joining quilt binding strips

Personally I have started using 2 1/4" strips, but I began using 2 1/2" and still write all my patterns to that size. Quilt Binding in Bias Grain This binding is cut at a 45 degree angle to the selvage. There are three ways to cut strips for binding quilts – following the three different grains. I really like using the stitching lines for this because I hate drawing on fabric. Method #1 - Zig Zag Sew the Pieces Together. And, in retrospect, it would have been great if I was using a printed fabric to really drive home the importance of placing your fabrics right sides together. This great method is valid for joining bias tape ends as well as joining bias strips! Bias strips are cut diagonally across the fabric. You can cut quilt binding in three different ways: Cross grain strips are cut across the width of the fabric from selvage to selvage. (First, a little FYI: The first time I did this, I almost lost my mind. Press your fabric in half wrong sides together. You can make quilt binding in any size you'd like, but 2 1/4 (2.25 inches) or 2 1/2" strips are most common - this will give you a binding width of about 1/4" on the front and back of your quilt. Email. Continue to cut, join and square up until you have the number of pieces of batting you need. How To Join Quilt Binding Strips "A fabric binding is the final step in making beautiful handmade quilts, wall hangings, placemats, aprons, and many other things. I am going to link this post to the Tutorial tab at the top of this page. Many quilters prefer this stitch-as-you-go method because it’s a good way to use up an odd-size piece of fabric. Generally this will be 2 1/2 inch strips folded in half to make a one inch binding. I did forget to mention that the Stitching Lines are also a great tool for making half square triangles. It's a nice size. But binding most definitely has a place in sewing, and even though the process of joining the strips is easy, I've had my share of sewing misadventures when stitching the pieces together. Use a rotary cutter and long ruler if you have them available. In the final section of my Beginner's Quilt series, I describe a method for attaching the binding - a method I have used for years and have never had a problem with, I have always joined the ends in this way, without actually sewing them together, and they've never come apart. Divide the total by 40” (safest usable fabric width, especially if pre-washed) to determine how many cross-cut (selvage-to-selvage) strips are needed to make the quilt binding. Easy Bias Binding Strips for Your Quilt. The color of your sashing is your choice, I think the best option is a neutral color that works well with all the colors of your blocks. Send Text Message Print. Add approximately 20" to allow for diagonally seaming strips and finishing the ends of continuous binding (binding in one long strip with no breaks except where it begins and ends). Usually, the last step in making a quilt is to fabricate and attach the binding around the quilt perimeter. Not to mention the joining seam is smaller. Transcript. Place your binding strip on your quilt top so that the open edges are in line with the outer edge of the quilt top. June 6, 2013 by Mary H 6 Comments. P.S. Now it’s time to put it on the quilt…but I’m saving that for next time. Sew on the fold line. Happy Sewing! For joining two blocks you need two strips: – for the front sashing: 1 strip – 1 1/8” wide and as long as your block (15” in my case) – for the back sashing: 1¾” wide and as long as your block (15”); fold it in half lengthwise and press. 53. For those, I just trimmed the long edges even before joining … In this excellent tutorial, Jenny teaches us how she makes her own quilt binding by cutting two and a half inch strips then sewing them together on a diagonal. I don’t know why, but I looked at every tutorial on the Internet, and could not get it to work. Pin FB. I have stumbled here several times. I want to share with you a couple of proven methods that ended my frustration with joining the ends of quilt bindings. My binding looks so much better since I started using this joining technique. So, I cut the binding at 2 ¾” wide, I will cut this last piece 2 ½” wide, ¼” LESS than the original width. Sometimes, in order to achieve the total necessary length, individual binding strips must be sewn together to create 1 long strip. Bonnie shows you exactly how to join the ends of your binding with visual prompts to make it easy to remember. Even better…on a quilt that takes 10 strips of fabric to go around the circumference of the quilt – by using 2” strips rather than 2.5” strips – I use 5” less of fabric –that translates into $$$! So this quilt is only about 37 so I’m just going to need 4 strips to bind this because I know I’ll have enough. Attach binding to back of quilt. Lengthwise strips are cut along the length of the fabric, parallel to the selvages. You could mark the diagonal if you prefer. Join the Unsewn Ends . … Three Ways to Cut Quilt Binding Strips. Let say your outside measurements will be 200 inches. The easiest way to explain is to show you ( thanks for the images, Polly!) Article by Heather Handmade - sewing tutorials. Quilting For Beginners Quilting Tips Quilting Tutorials Quilting Projects Beginner Quilting Jaybird Quilts Strip Quilts Patch Quilt Sewing Binding. The first video covers most of the basics – from trimming the quilt sandwich, joining the binding strips with a diagonal seam and joining the binding ends with a “pocket”. On average, a quilt for me generally takes 8 to 9 strips, and I can get that easily out of a 1/2 yard of fabric. I'll show you both ways and that way, you can use whichever method resonates best. It will be easy to find if you want to read it in the future. Be generous with your estimate! In fact this technique is great to apply to quilt binding too and works exactly the same for both single fold and double fold bias tapes. By joining them on an angle they almost disappear. Note: I had a bunch of shorter pieces of batting scraps that I wanted to get used up but when I ran out of shorter strips, I started joining the longer ones. TIP: When I cut this piece to join the binding, I always cut the binding ¼” less than the width of the binding. The binding itself is normally cut on the straight grain of the fabric (you only have to cut binding strips on the bias if you are binding curves or wavy edges). Prepare your binding strips as you normally would. Cut enough