Office Wide Binding

   I'd thought I'd never say that I'd rather be cleaning than doing books. Whoa! Did the inner voice really say that out loud? Just spent 1.5 hours shoveling snow, it was snowing and blowing and freezing again, and the roads were the pits on the way to the shop.

Today, I'm tired of purging and boxing the office, it still looks a mess and I'd rather be doing books. Kitty loves it because she can hide on the empty shelves.

office to be fabric shopping room

   In between surges of reorganizing and books, quilts have been bound. I've discovered that I love a wide, 1/2", binding on quilts that have a simple outside border. Now, remember that the bindings are all machine stitched. No hand sewing for this kid. I have struggled with holding the fabric using both fingers and a wooden awl. The wooden awl was used to feel the ditch on the back side so that I could try to stitch in the ditch. Happened 75% of the time and I thought it looked messy on the back sometimes. The corners were a pain most of the time.

   The binding is first sewn on the back side of the quilt. The seam was originally sewn at 3/8" but now it is sewn on at just over 1/4", about 5/16".

See the yellow pin head, above diagram, at the grooved line on the walking foot. This is what I use for alignment. I use to use the edge of the open space on the foot where the pin head is. Be aware all
walking feet are not created equal, even if they are made by the same manufacture.

Then fold the fabric over the raw edge to the quilt top. The width makes is so much easier to hold on to while the foot glides smoothly over the fabric. The edge is aligned to the outside of the walking foot, about 1/2".

The corners are also so much easier to pin and stitch around. First, pin the side that you are turning to, see white pin head. Then miter the corner and pin on the diagonal, see blue pin head. Now, I'm finding that even though the stitching on the back side is now away from the binding it looks much neater. Some quilt police do not like that the binding is narrower on the back than the front. Then again, I'm not producing the quilt to be officially show judged.

   We have a pristine set of 1979 Funk & Wagnalls. They were bought one at a time for my kids to use for research. That never happened. They are for anyone who would like them. Call or email Quiltnasium.

   One last thing, we are open online 24/7 but not open for group sewing or classes because some of the people in the offices at the front are vulnerable. Thank you.