DIY Quilt at The Featherweight Shop ~ Part 9
Welcome back to the Do It Yourself Sew Along: Miss Rosie's Cake Mix ~ Part 9 : Binding! If you are just joining us on this Blue & Cream Star Quilt journey, catch up from the very beginning here!
At this point, we have completed the blocks, borders, sashing and have just received the quilt back from the longarm quilter! We are so close finishing the vintage Patchwork Blue & Cream Star Quilt, I can hardly wait! Let's begin on the binding!
Suggested Products & Notions
Miss Rosies Cake Mix #9
1 Layer Cake + 1 Charm Pack + 2 3/4 Yards Low Volume
12" x 18" Reversible Cutting Mat
Itty Bitty Eights Creative Grids Ruler
Creative Grids 2 1/2 x 12" Ruler
Olfa Rotary Cutter
Glass Head Pins
Iron
Quilter's Pressing Fleece
Thread Snips
Aurifil
Magnetic Pin Dish
Sewline Water Erasable Pen
Featherweight Accurate Seam Square
Featherweight Accurate Seam Guide
*More Information On Fabrics Used In Quilt Located In Footnotes Of Blog
I received my quilt back from the longarm quilter and am so excited for the final steps! It is the season to snuggle up by the fire with a nice warm quilt, so the timing could not have been more perfect to complete this quilt! First off, time to cut my binding strips! I cut my binding strips to be 2 inches wide. This width is easy to work with.
Formula for Binding:
(2 x Lenghth) + (2 x Width) + (10" for the Margin) = Total Length of Binding
Cut the (Total Length of Binding) x (Width of Finished Binding x 2)
After you have checked your calculations twice, begin cutting your binding strips. I picked a fun floral print to match the inside of my blocks. My goal was to bring the quilt together harmoniously by matching the outermost fabric to the innermost fabric. While I was picking the binding, I tried just the plain cream, but it did not have the same punch this fun print did! I am quite happy with how my choice turned out. Coming into this quilt, it was my first try at 100% picking fabric combinations on my own, not using layer cakes, and trying to have the colors flow. It was a challenging experience, but I am so proud of the finished product and all the information that I have learned.
The neater you trim your binding strips, the cleaner your finished binding will look. Don't stack your fabric too high when cutting or rush through this step. It will cause shifting and uneven lines.
After you have all your binding strips cut into the desired width, fold over in half lengthwise and iron!
This step helps with accuracy while sewing on the binding as well as making sure that your lines are straight.
I like to trim off any selvedge edges just to be sure I don't accidentally include them on the quilt. I wouldn't like to miss a little white patch and have to go back and "unsew!"
There are two ways of sewing the seams of the binding, the horizontal seam or the straight seam. Since we have already covered the lovely diagonal "fancy" seam, let's take a look at the straight seam. I love this one for simplicity or when you are running short on fabric. Align wrong sides together, making sure the middle crease where you ironed is matching in the middle!
Then sew a straight line, creating a quarter inch seam. Make sure to align your edges closely, since this will create a seamless look.
Especially when working with a busier pattern, this little straight seam seam is hardly noticeable when running short on time or fabric!
Taking a look from the underside, the seam is just long enough to give the durability needed, but not create bulk.
Now it is time to press open the seam, then press your binding over in half one more time.
I am excited to attach this binding. It is going to look adorable!
When attaching your binding, leave a 5-8" tail before you begin sewing. Sew the raw edges of the binding so they align with the raw edge of your quilt. This means that the folded over edge should be pointing toward the middle of your quilt. To check and make sure it is being sewed on correctly, fold over your binding to the other side (like you will be doing in a later step) and make sure your finished edge is the one being folded over!
I use the Featherweight Walking Foot for attaching all my binding. This avoids the dreaded shifting and uneven seams while working with multiple layers! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Walking Foot!
Continue to sew along the edge of the quilt, using the right edge of the walking foot as your guide.
Coming up to the first corner, stop about 1/4" from the edge, which is where you will stop sewing. Stop with your needle down.
After stopping about 1/4" from the edge with your needle down, rotate 45 degrees until you are pointing towards the outer corner of the quilt. Sew diagonally to the corner, then back stitch a couple of stitches to secure the corner binding.
Now, sew off the corner. Follow the link below for how to fold the corner binding and begin sewing the the adjacent side and repeat the process for each subsequent corner.
Read the Love Letter Pillow Cover Tutorial for a great detailed Binding Corner tutorial!
Read the Love Letter Pillow Cover Tutorial for a great detailed Binding Corner tutorial!
*The above two photos are from the Love Letter Pillow Cover Tutorial
After sewing all sides and to join the two binding ends together, leave about 10" of space between the stop and the start of the binding. Be to leave binding tails of about 7"-10" long to use for overlap in the next step!
Lay both strips over each other and take a scrap of binding to lay outstretched over the binding strips. This is your measuring guide to see how much you need to trim off. Cut off this measurement *over* the amount that the two binding strips touch. This means you should have a few inches of extra binding to work with.
Instructions to join binding: Follow along detailed step-by-step Love Letter Pillow Tutorial Part 4 Here.
All nice and joined together!
Now is the time for the hand stitching. This is my "on-the-go" project. I took this quilt with me to soccer practices, movie nights, pretty much anywhere I had a few minutes to relax and spend time sewing. It is "sew" much fun!
Thread up your needle and tie off a knot to stop the thread from pulling through when looping it under the binding.
Take your needle and pull the thread between your layers of fabric and batting, having it pop out roughly half an inch down. Then, push it up through the fabric, batting, and binding, securing all three together.
Loop this stitch back through directly down to create a tight little stitch, and repeat pulling the needle and thread through the layers of fabric and batting for half an inch. Repeat around your quilt to secure your binding!
Well, looky there! You finished your quilt! Congratulations!
