How to Join Binding Strips Together for Quilting

Binding is the last step in quilting, as it puts a neatly finished edge on your project. This step requires a long strip of fabric 2 to 3 inches wide and equal in length to the perimeter of the quilt, plus about 10 additional inches. Rather than buying yards of fabric to get one long continuous strip, it’s more economical to piece shorter strips together. If you join the strips together with diagonal seams, you’ll avoid the problem of too much bulk where the seams lay on the quilt’s edge.

Things You'll Need

• Sewing machine
• Thread to match or blend with fabric
• Pencil or non-permanent fabric marker
• Straight-edge ruler
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting mat
• Iron
• Ironing board

Instructions

Sew-and-Trim Method

1. Lay one binding strip right-side up across the work surface in front of you. Place a second strip right-side down on top of the right-hand end of the first strip and at right angles to it. The end of the second strip should line up with the top of the first strip.

2. Draw a diagonal line from the upper left-hand corner of the top strip to the lower right-hand corner of the bottom strip. Stitch along this line.

3. Place the stitched fabric flat on the cutting mat and place the ruler so that the edge is ¼-inch on the outside of the stitched line. Trim along the ruler with the rotary cutter to remove the excess fabric.

4. Repeat this process until the binding strip is long enough. Press all the seams open. Trim the dog ears where the seam allowances extend past the edge of the binding strip.

Trim-and-Sew Method

1. Lay one binding strip on a cutting mat. Use the markings on the ruler to place it at a 45-degree angle to the end of the strip. Trim the fabric along the ruler. Do this for both ends of all binding pieces.

2. Place two strips with right-sides together and at a right angle to each other so that the two trimmed edges are together. Stitch a ¼-inch seam along the trimmed edge.

3. Continue this process until all binding pieces are joined. Press seams open and trim off the dog-eared ends of the seam allowances.

References

• Jaybird Quilts: Quilt Binding Basics, Part I
• Sew Inspired: Quilt Binding Tutorial