For those who have asked to see how I’m finishing the binding by machine, I made a little video.
And here are a couple of closeup pictures. This first picture shows the front. You can hardly see any machine stitching!
This shows the stitched corner.
Why didn’t I figure this out sooner?
Related Posts:
- A Bit More About Binding
- Binding Misses (How to Avoid Missing the Back Side When Stitching)
- More Binding Info
{ 69 comments… read them below or add one }
Great video!!!! I might even get brave enough to try this.
Karen L
I can’t believe you did this just today for the first time.
It looks great! When I tried this it was a total mess.
Maybe the fact that I sewed like a bat out of Hell
had something to do with it. I will try it again sometime
when it is a utility quilt.
thank you! the video is great. I did try once but didn’t pin as much and therefore didn’t get that nice result. I will try again this way!
Nat, from sunny Paris, France
Great video….I’ve tried to do it that way in the past but I think I had the back flap over too much and it didn’t look nice. Yours look great and I am going to try it again, thanks to you.
Judy, thanks for the video! I’m encouraged to try this. Even better was hearing your voice. Wish I was getting to visit with you this summer. Good to hear from Speck, too! Hugs!
Oh, I enjoyed the video, thanks for posting this!
Judy, that looks great and your video was very easy to follow. I’m going to try it on a small wall hanging. What a timesaver!
Thanks.
Terrific video! I’m sending a link to all my quilting friends to tell them all about it. Thanks, Judy.
Great video Judy!
The video makes it look doo-able to me! Thanks ever so much. I am off to put a link to your post on my blog so everyone can see it…
Great video. Thanks. Isn’t technology wonderful……think of how many people learned a new technique today.
Do you have your pile of quilts finished yet?
Thank you Judy, for the binding video. This old bird learned a new trick today!
Now on to binding all the piled up quilts. Sarah e4e
I have a queen size that I have just not wanted to sit down and sew that binding on….. now, I think I just might have found a better way….. thanks for the video, and it was great to have a voice to go with the blog! I am glad I took my ‘break’ (I have been sewing all day) and thought I would see what some of my blogging buddies have been up to. Great way to spend a little time. Thanks Judy!
Wahoo!! Great video and now I know what your voice sounds like. Job well done. Once again you have risen to the challenge. Way to go!!
Thank you!!!!!!!!!! Great video! But I still think I will start with something small rather than the king size that I have to sew the binding on.
Aw, Speck wants to be on camera!
Great tip about NOT ironing. To get a better result by skipping a step is the best of two worlds.
Judy, thanks for this wonderful video! It’s lovely to hear your voice, as well — you speak so nicely! Can’t wait to try out your method. Take care — Dianne B. in England
GREAT video….I may even be able to get good results after seeing that. I loved hearing your voice (and Speck’s, too). Thanks for doing this for us!
Judy, that’s a great video and I will try this technique on my next quilt! You look and sound like a pro videographer!
Great Video, Judy! It looks wonderful!
Judy, this is fantastic! Thank you for doing this – I’m going to try it on my next quilt. And it was fun to hear the Louisiana in your voice!
Wow, Judy, you got that video up fast – and such a professional job! That was very nice of you!
I was just wondering, since you used the same fabric for the binding that you used for the border, why you didn’t just flip the border over to the back and then machine sew it down? I do that on my “fast” kid’s type quilts sometimes.
Thanks again,
Debby
Oh Judy I LOVE YOU! I had never tried this and wouldn’t you know I am quilting a quilt today that I needed for a grad gift tomorrow. I am going to attempt to get it done including sewing down the binding by machine. I will let you know if it worked as well for me. You may have saved me today!
Great video!
This is a great video – very clear instructions. Thank you! I’m so impressed. I would probably have not considered this as a serious option without seeing your video.
PS love your accent too….
Thanks for your video, I had just finished sewing a binding by machine and thought I might have missed something but no that is just how I do it. Except I always have to go around and resew areas where the binding was missed on the back. Any suggestions?
ps I have tried glue and found it to take much longer than just pinning. and it was a mess.
You just gave me hope! Awesome video… made everything clear as can be! I’ve tried putting the binding on by machine, (did the glue and iron thing), but was never really happy with the result… but now, I’m going to try it again! I like the pins better… it seems like it would be easier to “adjust” if need be. Thanks!
Loved the video – the message was easily received, even though I don’t have any sound.
It’s all lovely and beautiful… but my one problem is that you used PINS!! Yeah, that’s the step I “skip”. Good thing I enjoy doing the binding by hand, eh?
