Blind stitch for binding

Alice, I didn't have much luck with blind-stitching the binding. I missed several spots. However, using a decorative stitch works much better! You can stitch along, knowing that the decorative stitch is going to "hit" in several places and be a bit more reliable -- at least, that's my experience. The stitches I like best for this are the ones that have a straight line (I put that into the ditch) and then swing over to the side where the binding is for several stitches before going back to the ditch. Works for me, anyway.

I also think for machine stitching the binding, it looks better if the binding is sewn to the back and brought around to the front for stitching. Then you know that you've caught all of it and it looks much neater.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, the stitch I use to sew bindings down by hand doesn't show, I just assumed everyone did it like this - though I realised recently this is not the case. I don't think it takes me any more time to do it this way.

Cheers Anne

I think she meant she didn't want to do it by hand.

Yes that works, I've tried this way before with not-so-important quilts and it saved some time. Instead of machine sewing to the front then hand stitching over to the back, I machine stitched the binding onto the back then turned it over and machined stitched the front, that way I was able to get a much cleaner/neater finish. Then as Alice suggested you could use a decorative stitch as well. Wendy in NSW

Thanks everyone. I have already sewn the binding onto the front so I think I'd better just bite the bullet and sew this one by hand. But I will really try the machine method the next time! Great tips as usual!

Alice, try the one that looks like chicken tracks. (maybe 'feather' stitch?) . . . or the one that looks like little hills drawn with a single row of stitches (sort of a scallop). Any oops that you have with the blind stitch is going to be visible 15 feet away on a galloping horse. If you can, do your stitching from the top side of the quilt so you can control the appearance. The SM will try to bog down at the corners so you'll want to release the pressure of the presser foot some. Tell your SM that You are in control and use the hand wheel at the corners if you have to in order to have a uniform stitch. I didn't mean to make this sound so tedious; just thought I'd arm you with all the tricks. Polly

Thanks Polly. I have a Pfaff that has a gazillion built in stitches so I think I have the ones you mentioned. I think any machine method is going to be less tedious than the hand sewing. I will have to make some practice blocks to get the hang of it first though. Thanks for the tips!

Alice in NJ

Just one more. You will not die if you have to baste the corners. It will still be a heap faster than handstitching the whole quilt. Polly

I know the corners are a bear! I am anal to a fault about my corners. I was wondering how to handle them. I appreciate the advance warning. I don't want to rush through any of my quilts but there is a certain little guy who just turned 3 and needs a bed quilt since he is going into a "big boy" bed within the next few weeks. He wants "boats" on his bed, like Pop-Pop's boat. So, I need to start this quilt rather quickly you understand.

Alice in NJ

Seeing as it's already sewn at the front, another thought is to pin it well over at the back but stitch in the ditch from the front. I did do that some years ago before...duhh...sew it from the back first...and it did work reasonably...only missed the back in a couple of places that I snigged by hand. Not the best technique but in a pinch.......well ..... Wendy in NSW

Polly, that's the sort of thing I was trying -- not too successfully -- to say. I've used the feather stitch, and it looks great for this sort of thing. :)

Polly Esther wrote:

I guess I will take my life in my own hands and explain again that I always do my binding by machine using a decorative stitch. I also put my binding on in ONE pass -- I don't sew the back side down and then turn to the front. I'm pretty sure it was Mary Ellen Hopkins who came up with this process. Anyway, I determine the width fabric I need, fold in half and then fold the ends to the center. I end up with something that looks like store bought bias binding but is double thickness and is straight of grain (assuming there are no curves in the edge of the quilt). I then put this binding over the raw edge of the quilt after I have put the quilt edge through the serger -- makes it a lot easier. I start in the center of the "bottom" and sew the binding down to the edge of the quilt -- NO stitches beyond the edge of the quilt or you won't be able to make the mitered corner turn. Break your thread and take the quilt from the machine. Now you can easily AND cleanly turn the binding to the next side because those stitches you have just completed hold the binding down and you can make a nice neat 45 degree mitered corner. By using a decorative stitch, I am certain to get both the front and the back side of the binding stitched down in just one pass through the machine. My favourite stitch is either the feather stitch (the one someone said looks like chicken feet) or the one I call "hills & valleys" which is a series of small, large, small /\ stitches to one side and then the same series of stitches to the other side. I also like to use variegated thread which helps in hiding any instances of pilot error. I haven't checked online to see if this method of applying quilt binding is described any better or with photos but it certainly does make binding application a LOT quicker and more enjoyable, at least for me. I join the ends in a diagonal seam so that it's not noticeable and just looks like the rest of the seams for making the length of binding. It's way difficult to try and explain how I do this but if anyone was interested I would be happy to give it a try. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I'll add another. If you are going to stitch from the front side to catch the back side of the binding down: glue or tape the binding in place. Use glue stick, which will wash out, to make sure the binding stays in place and you catch it all. Or use WonderTape which is a double sided tape that is also water soluble, washes out with the first wash. Either of these work very well.

Pati, in Phx

Polly Esther wrote:

If your binding is a bit wider on the back than on the front, you should be able to fold it under and top stitch from the top. I like to stitch in the ditch with thread to match my last border and you can hardly see the stitching from the top. A couple times, I used a decorative stitch from the top, too. That works, but usually I like the simpler look of the straight stitch in the ditch. If you think you might have trouble catching the binding on the bottom side, the decorative stitch is wider and more likely to hold securely.

I've done it often enough that I can usually catch the bottom edge without pinning or anything. I only pin the miters at the corners. It doesn't always look real great from the back, but it's done and it's sturdy -- 2 big plusses in my book. You could use some of that water soluble basting tape or some basting glue to hold the back side down while you stitch. That should help hold things in place.

Julia in MN

So am I Alice! Nice to meet someone else whose like that! :D Elly I

You've had some great ideas mentioned here and I've picked up the tip of hand stitching the corners when using a fancy stitch from the front. However, here's one more, which I haven't yet tried but worth a shot. Use fusible thread to machine your binding down first so the fusible is on the side you'll turn it over to. Then you can press it in place before doing the fancy machine stitches. Saving having to negotiate so many pins.

Elly