Bindings, Part 1: Making Continuous Binding

I've finished my machine appli-quilting (see machine applique tutorial) and squared up and trimmed my piece. Now it's time to bind it. If you need help figuring out how much binding you need, have a look at our blog entry here - GO FIGURE: How Much Binding Do I Need?

For now, I'm binding my Radiance Medallion V. You need 119 linear inches of binding. 

I cut my fabric into 3  -  2.5" strips. Now to turn strips into continuous binding. 

Sewing strips with mitered joins

1. Pin strips, right sides together, at a 90 degree angle. 

2. Using a ruler, draw a line along a 45 degree angle.

3. Stitch along the drawn line.

4. Trim off the corner 1/4" from the stitch line. 

5. Iron flat. Strip measures 2.5" x linear inches.

6. Fold in half length-wise, aligning raw edges, and iron. Your strip is 1.25" x your linear inches. 

I like to iron a 45 degree angle at one end of the strip. This is the beginning of my binding when I sew it onto my piece. 

7. Open the fold of the ironed binding strip. Fold the corner down, aligning the raw edge of the end to the raw edge of the long side of your strip with a 45 degree angle. Iron. 

8. Fold the strip in half length-wise again, aligning both raw edges of the length with each other. Iron. 

You are ready to sew the binding onto your piece. Check out Bindings, Part 2: Mitered Bindings by Machine, and Bindings, Part 3: Hand Stitching Mitered Corners to finish as well as you've started.