Ask Penny Halgren

Category » Binding a Quilt

There were 30 articles found in this category:

1. What kind of quilts have curved edges and how would you bind them?
   Ideas for Quilts with Curved Edges Create an Extraordinary Finish on your Quilt Using Special Binding Learn 7 creative ways to bind your quilts with perfection – you'll have smooth and square mitered corners and even edges all the way around your quilt. Learn more While m ...
2. What is the difference between double fold binding and single fold binding; and which is better?
   Create an Extraordinary Finish on your Quilt Using Special Binding Learn 10 creative ways to bind your quilts with perfection – you'll have smooth and square mitered corners and even edges all the way around your quilt. One new method every month for the rest of 2009. Learn more ...
3. My corners are really hard to miter and they want to curl. What am I doing wrong?
   How to Bind a Quilt Learn 6 different ways to bind your quilts with perfection – you'll have smooth and square mitered corners and even edges all the way around your quilt. www.HowToBindAQuilt.com Without seeing it, it's difficult for me to say exactly what the problem is, a ...
4. What is your secret for smooth, square mitered corners on your binding?
   How to Bind a Quilt Learn 6 different ways to bind your quilts with perfection – you'll have smooth and square mitered corners and even edges all the way around your quilt. www.HowToBindAQuilt.com This is a technique that is simple, once you have seen it and done it a couple ...
5. When should I use bias binding versus straight-grain binding?
   How to Bind a Quilt Learn 6 different ways to bind your quilts with perfection – you'll have smooth and square mitered corners and even edges all the way around your quilt. www.HowToBindAQuilt.com You will definitely want to use bias binding when you have a quilt with curves, ...
6. How much fabric do you really need to miter the corner on your quilt?
   It seems the "rule of thumb" for mitered corners is a measurement of 2" plus width of border plus length of quilt plus width of border plus 2" plus 1/2". Could you explain the logic to having the entire width of border measurement included? For instance if your border is 6 1/2" wide, it seems li ...
7. Should I hand stitch my binding closed, or machine stitch it?
   Whether you hand stitch or machine stitch your binding closed should depend on a few things. First, you might want to consider the use of the quilt. If it is a baby quilt or a quilt for a child and is going to be well-loved, washed and dragged around the house, you might want to machine stitch ...
8. Can you sew the binding on the back of the quilt using your sewing machine?
   Can you sew the binding on the back of the quilt using your sewing machine?? to make it look perfect?? Or is hand sewing the only way to go so the front and back are perfect??? Thank You Shirley... With practice or special stitches on your machine, closing your binding using a sewing mach ...
9. Where should I start to sew my binding on the quilt - in the corner or on a side?
   It is usually best to begin attaching your binding on one side of your quilt. Corners are difficult enough without adding the confusion of the beginning and ending seam. If my quilt has a "top" and "bottom," I start to attach the binding to the bottom of the quilt. That way, it is a little less ...
10. How do you hand sew your binding on so the stitches don't show?
    The best way I know is to use a blindstitch. By carefully "grabbing" just a few threads of your fabric with your needle, the stitches will be close together and will secure the closing of your binding. The next key is to work close to the folded edge of the binding, but mostly to the inside, cl ...
11. Do you need to trim the corners of your backing when you fold it over to bind your quilt?
    While there is no "Binding Law" that requires that you trim the corners when you are self-binding your quilt, I have found that trimming the edges reduces the bulk in the corners of the finished quilt. In addition, sometimes my corners aren't perfect, and without trimming the points of in the c ...
12. How do you know how much to overlap your prairie points?
    As far as I know, there is no magic formula for overlapping prairie points - at least I haven't found one. As a matter of fact, you don't need to overlap them at all. You could place them right next to each other. Should you decide to overlap them, without doing a bunch of math, you can estimate ...
13. How do I make piping for my quilt?
    Very simply, piping is cording that is wrapped with fabric to create a 3 dimensional embellishment on your quilt. Quilters generally use cording that is fairly small in diameter so it doesn't increase the bulk of the quilt in the corners. The process is done in two steps. The first step is to ma ...
14. What is the best way to add piping to the binding in your quilt?
    Most quilting books show how to add piping in one continuous strip around the outside of your quilt, and then overlapping when the ends meet. This causes your quilt to have rounded edges, because it is quite impossible to miter the corners of cording and in order to make them square. In addition ...
15. What is knife edge binding?
    Knife edge binding is a method of finishing a quilt where you simply fold the seam allowances on both the quilt top and backing so they are inside the quilt. In one way, this might be one of the easiest ways to finish a quilt, because you completely eliminate the need for adding a binding strip ...
16. How do I finish my quilt using a knife-edge binding method?
    There are two ways to accomplish this finish on your quilt. One way is to fold the seam allowances inside the quilt, pin the front and back together, and then hand or machine stitch around the outside of the quilt to secure the edges. Because you do this with the quilt top and backing facing ou ...
17. How do I fold the corners of my binding to the back of my quilt and not end up with a bunched up mess?
    It's pretty easy to fold the corners of your binding onto the back of your quilt and miter them, just as you miter the corners on the front of your quilt. I do trim the corner of the layered quilt slightly to give myself a little extra slack in the corner. It reduces the bulk, especially where y ...
18. How do I close the corners of a quilt when I have used the self-binding technique?
    The method I use to close the edges on my self-binding is to hand stitch them closed using a blind stitch. Because I fold each side over individually, I end up with two rather loose edges that would unfold if left alone. I suppose you could machine stitch the opening shut, however I think in ord ...
19. Do you ever use a single fold binding to finish a quilt?
    Yes, occasionally I do use single fold bias binding; rarely do I use single fold straight grain binding. If you are unclear about the difference between bias binding and straight grain binding, you might want to check out the article about that: Straight grain vs. Bias Binding Because single fol ...
20. How do you make your Secret Hanging Sleeve in the Binding?
    When you wrap the binding around to the back of the quilt, to miter the corner, it will extend beyond the next side, and the binding will form a 45° angle. Fold the next side down, pin the corner, and continue to pin the side. Repeat the process for all corners and sides. I generally pi ...