Good morning! Today will be the final tutorial for our Quilt-A-Long. We are going to take that binding and finish our quilt!!
Let’s sew!
1. Take your binding
2. Open the binding at one end and using the 45 degree mark on your rule, trim the end.
3. Starting about half way along one side of the quilt, using the end you just cut, pin the binding to the back of the quilt, ‘peeper’ fabric up.
4. Start about 8″-10″ from the end of the binding and sew along the side using a 1/4″ seam until you reach 1/4″ from the end. I have put a pin to show you where to stop. Finish by doing a couple of reverse stitches.
5. Take it from the machine
6. Take the binding and fold it up so that it runs as an extension of the side that you haven’t sewn yet. It will form a 45 degree angle.
7. Now fold it back down along the unsewn side until the fold is level with the side you have just sewn – I popped a pin in it to hold.
8. Now back to the machine and starting with some reverse stitches, do the same thing down this side, stopping 1/4″ from the corner.
9. Repeat the process until you are back to the side where you started. Stop with a couple of reverse stitches when you are about 8″-10″ from the end of the binding that you pinned at the start. You now have two unsewn ends of binding.
Now all we have to do is make that binding fit together!! It looks complicated but it really isn’t. There are many different ways to do this but this one works for me 🙂
1. From the point you just stopped sewing, open the binding and continue to pin the binding fabric only (my stripe) to the quilt until you meet up with the cut off end that we started with.
2. Place the opened binding on the left under the precut end, making sure it is all lying flat. I have my finger under the precut edge to show you
3. Mark where that precut edge meets the bottom one- I have moved the top away to show you my blue mark
4. You can take the pins out now and open the binding, using your rule, continue the mark you made across the binding
5. Now we have to add 1/2″ seam allowance – so on the side closest to the end of the binding, add 1’2″. The new line is the one on the right.
6. Cut the binding off at that line – you know you have the right line if the first line is still there too!
7. Now we are going to join the ends just like we did when we joined our strips! We need to take care here that we join carefully so the ‘peeper’ continues across the join. The easiest way is to put your pin through the top piece on the seam line
and make sure that it also passes through the seam line on the bottom one
8. Using a 1/4″ seam, sew the seam ( I couldn’t match the stripes here but you can see that the seam is matched perfectly!)
9. Press the seam open and fold the binding back in half.
10. Take it back to the machine and starting and finishing with a couple of reverse stitches, complete sewing the binding!! (and rejoice that it fits perfectly)
How are we doing? I hope you are still with me!!
Now all we have to do is press the binding away from the back of the quilt and then turn it to the front. We are going to sew ‘in the ditch’ along the seam line of the ‘peeper’. I suggest you pin it to the front with the pins just missing the seam line on the back.
You will be sewing on the front of the quilt so choose a thread to match the colour of your ‘peeper’ fabric.
You will see the thread on the back so I suggest filling your bobbin with a colour to match the back of the quilt. In my case I had a blue on the top and a light green in the bobbin.
When you reach a corner, treat it the same way as before – sew up to the seam line of the next side
Fold the corner and keep sewing!
Congratulations!!!!! You have reached the end of our little adventure and you have a lovely quilt for your efforts. I am so excited I could almost burst!! 🙂
I want to thank you for allowing me to guide you in the making of your first quilt – it has been a huge experience for both of us. The whole process evolved while I was in a place of real emotional turmoil – facing the reality of necessary Aged Care for my darling Dad. Quilting along with you provided me with a place of calm and comfort amid all of that turmoil – it is my wish that our quilts provide the same feelings of calm and comfort for the children. Thank You from the bottom of my heart!
Until next time
Nanny xx
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