate rugs -- to hold my plate when I'm sitting watching TV on the sofa. Here's a photo of my first rather inept attempt at making a flanged binding. Lots of practice ahead. This is one of the techniques in Bobbi Gentili's post with a comprehensive list of binding techniques.
Faced Bindings
I make faced bindings for many of the quilts that I make as workshop or pattern samples. I've written a blog post about my techniques here.
Favorite Binding Video
Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts is my favorite, favorite 'how to' quilt blogger and YouTuber. She shares so many really practical tips about quilt making. I love her no nonsense, no fuss style. She just posted a new binding tutorial with a really cool way to start and stop a binding with a 45 degree angle...and it 's just MAGIC. Check out the video here
A Comprehensive List of Binding Tutorials
And, finally, here's a wonderful one stop shop for binding tutorials.
Bobbi Gentili of Geeky Bobbin has written a really comprehensive post where she links to binding tutorials for 'all' the many ways that you can bind a quilt. If you want some ideas or just to brush up on a skill, definitely check out her post.
Thanks for sharing your “faced binding Tutorial” – looking forward to trying the process.
Thanks so much for linking to my binding round-up, Carole! I’m so glad you found it helpful
You are so welcome!