Binding! That final stage you just want to finish, NOW! This is, by far, my most requested technique. It makes binding minky easy, fast and beautiful.
1. Cut binding yardage 2″ wide. Do not cut minky on the bias! It is stretchy enough.
2. Prep your sewing machine. Use a 90/14 Stretch needle. I prefer my single-hole 1/4″ foot and a magnetic seam guide to keep the fabric in line.
3. Next, make a finishing fold Starting on the back of the quilt in the middle of a long side, fold the beginning of the strip down at a 45 degree angle.
4. Using a 1/2″ seam allowance, stitch along the edge till about 2″ from the corner.
5. Measure 1/2″ from the end and draw a line.
6. Turn the quilt and stitch right off the edge at a 45 degree angle.
If you did it right, it will look like this.
7. Fold the binding strip up along the 45 degree line you just stitched.
8. Fold the binding strip down aligning it in three places, along the left side, the top fold and the edge of the quilt that you are going to quilt next. It should look like this.
9. Measure 1″ from the corner and draw a mark.
10. Start stitching on the mark you just made and sew all the way to the next corner. Repeat the same precess for each of remaining corners.
11. Stitch your way around to the finishing fold. Stop about 2″ before the fold.
12. Cut the end of binding at a 45 degree angle. Lay it on top of the finishing fold and stitch along the line you stitched before. It can be a bit fiddly but just adjust as you go along.
13. Now switch to the front side. For the rest of the job, I use a stitch-in-the-ditch foot. The flange on the bottom of the foot guides your stitching along the line you stitched on the other side. Bring the binding to the front and hold it in place, just over the stitching line. Line up your foot and sew.
14. When you come to the corner, stop about 2″ away. Pull the binding toward you and you will see the 45 degree angle.
15.Put glue stick on the part that will fold up and touch the binding. It should look like this.
16. Fold the glued side up and arrange to create a miter. Sometimes things can get bunchy with the batting and seams in the corner. Trim if you need to, so you can get a better fold. Stitch down to the corner.
17. Stitch till just before the folded miter and stop. Turn the quilt and stitch up the miter to secure it in place.
18. Turn the whole quilt around and stitch down the miter to secure it and get your needle back to the stitching line. Stop and admire the cute and perfect miter you just made!
19. Rotate the quilt around and stitch to the next corner. Repeat this for the remaining three corners.
Yay! Your quilt is done!
Now you have a finished binding and four perfect mitered corners! What? Not all four are perfect? Not to worry. This is the best method I know for binding. With practice, you will get better and better. I hope you feel encouraged to give it a try and enjoy more finished quilts.
For more about me and my minky demos, check out my website. Jenny Kae Quilts.
The quilt shown is my pattern, Tiger Eye. You can get more information or purchase the pattern here. Jenny Kae Quilts Pattern
The minky fabric was graciously provided by Shannon Fabircs from their collection of Cuddle Precuts.
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