It’s sure fun to watch quilting evolve over time. There’s a lot of squawking when a new method comes on the market. Like rotary cutters or switching from hand quilting to machine quilting. So finishing the binding by hand is going to be reserved for special quilts or for those who love it.
20 or 30 years later… “hey! Would you look at that? The binding is done by hand. Isn’t that so hip?” (I’m sure “hip” will be the word in place of cool, awesome, etc.)
Just as long as the word “groovy” never comes back again…I never used it then and never will…
But I will *definitely* use machine-finished bindings!
Thanks for the great video – I’m going to try that on a small quilt first.
Thanks for the informational video. I have only one lap quilt ready for binding and I’ve been putting it off. I don’t mind hand quilting but getting started is too hard! I’ve been hearing/reading about machine binding and thanks to your video I’m gonna give it a whirl!
Oh yeah, I love your accent! to my PA ears it’s very cool!
Wonderful video – your tip about NOT PRESSING is the solution to my less-than lovely efforts at machine binding. Thanks – I’m going to try this next time on ‘regular’ quilts.
Where/how was the camera mounted?
BTW, I find the glue method kinda fussy with extra work. My binding application is very good, so I won’t change it but I DID try the glue method. Yuk! LOL
You have taught me something new today! I am going to try this soon! I tried machine sewing binding down once but did it from the back and immediately ripped it out. I never thought about doing it from the fron and on the seam line. Thanks Judy!
Judy, I’ve got to say that I didn’t notice an accent…… of course, I’m from Louisiana, too. You sounded normal to me!!! Great video. If I ever decide to machine bind, your video will be a good reference with concise instructions.
I have GOT to try this – thank you so much! I really didn’t like the idea of glue.
Thank you for this video it was great…you made it look so easy…will try it…I have done it using a fancy stitch but never thought of doing in the ditch and you are right from the front you cannot tell…wow…thanks again…
I’m one of the ones that uses school glue for bindings. Did you know that Elmer’s School Glue is really not a glue at all? It’s a very thick starch. I sew a 1/4 zig zag all around the quilt edges before sewing the binding to the quilt. It keeps the edges flat and gives me a visual guide. The video was very clear and easy to understand.
Thanks for the excellent video. Although I love doing hand binding, I am going to try this method next time – and hopefully save myself some time!
You are always so generous in giving instructions, sharing ideas, and providing free patterns. Thank you very much.
Wow Judy, that is a wonderful video. You explained it all so well and it really helps to actually be able to watch you do it. I have a quilt that needs to be bound in a hurry, so I’m for sure going to give this a try. Those corners are perfect! Thanks so much for doing this! You’re just the best!
Awesome video Judy! I have two quilts sitting in the cabinet waiting for binding. (They have been waiting a long time!) I will have to try this. Thank you for such a detailed tutorial!
Thanks for the video Judy. I’m going to try it on one of mine this weekend.
The video was great. Your binding looks so perfectly even with just the right away of fabric to flip to the other side. I have a question and I apologize if you have been asked before. When you are sewing your binding, how wide do you cut your fabric strips? Then what is your seam width when you attach the binding to the quilt?
You did a great job explaining this in your video and it was also nice to hear your voice. Your quilt looked so professional. I plan to try this on a wall hanging .
Thanks for sharing this with us.
I machine stitched a binding on to a blanket for Nora just this week… but your way, and results are so much better than mine!
I’m so glad I got to take a look at your video tonight Judy! Thanks Judy for sharing a video! You did a great job.
Now…why didn’t I think of stitching in the ditch?
I’m read earlier this week how you dreaded to get busy binding… and am so glad you gave this another try – and I’m sure you are too
Now you’ll have each in those stacks done,DONE in a week or two! 
if not sooner!
Thanks for doing the video! Once again you have given me the courage to try something new.
Judy – don’t forget to tag this as “video” or how-to video
so that one day if i’m looking for it or any of the other cute little videos you have made I can find them
Bonnie
Wow, what a fantastic tutorial. I have a little quilt that I’m going to try it on! Thanks, Judy!
Wow! It looks so easy! Gonna have to go play!
Thank you so much for sharing your machine binding. It is a great video.
I hope mine come out that good.
Judy,
Great video! Thank you so much. I have a couple of questions:
Do you trim to the edge of the quilt or 1/4″ away before you attach the binding to the front?