strips to equal the circumference of your quilt (add all the sides of your quilt together and add about 6 to 10 inches). Turn the strip over and press again from the right side. It is actually only in the joining of the strips where you sew and cut a 45 degree angle. Width of binding strips: For most of my quilt projects, I cut my strips 2½ inches by the width of the fabric. She says… The key is to fold the triangle away from you – the fold should be closest to your body. I’m going to focus today’s tutorial on the pocket method and a little trick I discovered to get perfect mitered corners. Sewing together two pieces of bias tape with a diagonal seam makes a sturdy seam that's less bulky and less noticeable than a straight seam. If you need to determine the binding length yourself, lay the quilt flat and measure through the center of each border strip (do not measure along the outer edge of the quilt); add the lengths of each side together. I’ve simply sewed my binding strips together to form one long piece of fabric. So let’s start at the beginning with 2” strips. And all can be used for either single or double fold bindings (we will discuss this another day, in a separate article). straight). For this quilt binding method we will attach the binding to the back of the quilt first. You can join quilt batting as much as you want because no one will know if your quilt has Franken-batting on the inside (sorry, Halloween is coming). The black line is where youll sew to join the strips. You’re now ready to join more strips, depending on how long you need to make your quilt border or binding. Determine the inches around the outer perimeter of your quilt. This is usually done with diagonal seams to reduce bulk on the quilt edge. When I make continuous binding, I usually cut my strips two and a half inches wide by the width of the fabric. Get free quilt patterns that will make it easy for you to put your fat quarters to good use. My binding ended up being 1.25″ x 280″ (approximately). As you can see, the seam is almost invisible. How to join your binding ends. Advertisement. Then she guides us step by step on the best way to attach the binding and how to finish the last details by hand. So when you start cutting your binding one of the things to remember is that your fabric is, and this is for a straight binding we’re not talking bias at all we’re just talking straight binding, your fabric is about 40 inches wide. This video tutorial and photo tutorial with step-by-step instructions… Jan 29, 2020 - A fabric binding is the final step in making beautiful handmade quilts, wall hangings, placemats, aprons, and many other things. By looking at the chart above, determine the width you want your binding strips to be when binding a quilt. When you get to a corner, fold the strip up, away from the quilt top so that it’s creased at a 45° angle. However, you can also use this method for piecing together strips for quilt borders. Quilt Binding Instructions: How to Join Quilt Binding Ends. Learn unforgettable tips for joining the ends of binding on your quilts. This is how it will look. How to Join Quilt Binding Strips - Learn how to join strips into one long strip for use in bindings or in quilt borders. August 29, 2017 Advertisement. (Click here to ‘Learn how to join fabric strips on the bias’) Step 1: Take the binding strips and fold in half lengthwise with wrong sides together and press. Preparation. If you found this tutorial helpful, you might also like to check out my tutorial for How to Match Prints When Piecing a Quilt Back. Don’t start at a corner! This will form a double fold binding which will withstand a lot of wear and tear. Here's how! Because you’re cutting bias strips instead of a perfect square, it doesn’t matter if your choice of binding fabric has been cut into previously. I use a line marked on my table to guide me when sewing the diagonal. Add 10” or more to allow for mitering corners and joining ends. The binding is used to cover the raw edges and has to be a continuous strip long enough to go around the entire project. Janet Wickell / The Spruce When you're sewing quilt binding to the last side, end the seam four to six inches from the original starting point, less for miniatures, and then backstitch. 1. If you have difficulty joining binding strips that are even and aligned, I hope you find this method helpful. Trim excess binding, leaving a tail that's long enough to overlap the first unsewn tail by about four inches. Line your binding strip up around the edges of your quilt. The gray strip represents the binding strip on the left, so its headed across and toward the right. So here is my trick for joining the strips together perfectly (i.e. By Cheryl Fall . This method only requires thread! So you take your first strip, lay it on your mat. More. If you need to make longer strips to fit the project, we recommend joining extra strips of fabric on the bias to reduce the extra bulk of the seam. I hope you enjoyed seeing how I join my binding strips. A lady showed me her method and then I ran across another method that's basically the same thing with a little twist on it. You can create bias strips by simply sewing strips together. Note: for mini quilts and mug rugs I sometimes cut my binding strips 2¼ inches. The binding is used to cover the raw edges and has to be a continuous strip long enough to go around the entire project. Start about half-way on one of the sides. For either method to work, cut the batting edges to be joined as straight as possible. Now that you’ve made your binding and sewn it to your quilt, you need to join the ends of the binding. Read More Free Bag Patterns ... Join Bias Tape Strips. Second strip, 90 degree angle, put it across. Most often, we piece strips together for binding- because you need a looooooong continuous strip of fabric to go around all the edges of your quilt. Sew on that diagonal in order to join the strips. How to join binding: Using WOF of fabric, cut the number of strips needed; My 8 strips are cut out; This is how I set up to sew a diagonal seam. I have right sides together (RST) for the strips. Tweet. You don't have to play with it a lot. With your binding strips cut, now comes the fun of joining them. Joining strips of binding on the bias makes your binding less bulky than if you butt them together on the straight grain. With solids, this isn’t such a big problem, but it is important with printed fabrics. 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