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Mitering the Corners of Binding on a Quilt
By: Penny Halgren
Q: I am having trouble with the binding. I follow the instructions that I got off "How to Quilt", but my corners are really hard to miter and they want to curl. What am I doing wrong? I hope you can help me.
A: Without seeing it, it's difficult for me to say exactly what the problem is, and what will help. But, I'll give it a try.
Sometimes it depends on the width of your binding. I have found that narrow binding (less than 1" wide) tends to be not as crisp at the corners. Partly, I think, because of the fabric that is folded over inside of the corner. If that's not the problem, you might try pinning each fold to hold the fabric in place as you sew the next side. That would work like this:
When you get to the end of the side of your quilt, end your stitching 1/4" away from the edge of the quilt, and then remove the quilt from the machine and cut the threads.
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Fold the binding at a 45 degree angle over the stitching you just completed. The fold of the binding should be at the end of the stitching. Once you have a nice 45 degree angle, place a pin in the binding - securing it to the quilt.
Fold the binding straight down on top of the 45 degree angle, matching the raw edges of the binding up to the next side of the quilt. Then pin the binding down to the quilt top, securing the fold you just made. This will result in two pins being very close to each other, so you need to be careful as you attach the binding to the quilt.
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Fold the binding on top of itself. Begin stitching at the very edge of the quilt. This secures the binding and helps make a nice mitered corner. |
Once the binding is completely secured to the quilt (i.e., all 4 sides are stitched), fold the binding around to the back of the quilt. You may need use your fingers or some other skinny tool to flatten the fabric inside the binding. If the binding is narrow (less than about 1"), there will be some bulk that may make the corner look a little "bunchy." Because the fabric is secured with stitching, you may find that trimming the excess binding away from the corner will help smooth it out. Be sure not to trim too much. If it is trimmed too close, the stitching might come out.
Something else that occurs is that the seam allowances at the corners are not exactly the same width. One might be 1/4" and the other might be 3/8." This will also prevent the corner from being square. To solve that problem, you can either re-sew one side, or trim the side that is larger.
I hope that helps. If you still have questions, and can send a picture or two, I might have other suggestions.
Happy Quilting!
Penny is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.
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©2006, Penny Halgren