Learn how to bind a quilt flawlessly with the stitch-in-the-ditch technique & a simple trick! Follow these steps for beautiful quilt binding!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Active Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Sewing
Cuisine: International
Keyword: how to bind a quilt, how to sew binding on a quilt, quilt binding, quilt binding technique, sewing binding on quilt corners, stitch in the ditch binding
Trim off any excess batting or backing fabric so that all layers are even.
Fold your binding fabric in half, wrong sides together, and press with an iron.
Starting from the middle of one side of the quilt, pin or clip one side of the binding to the raw edge of the quilt top, leaving at least 2" inch tail at the beginning.
Pin or clip all around the quilt top until you reach the starting point.
Leave another 2 inch tail of binding and trim off any excess.
Sewing
With your sewing machine, start stitching the binding on one side of the quilt (I usually start with the front side), using a ¼ inch seam allowance. Start sewing the binding to the quilt, about 2" away from the end of the strip.
When almost reaching the corners, sew mitered corners.
Continue stitching until you reach the next corner and repeat the process.
Once you reach the starting point, stop stitching 2 inches before reaching your first stitch.
Join both ends of the binding
Sew along this overlap to secure the binding and finish stitching all around the quilt.
Next press the binding up with your iron on steam.
Then flip the quilt to the other side.
Grab the paper backed hemming tape and fuse it to the edge of the binding or to the seam (the seam you've just sewn but on the other side of the quilt)
Using your hands and the iron, press the edge of the binding over the seam, so that it covers it just a tad.
Flip the quilt again so that the front side is up.
Change the presser foot if needed. I didn't use a walking foot or stitch-in-the-ditch foot as I have a clear, see-through foot that allows me to see the seam.
Sew a stitch in the ditch seam to finish attaching the binding to the quilt. This stitch should barely catch the binding onto the back side of the quilt and should look almost invisible onto the front side of the quilt. When you flip the quilt to the other side, you should also see a nice, straight and narrow seam on the opposite side of the binding.