ajclapp wrote: I appreciate the comments and have to agree with the above statement...I use a single strand, but probably haven't gotten up to 7 stitches per inch though. I do think I will be concentrating on more stitches and less worry. 1/8" apart is really close, but I imagine any judge would prefer to see them closer than farther apart. Thanks for the imput.

When machine sewing and coming to the corners, I stop 1/4 inch plus a stitch (or minus a stitch), so that there is more room to manipulate the fabric. If I have chosen a binding fabric that is a little thicker, or flannel, this is important.

My stitches are approximately 1/8" apart, or at least 7 per inch. I use a single strand of thread. The book, First Time Quiltmaking, says to use a double thread or heavier thread and the stitches should be 1/4" to 3/8" apart. I think that's too far apart. Just do whatever works best for you.

KakeM wrote:
I don't know the proper length of the stitches either. I always think that the more a quilt will be used then the closer the stitches need to be but I have not ever really been told the most effective way to handstitch a binding. I would be interested in knowing what other quilters use as a guideline.

I recently watched a "utube" video from Sharon Schamber (I hope that is here correct name spelling) where she demonstrated appling binding. She used school glue and a hot iron to hold it all in place until hand or machine sewing it down. It looked like a bit of extra work, but oh what a nice job it was. I am not very computer literate so I cannot direct you to the video - perhaps someone else saw this video and can advise.

After you turn your binding to the back and hand stitch down, how close together are your stitches? I find myself getting in a hurry and making too large a stitch every time. What is the preferred distance between stitches?

Bluesbroad wrote:
No, I guess "they" won't.

The quilt police won't notice if you snip a little off the edges of the corners when you turn your binding to the back.

Thanks so much for all of your replies. I will watch these things next time I put on a binding and hopefully have more satisfactory results.

I have taught lots of people to do binding and I have found that the most common problem at the corners is caused by not folding the fabric back down exactly at the edge of the quilt. You will not have enough fabric in your miter if the fold is a little short of the edge and you will have too much if the fabric is a little bit over the edge. I find that I tend to not get the fold exact if I try to do it with the quilt flat against the bed of the machine but it will be more exact if I lift the quilt up so I can see better. In other words the angle of the binding makes it hard to see the edge of the quilt when it is lying flat.
It is possible that you need to stop your stitching one stitch sooner than you have been, but the more common problem is the fold.
Hope this makes sense.

I'm about the same as Nancy. 1/8th stay stitch all around. 1/4 stitch binding stopping 1/4 from the end and back stitch. Finish. Turn 90 degrees. Binding up and fold down then start stitching right from the edge again. When I fold over I'm a little firm with it and tell it where I want it the fold and it does as it's told with a neat mitre on the back too.

Everything I have read on bindings says to stop a distance equal to your seam allowance (ie usually 1/4 inch) from the edge, secure, and then resume stitching down the next edge once you've made your turn....I've never had any problems with my corners following this method when I hand stitch them down on the back side. Hope this helps! Nancy

I attach my binding to the quilt back by hand after sewing it on by machine in one continuous piece. The problem I am having is that the corner, when mitred at the back for hand stitching, is sometimes not big enough when I go to stitch it down. I am not sure if I am ending my machine stitching too soon (before angling to the corner) or too late? Any advice would be appreciated.