How to Ladder Stitch Quilt Binding
The last step in finishing a quilt is attaching the binding. While this can be done with a sewing machine using decorative stitches or fancy colorful threads, a simple way to do the job is to use a ladder stitch to finish the quilt binding by hand. With a ladder stitch to secure your binding, the stitches and thread are hidden under the fabric, leaving nothing but a clean line of binding fabric attached to your quilt.
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Instructions
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1
Sew one portion of your binding to the front of the quilt with your machine just as you normally would. Turn the binding around toward the back and pin it in place to prepare for your ladder stitch.
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2
Cut a length of the thread roughly 20 inches long and thread your needle, tying a knot in one tail of the thread.
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3
Sink your knot into the backing by pushing your needle under only the backing fabric and coming out next to the binding where you want to begin. Tug the needle and thread to "pop" the knot under the backing fabric.
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4
Insert your needle into the binding right next to where your thread just exited from the backing. The needle should go into the tunnel-like area of your binding where the fold is and travel only about an eighth of an inch before coming back out of the tunnel. Pull the thread tight to put tension on it, but do not stress the thread so much that it breaks.
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5
Insert the needle into the backing fabric, careful not to go into the front fabric, and travel along the binding's edge an eighth of an inch. Come out of the backing fabric and pull the thread.
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6
Repeat steps four and five until you run out of thread. Tie a knot close to the fabric and pop it under the backing just as you did at the beginning. Start a new thread where the last one ended and continue until the entire length of the binding is secured to the back of the quilt.
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Tips & Warnings
The ladder stitch can also be used for knife-edge binding where the quilt top and back edges are folded and pressed inward, and then sewn directly to one another without the use of standard binding strips. In this case, your needle will travel through the tunnel of both fabrics one at a time, rather than just under the backing.
