Part 8: Hand finishing your binding

Press Your Quilt

1. Press the binding with an iron.

1. Turn your quilt over. Fold the binding over to the back of the quilt, enclosing the raw edges of the quilt top, wadding (batting) and backing fabric. Do it on all four sides. The edge of your binding should overlap the line of machine stitching.

Tip: when hand-stitching binding, make sure your thread is the same colour as your binding.

1. Thread your needle and knot the end. Take the needle and put it through the fold of the binding. Make sure you are not folding through all three layers.

1. Bring the thread in all the way through until the knot meets the binding. Secure the thread on the very edge of the fold. Stitch a few small stitches to hold the binding. On the last stitch, place the needle through the loop of thread, creating a knot.

1. Fold the binding over the edge as you sew.

1. Using a blind stitch or slip stitch, attach your binding to your quilt top.

1. Take your needle and place it into the backing fabric opposite to where the needle has come out of the fold of the binding.

1. Catch the edge of your binding with the needle, working your way around your quilt. Keep stitching until you get to the corner.

1. The stitch before the corner goes into the backing into the fold of the binding, lining the last stitch up where the corners have been created with machine stitching. Bring the thread through and do a tiny stitch to secure the binding.

1. At the corner, fold the edge of your binding to form a mitre.

1. When you get to your corner, swivel your quilt around. Fold your binding back around, so the corners of your mitred corner meet neatly.

1. Once you've created a neat corner, secure it with some pins.

1. Take your needle and thread and catch the corner of that binding. Go around until you've secured all four sides and corners with a nice, neat edge.

1. Once you've finished, remove your binding from your sewing machine.