Do you cut off the little “ear” at the corner that goes under the miter?
Thanks!!!
You did a supurb job! I usually use a decorative stitch so I don’t have to worry about the stitch in the ditch but I’ll have to try it your way on my next binding. Thanks again for all your help and encouragement. You are a blessing!
Ok…that surely does look easier and faster than doing it by hand…I have a stack almost as tall as yours awaiting the binding tacked down and I just might have to try your method…thanks so much for sharing the video…I’m going to be be brave enough to try it this weekend.
wonderful video and the end product looks great …. I usually put binding on back of quilt and bring it around to front and top stitch with a serpentine stitch, but must try this one. thanks so much for the video – you explained it so well ….. loved the doggie wining in the background – ‘who you talking to Mommie, you’re not talking to me’ quote pooch.
Great job on the video, Judy! I’m like Jean (the comment above this one), I do my bindings by stitching to the back, then stitch it down on the front, from the front, with a decorative stitch. Sometimes I use serpentine stitch, sometimes a feather stitch, sometimes just a small zigzag, sometimes a blanket stitch, and occasionally a blind-hem stitch with monofilament thread. I have to confess I didn’t understand the “not pressing” thing — does that mean that you normally DO press your binding after you sew it onto the quilt? I’ve never done that, and it never would have occurred to me to do it. So that was interesting to me! Something else I do is to apply the binding in four strips, starting and stopping a seam allowance away from the edge, and then I machine-stitch the miters in. That’s a Jackie Robinson technique, which I learned from one of her books years ago, and LOVE. It was great to see another way to accomplish this task. Thanks again.
Judy, What an awesome video. Right to the point! I’m gonna try this very soon. I’ve got MANY quilts that need the hand sewing done and I just haven’t got time!
Thanks again!
O.K. Judy-watched this this morning-just came back and watched it again-now I’m heading for the sewing room to Machine stitch a binding down on a quilt I made last winter for a summer quilt for our bed. The only other binding I machine sewed down was on a baby quilt that the shower was that evening-I used that “curvey” stitch-and I didn’t like it one bit, but it was ready on time. I may just machine stitch the binding quite a bit. I will want to do them by hand, but if it comes to scrunch time-I’ll be good to go. Thanks and hugs, Bobbie
This is great….Thanks so much…
Thanks for the great video – it explained everything so well!! Also, loved to hear your voice to connect to your face and writing. It’s so nice and Southern. Fun to hear Speck too!
Judy, that’s one of the best quality videos I’ve seen on the web. It was well focused and the audio was excellent. Did you use the video mode on your camera? I don’t think mine records sound. Did Vince record it for you or did you have it mounted on a tripod? So many questions. It was great. You rock girl!
Great video Judy, I’m going to try this on my next quilt! Did you know that the Bernina walking foot is designed so that you can do in the ditch stitching by moving the needle all the way over (right or left) and running the fold along the inside edge of the foot. Don’t know if I’ve explained that very well, have a look at the Bernina video on The Quilt Show to see how the experts demonstrate it (it’s at the end of the clip) http://www.thequiltshow.com/bernina/9.html
Love the binding video Judy! I’ll have to give that a whirl.
Linda
Thank you for the video. I have been making quilted wallets and the binding has been a battle at best. I just bound one using your instructions and it went together so fast and easy.
Thank you for a great video, I normally sew my binding on to the back and flip to the front and sew down by machine I think I will try it your way. I have a quilt I need to put on the longarm tomorrow.
Excellent instruction. I have sent links to many of my quilting friends. Thanks Judy.
Great tutorial! Thanks for doing this!
Great video. You mentioned your pins as being very sharp. What brand/size are they?
I always seem to need more pins!
Thanks Judy,
I`ve actually done this a few years, but as it seemed everyone else finished the binding by hand, I`ve felt like I was cheating. I think my bindings look better when I do it this way than when I do it by hand.
You`ve made me stop thinking about it as cheating. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Judy! That was a very clear, concise and fabulous video of machine binding stitching. Love your accent (I’m from Canada) Keep up the good work.
I watched your video this morning and have read your additional tips and I’m almost finished with binding a quilt in this way. I’ve never been happy with machine done binding and will continue to hand stitch when I can because I find the process very satisfying, but I”m so glad I found this! I of course will perfect my technique as time goes on.
thanks,
Mary Ann (Suzanne Earley’s mom)
Judy your video is awesome and so easy to understand. I have major problems with doing my bindings so I will sure to be using this way.