Binding a Quilt

Binding is the perfect way to finish a sewing project. It's the most elegant way to hide the raw edges of a skirt or a dress. For quilters, covering the edges of the quilt sandwich with binding is the mandatory and final step. Binding adds such a nice touch to a quilt and I love picking out just the right fabric to provide that professional finish.

Calculate yardage needed for binding

Calculate the length of binding needed using the formula:

(Width of project x 2) + (Length of project x 2) + 10". The extra 10" provides the amount needed to overlap for the beginning/ending and join the ends of the binding together.

One way is to join the pieces using straight seams. Straight seams use less fabric and are a simple way to sew the binding strip together. The disadvantage of this way of joining fabric for binding is that it creates a very bulky and lumpy seam when joined to the quilt.

The second way is to make diagonal seams. Diagonal seams reduce the bulk of fabric when joining the binding to the quilt and avoid lumps and bumps. However, when making diagonal seams to join pieces to make the long binding, a bit more fabric is used and wasted.

For this blog, let's assume the strips are joined on the diagonal.

The yardage needed is based on the width of your fabric, allowing for sewing the strips together on a diagonal. Most quilting fabric has a usable width from 44" to 42" wide (removing the selvages). So I use 42" as a good number when calculating the amount of fabric needed.

Using a 60" x 72" quilt as an example, the amount of finished binding needed is (60 *2) + (72 x 2) + 10 = 274".

If the fabric for the binding is 42" in width, then 274/42 = 6.5 strips. Cutting 7 strips will allow plenty to make sure you have enough binding once the strips are sewing together.

To calculate yardage needed, simply multiply the number of strips needed (in this example, 7) by the width of the strips you want for your binding. (I use 2^1/4" strips for the binding on my quilts and wall hangings. If I am binding the seams of a tote bag, however, I use 2^1/2" strips).

So for this example, 7 x 2.25=15.75" of 42" fabric is needed to make the binding.

Cut the binding

If you don't need bias binding, then cut the binding strips parallel to the width of fabric on a bolt of fabric. (If you need bias binding, check out our earlier blog ,In a Bind About Binding: How to Make Continuous Bias Binding-to-make-continuous-bias-binding , and learn how to create continuous bias binding).

Sew the strips together

Once the required number of strips have been cut, join the strips end-to-end on a diagonal.

When sewing strips together end to end on the diagonal, press the seams open to reduce bulk.
Fold strips in half lengthwise with wrong sides together and press after sewing the binding into one long strip

Sew the Binding to the project

I like to do a quick placement around the quilt of the binding to make sure the seams of the binding don't land at any of the corners.