I know that sounds like a really personal question doesn’t it? (I am a proud “peeker” but we’ll get into that in a moment…)
I’m about to ask those of you who quilt/put bindings on projects some really deeply personal questions, are you ready?
Working on sewing on the quilt binding that won the votes (see posts Help Me Pick the Binding for Seattle Scrappy! and And the Winner of the Binding Fabric Poll is…) yesterday got me wondering what other crafters’ practices are related to sewing on a binding.


First a couple questions related to the initial sewing on of the binding to the quilt:
Are You a Peeker?
When you first sew the binding onto to the quilt (before you hand stitch or machine stitch it down), do you peek after your first couple inches or so to see how the binding is going to look finished?
I do! I am a proud peeker! As soon as I have enough binding sewn on to the quilt I flip the edge it over to the backside so I can see how it is going to look:
It is just so pleasing to me and like instant gratification to see a preview of how the finishing quilt binding will look!
Do You Measure or Eyeball?
When it comes to turning a corner on a quilt when initially sewing on the binding, do you eyeball the quarter inch (or whatever measurement you use), or do you whip out the ruler and measure?
I am an “eyeballer” and so far it has served me well (but I have screwed up a couple times). Occasionally, as you can see in the image above, I do also pin it in place before sewing down the next section after turning the corner.
Now a couple questions related to hand stitching the binding to the back of the quilt after you’ve initially sewn it on:
How Do You Do Your Corners?
After you finish initially sewing on the binding, do you sew all the corners of the binding first and then sew down the rest along the quilt; or do you just start at one section and work your way around the quilt?
What I do is preview the corners, that they are sitting correctly and sometimes leave some pins or some clips in the corner, and then I randomly select a place to start to sew down the binding and work my way around the quilt.

And the most private and personal question of all (smile):
How Do You Select Thread Color to Sew Down to Back?
I’ve always struggled with this – do you go with trying to match the color of the binding or the color of the backing/back of the quilt?
I went with what was in my sewing machine – a medium-ish gray and I hope it works between the medium-dark binding color and the light gray backing!
I think that is enough probing questions.
Okay, so in the comments below feel free to share your most personal binding related secrets – it’s OK you’re among friends (smile)!
Postscript
I was also going to ask how do you initially measure how much binding you need to bind a quilt? I eyeball it by holding up my fabrics strips, that will be made into the binding, up to the quilt. But many times I end up with this situation: too much leftover binding…
