beautifully, acting as a ‘frame’. It’s also a
very practical addition as it protects the
edges of the quilt from wear and tear.
Quilters usually use binding strips that
are cut on the bias, that is diagonally
across a piece of fabric, which gives the
strips more stretch. However, if your quilt
is square or rectangular you don’t need
bias strips, just straight-cut ones. If your
quilt has curved corners or a scalloped
edge then bias-cut strips would be
useful. You can buy binding ready to use
or make your own (see page 61). You can
find ready-made binding in sewing
stores, which is a quick option, but the
colour choices are limited and the
binding is normally a single layer, which
isn’t as durable as a double-fold binding.
You can also now increasingly get
patterned fabric bindings, too. Most
quilters prefer to make their own binding
as they can then choose the fabric to suit
their quilt, and also create a double-
layered binding, which is more
hardwearing. If you make your own
binding you can also use up any scraps or
offcuts of fabrics. Whether ready-made
or home-made, binding is sewn to the
quilt in the same way. When starting out,
it’s best to work with right-angled
corners, or turn to page 69 for how to
add mitred corners. There is also a
method known as self-binding, where
the backing material is cut 2in (5cm)
larger than the quilt top, folded over
and tucked inside itself before being
stitched in place.
How to 'bag out ' a quilt
Work the quilting through just the
quilt top and battingWHY NOT TRY THIS QUICK AND EASY METHOD?
STEP 1 Press your finished quilt top.
Cut a piece of batting a couple of inches
bigger than the top and fix
the two layers together by pinning,
tacking or gluing, depending on your
preferred method.
STEP 2 Now quilt by hand or machine
through these two layers. Pull all your
thread ends through to the back, tie
them off and trim the ends. Neaten
the edges of this piece as well as any
loose threads (they will be sewn into the
final edging seam, so there’s no need to
tie them off).STEP 3 Cut the backing fabric to
measure the same size as the quilt top
and place the two layers right sidestogether (so the wrong sides are on the
outside). Sew together all around the
edge using a ¼–³Š in seam, leaving a
gap of about 10–12in that you can turn
the quilt through.
STEP 4 Clip the corners to reduce bulk,
being careful not to snip through the
stitches then turn the quilt right way
out. Press the quilt and all seams
c a r e f u l l y, t h e n t u r n i n t h e e d g e s o f t h e
gap and slip stitch closed (see ‘how to
slip stitch’ below).
STEP 5 If desired, fix the backing fabric
more securely by adding further lines
of quilting through all three layers, or
by tying the quilt together
at regular intervals.Leave gap for
turning throughSew together all
round the edgeHOW TO TIE A QUILT HOW TO SLIP STITCH0708Backing fabric
on top of the
quilted quilt top
(right sides
together)Position the ties at regular intervals,
as shown hereBACKINGBATTINGQUILT TOPSlip stitch is used to finish off turning
seams. Make small stitches close to the seam,
alternating between each of the sides.