Creating a Wide Binding

I mentioned in my last post that I'd been experimenting with extra wide, single-fold binding - with some fussy cutting thrown in for good measure - based on a wonderful tutorial by Carrie Nelson for the Fat Quarter Shop and here, as promised, are my tips if you'd like to do the same.

Deciding on the width of the binding (& other important notes)

My first step was to decide on the width of the binding. My measurement was based on the pattern repeat (across the width of the fabric) of the vertical bands of roses and leaves in Liberty's Regal Stripe fabric, which was 1¼". From Carrie's formula, the width of the binding strips to be cut = (finished binding width x 3) + ½” with the extra ½” covering the ¼" seam plus an allowance for the folds in the fabric and the thickness of the quilt.

After making some test pieces - and given that my my binding had to be a precise width to capture the pattern repeat - I decided to lose the additional ¼", but to trim my quilt by an additional 1/8".

So, for my 1¼" finished width binding I needed to cut strips (1¼" x 3) + ¼" = 4"

My 4" strips were cut from the length of fabric, rather than the usual width, as I didn't want to have any joins in my carefully fussy-cut binding, This meant that the strips had to be joined at each corner, which is only really possible with single fold binding, as standard double fold binding is too bulky. So I also had to work out the approximate length of my strips. I measured the length of the longest side of the quilt (that is, the batting & backing, not the quilt top) and added 2" to cover the seam allowance and give me some wriggle room.

If you're doing the same you'll need to bear this in mind when buying your binding fabric. I used a 2 yd length of binding fabric, although I only needed half the width.

It's also important to note that, when adding a standard width binding, the edge of the quilt is also used to line up the raw edge of the binding, but for a wide binding the edge of the quilt is not the stitching guide.

Preparing your quilt

Whether you're doing the quilting yourself or sending it to a long-arm quilter, it's important to extend the quilting beyond the edge of the quilt by the width of the binding plus ½” to give the quilt perimeter a bit of body. You'll be using the edge of the quilt top to line up the edge of the binding, so you'll need to make sure that your quilt is accurately squared before it's quilted.

Alternatively, you could make your border a couple of inches wider than it needs to be, allowing you to square up your quilt after it's quilted and then mark the line for the edge of the binding around the perimeter of the quilt. Obviously this would have been tricky with my dark background fabric.

Trimming your quilt

Firstly, I marked the 7/8" seam allowance on my ruler with washi tape. I used the longest ruler I had - a 3½" x 18½" Creative Grids ruler - to allow me to line up the edge as accurately as possible, but only actually cut about 6" at a time (a), adding a second strip of washi tape to help me line up the corner (b).

There's always the odd spot where the edge of the quilt is caught by the quilting stitches, so I filled in the gaps with a water soluble pen to give me a straight stitching guide (c).

Fussy cutting the binding

I used the same strategy when fussy-cutting my binding strips, by marking the ruler with washi tape and taking my time to cut the strips. To cut the leading edge, I had to cut ¼" past the pattern repeat to allow for the seam (d). Once I'd cut this leading edge, I then cut the 4" width I needed for my binding (e).

Adding the binding with concealed corner joins

Placing the leading edge of the binding strip, right sides together, on the edge of the quilt top, I started stitching about 6" away from the first corner. Before I reached the second corner, marked ¼" away from the edge of my quilt top (f). When I reached that point, I lifted my presser foot and rotated the quilt by 90 degrees, lowered my presser foot and stitched into the batting (g).

The next step was to fold the binding away from the corner - to create the mitred corner - so that the raw edge was in line with the next side of the quilt. I then trimmed the first binding strip ¼" away from the edge of the batting (h). And yes, that was a bit nerve-wracking the first time I did it!

I then lined up the next strip of binding, right sides together, and joined it with a ¼" seam, which lined up nicely with the edge of the batting (j). Note: don't be tempted to trim this seam allowance down, because it actually lies flatter if you leave it alone (ask me how I know...).

Once I'd added all four sides - and gone back to stitch down that first 6" of binding - I took some time to press the binding away from the seam, which definitely helped when I turned the binding to the back of the quilt. I then turned the quilt to the wrong side and folded the binding strip towards the edge of the quilt before folding it again to make the back side of the binding. And I was pretty pleased with myself that the the pattern was beautifully aligned.

To form the mitre at each corner, I first folded in the side with the seam, finger pressing the seam towards the quilt and pinning it in place (k), before folding the next side in to form the mitre, again pinning in place (m) - if I did this again I'd probably glue-baste the binding in place as I stabbed myself countless times when I slipstitched the binding down - and I took the time to slip-stitch the mitres for a neat finish.

Summing up...

If you've made it to the end of the post, you'll have gathered that wide bindings need a bit of forethought. Fussy-cutting my fabric to capture those ravishing bands of roses added a layer of complexity to mine which just wouldn't be there if I'd using a blender or small print (and fussy cutting meant that I used more fabric than I usually would too). But you could still use the Regal Stripe print to bind your quilt in the usual way which would still look gorgeous (and you’d only need half a yard). Either way, we all love a stripy binding!

This may not have been the easiest but, without a shadow of doubt, it’s the prettiest!

with love from the studio,