How to: Hand-Quilting a Binding Stitch

Blind stitching a quilt binding results in a clean, seamless finish.

Stitching an entire quilt by hand takes time, dedication and skill, and until the advent of the sewing machine, countless hours were spent crafting beautiful, handmade heirlooms. Despite technological advances, however, many quilters still prefer to finish a quilt in the time-honored tradition of hand stitching the binding to the piece. Unlike finishing a quilt by machine, using a blind stitch to secure the binding allows the quilter to hide the stitching, leaving a clean, smooth finish. While most quilters hand stitch the binding to the quilt back, reversing the binding process will give the quilt front a seamless appearance.

Things You'll Need

• Quilt with unfinished binding
• Milliner's sewing needle, size 9
• Cotton wrapped polyester thread, invisible or matching the binding
• Small, sharp scissors

Instructions

1. Machine stitch half of the binding to the backing side of a trimmed and squared quilt. Lay the quilt face up on a work surface and bring the folded edge of the binding over the raw edges of the quilt, beginning at the bottom center of the piece.

2. Snug the binding up against the quilt edges, covering the visible stitching securing half of the binding to the quilt back. Pin the binding to the quilt front, catching some of the batting in the pin.

3. Thread a sewing needle without doubling the thread and knot one end of the thread. Insert the needle just inside the seam holding the binding to the back of the quilt and pull the thread through up to the knot. Take one stitch to anchor the thread and knot.

4. Bring the needle through the quilt front, catching some of the batting, about 1/4 inch away from the knot and bring it out inside the backing stitching line. Catch several threads on the folded edge of the binding and pull the needle through the fabric to tighten the stitch.

5. Repeat the stitches every 1/4 inch or so, stopping about 1/2 inch from a corner. Flatten the binding on the side you're working on past the corner; then fold it back over on itself to form a miter. Pin the corner fold and continue to stitch to the inside miter fold.

6. Make a couple of blind stitches along the miter fold; then run the needle under the binding and back out through the center of the miter corner on the back of the quilt. Continue stitching along the next side of the quilt. Repeat the mitering process at every successive corner.

7. Secure the last stitch underneath the binding, knotting the thread well before trimming the tail carefully with small, sharp scissors.

Tips & Warnings

• Pull each stitch taut, making sure the binding is lying flat and smooth.

• Take care not to push the needle all the way through to the quilt backing, exposing the stitches.

References

• "McCall's Quilting"; Quilt Binding - Turning and Handstitching; Sherri Bain Driver
• "Sew to Swap: Quilting Projects to Exchange Online and by Mail"; Chrissie Grace; 2011
• "Pat Sloan's Fast-Forward Quilts"; Pat Sloan; 2010