What Is an Easy Way to Bind a Quilt?

Folding the backing over to the front of the quilt creates a simple binding that won't detract from the beaty of the patchwork

There are as many different ways to bind a quilt as there are quilters in the world. Some methods are simple while others are more complex. One of the easiest ways to bind your quilt doesn't require any additional materials, cutting and piecing together narrow binding strips, or fussing with bias tape. The binding should be the last step in finishing your quilt, after all the quilting is done.

Things You'll Need

• Assembled quilt top
• Batting
• Quilt backing fabric
• Iron and Ironing board
• Pins
• Sewing machine or needle and thread

Instructions

1. Cut the quilt backing fabric about 4 inches larger than the quilt top all the way around. If your assembled quilt top is 36-by-36 inches, cut the backing 44-by-44 inches. It's better to have the backing be too large than too small, so give yourself room for error.

2. Assemble the "quilt sandwich." Place the backing fabric right-side-down. It may help to use masking tape to affix the backing to the floor and keep it smooth and taut. Center the batting on top of the backing. Center the finished quilt top right-side-up on top of the batting. Use basting spray or pins to secure all three layers for quilting.

3. Quilt the blanket by machine or by hand. Start in the center and work your way out so that if the fabric shifts or stretches, the excess will move to the edges of the quilt. Determine how wide you want your binding to be and stop your quilting stitches that distance from the edge of the quilt top. For a 2-inch binding, stop quilting 2 inches from the edge of the quilt top.

4. Square up the quilt top. Fold the excess backing fabric under the quilt and use a rotary cutter and ruler to square up the quilt top and trim any excess batting.

5. Trim the excess backing fabric to twice the width of your binding. If you've decided on a 2-inch binding, trim the excess backing to 4 inches all the way around the quilt.

6. Fold the excess backing in half toward the quilt top so that the raw edge of the binding meets the edge of the quilt top and batting. It will be easiest to work with a small section at a time.

7. Fold the backing over again so that it overlaps the quilt top and seals the edges of the quilt top and batting. Pin in place. Use your iron to press the binding if necessary. Work your way along the edge of the quilt folding and pinning as you go.

8. When you come to a corner, you will have one side of the binding folded and pinned to the quilt top and the adjacent side loose. Fold the loose corner of the binding down at a 45-degree angle then begin folding and pinning along that edge as you did the first one. This will give your corners a mitered look.

9. Stitch the binding in place by machine or by hand. You can use a blind stitch, a straight stitch, or a decorative stitch depending on the effect you want to achieve.

Tips & Warnings

• Even the best quilters will experience some shifting, stretching, and shrinking when quilting so make sure to quilt your project before binding it.

• Using this technique means that the straight grain of the fabric, rather than the bias, runs along the binding. The straight grain won't be as durable as the bias when it comes to heavy wear so the binding may wear out before the rest of the quilt.

References

• How to Quilt: Self-binding a Quilt
• Crafting a Green World: Back to Front Blanket Binding Tutorial