in the gap and, if not, slightly adjust
the length of one or three so that
there appear to be full scallops all
the way along. Repeat this step for
all four borders.27
Machine stitch along the
scalloped line through the
three layers of the quilt, being careful
to avoid puckers. It might help to pin
the layers together first. Trim the
edges of the quilt^11 ⁄ 4 in outside the
stitching line.28
Join the binding strips together
in pairs, using diagonal seams.
Trim the seams to^1 ⁄ 4 in and press them
open. Fold the binding strips in half,
wrong sides together and long edges
matching, and press.29
Beginning at one corner, and
leaving about 1in of binding
overhanging the end, stitch the
binding to the edge of the quilt,
right sides together and raw edges
matching. Stitch right around a scallop and stop at the inner corner
with the needle down, lift the presser
foot and pivot so you are in position
to sew around the next scallop.
Lesley says to take care that you sew
around the scallops accurately. At the
next corner, cut the binding off,
leaving a small amount overhanging.30
Repeat Step 29 to sew the
binding to the other three
sides, making sure there is a small
length of binding overhanging at
both ends of each side.31
This step is crucial to the fi nish
of the quilt: sew a second line of
machine stitching almost on top of the
fi rst row, taking particular care to stitch
to the same points on the inner corners
of the scallops. Then use a small pair of
sharp scissors to clip carefully into the
inner corners almost to the stitching
and again either side of the inner
corners. Then cut small notches in the
rounded outer curves to allow the seam
to spread and fl ex to the lovely scallop
shape. The extra row of stitchingserves as a back up, should you
accidentally cut a bit too far.32
Fold the binding over fi rmly
and sew the folded edge to the
back of the quilt, using your fi nger
to depress the inner curve of the
scallops as you stitch the binding in
place. At each corner, trim one of the
binding strips even with the edge of
the quilt before stitching it to the
backing fabric. Trim the overhang on
the second binding strip to^1 ⁄ 2 in. Fold
the cut edge under by^1 ⁄ 2 in and then
hand stitch it to the front of the quilt,
over the fi rst binding strip before
folding it over and stitching it to
the backing. Lesley chose to do the
corners this way, rather than mitring
them, because the angle is a bit less
than 90 degrees and it’s easier to
get them neat.33
Use a hot, steam iron to press
the entire quilt, paying
particular attention to the scalloped
edges. Attach a signed and dated
label to your quilt.LESLEY’S CURVED
BINDING TIP When
you’re binding the quilt, trim the
curved scallop shapes and clip into
the inner corners of the scallops
once you’ve stitched the binding to
the front of the quilt but before you
hand stitch it to the back. This
ensures that the binding sits nicely
over the back of the quilt and
makes the scallop shapes clearly
defined. I actually used straight-
grain fabric to bind this quilt be-
cause the scallops are very shallow,
but using bias binding ensures that
it sits better. If you want to use
straight-grain binding, be very
careful to stitch it ‘loosely’ to the
outer curves and if you leave a little
pleat on the inner points, it helps
the binding to sit correctly when
it’s turned to the back.09
PROJECT106 Homespun