chart for binding yardage

good chart to have for sure. seems to me a 1/4" binding is tiny. good for smaller quilted items, tablerunner, placemats, wall hangings, crib/cot size, et al.. might look a bit 'underdone' on a bigger bed quilt. how is 1 5/8" wide cut going to make a 1/4" double fold binding? just my view, j.

"Jennifer in Ottawa" wrote...

Everyone should save this and print a copy to keep near your work space for future reference. jennellh

good chart to have for sure. seems to me a 1/4" binding is tiny. good for smaller quilted items, tablerunner, placemats, wall hangings, crib/cot size, et al.. might look a bit 'underdone' on a bigger bed quilt. how is 1 5/8" wide cut going to make a 1/4" double fold binding? just my view, j.

"Jennifer in Ottawa" wrote...

Everyone should save this and print a copy to keep near your work space for future reference. jennellh

sorry for double reply. isp is not cooperating again today. nothing new there either. j.

1 5/8 for double fold? I do 1 7/8 -- and people think I'm nuts! Isn't the norm like 2 1/4 or so?

(I don't do a true double fold -- when I fold -- I leave a 1/4" exposed which makes less bulk on the corners. The edge is still double fold.)

When they talk of the 1-5/8" - that is already folded double. They give 1/4yd of fabric to cut 3 strips which makes each strip x3" - you'd still need to be careful cutting straight strips if you only had

1/4yd though and that still leaves 1/4" unaccounted for > 1 5/8 for double fold? =A0I do =A01 7/8 =A0-- and people think I'm nuts! = =A0Isn't

snipped-for-privacy@l5g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...

3 x 1/4" x 2 + 1/8"

I think it could be very 'tight', and only do-able with fine fabric; but I think the above is the theory. I always do single fold and cut strips

4 x 1/4" + 1/8" (down, up, down, up + thickness ) which is what they suggest 1 1/8".

I actually have the little book, and it is marvellous (mind you, I hadn't remembered the inclusion of this binding gem - it's hard to remember everything in a book, so thanks Jenn!). . In message , Kate in MI writes

maybe it's too early for me, but i'm confused. i cut 2" strips, straight cut, sew end to end. i measure the top and side and double that measurment. then divide by the width of fabric and that's how many strips i need. i always have enough, sometimes extra. the folds are 1/2 " and i sew the binding on by machine on the front of the quilt first. hand sew the back. seems to come out ok for me.

amy in CNY

When you add your strips together -- do you do straight seams? I usually do the 90 degree across the diagonal so spread the bulk of the seam on the edge.

A friend who had a quilt in a juried, judged show said the judges really focused on her binding in their comments (the rest of her quilt was flawless IMNSHO). Was told the mitered corners were too bulky and not sewn down. She talked to one of the judges about her binding - and was told that if she offsets her double fold binding by 1/4 inch -- so that when you sew it down you are only sewing on a single thickness (right along the edge of where the double starts - you still have double on the edge for durability -- but it eliminates 3 layers of fabric from the corners where you miter which allows it to lie much flatter and the corner is much cleaner. She asked about cutting the corner of the quilt under the miter -- she was told that over time your corner will break down and become rounded (and when they check bindings -- they pinch the corners to see if you did that.

Anyhow -- since I started doing 1 7/8 with the 1/4" offset on the fold -- bindings and corners seem to lie much more nicely.

ALSO -- I was so happy to learn how to do the joining of the 2 binding "ears" so that they were a perfect fit -- and there was no overlap there. Now when you run your fingers along my bindings -- you have NO CLUE where I stopped or started. My early quilts all have the one little section that isn't always visible - but that you can feel. It feels like a snake after he has had his dinner -- that little bulge!