I love attaching binding by hand to my quilts. I feel it finishes my quilts so nicely. I machine stitch the binding to the front of the quilt, almost matching the cut edge, flip the binding to the back and hand stitch it in place using a fine thread to hide the stitches. I find the process very calming and a great opportunity to reflect upon the quilt I am making. I enjoy my time hand stitching the binding to the back of my quilts. (I know, I know...I must be crazy or something).I'm not a complete hand stitching snob....I have tried machine stitching the binding to wall hangings and smaller throws, but I never really felt the connection to finishing my quilt. I could never get the machine seam line to fall where it should. I agree, it is a faster process finishing the binding by machine, but it never really has caught on with me.
This morning I was reading through some blogs (I love surfing through quilty related blogs and seeing what everyone is up to) and I came across the latest post on the Quiltmaker Magazine blog..."Quilty Pleasures". I was reading the post from a fellow Scrap Squadder (2013), and a line caught my eye. Christa (Hi Christa!), wrote that she "still is in love with Susie's Magic Binding Technique". Well, I thought who is Susie and what is this technique she is writing about?? I clicked on the link and read the tutorial. Wow.... as I was reading all I could think of was I could do this and I can see how accurate my stitching line may be. So here you have it....this technique, found here, sounds rather interesting! I will try this out on a smaller wall hanging to see if I really do like it. Thanks Christa for sharing yet another lesson with us!
I'd love to hear your experiences...Have you tried using this technique to finish projects? If so, how do you like it? Any recommendations for someone who is about to try it?
Happy Sewing!
Nadia
Hi, Nadia.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Scrap Squad year...you'll be amazed how quickly it passes! I'm with you on hand-finishing the binding. I like the look of Susie's Magic Binding, though, so I did something a little different that gives me the same look, but still allows me to hand-stitch on the back. I blogged about it here: www. sweetgrassdesigns.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/the-finishing-touch/ Anne Wiens
Hi Anne, Thanks for the link! I'll be sure to check it out, I love learning new ways of doing things.
DeleteI like the look of Susie's Magic Binding, but, like you, I prefer to hand-sew the binding on the backs of my quilt. So here's what I do: www.sweetgrassdesigns.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/the-finishing-touch/
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time on the Quiltmaker Scrap Squad...you'll be amazed at how quickly the year flies by!
Anne Wiens (2013 Scrap Squad)
I am very much looking forward to this year on the Scrap Squad! It's so nice to connect with you (SS 2013)! I hope the year does not fly by tooooo fast, I want it to slow down so I can enjoy it even more! Sounds like you have enjoyed your time on the squad!
DeleteHi Nadia, I haven't tried Susie's technique yet, though I really want to, but I have been doing bindings by machine for about 15 years. A shop owner showed me this method and I have never looked back. Recently I've been teaching it and I call it "Mock Hand Binding by Machine" because it really looks terrific. I blogged about it here: http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/2013/10/mock-hand-quilt-binding-by-machine/
ReplyDeleteOhhhh! another wonderful link to a technique! Thank you, Thank you for sharing. I'll go over your blog post about it, I am sure I will be learning a few new things tonight! Sounds like I may end up embracing and becoming a machine binding quilter in the near future!!
DeleteNadia, you will have such fun with Scrap Squad! Susie is the lady who taught me "Susie's Magic Binding," it wasn't her own invention but learned from the Idaho Quilts of Valor group. I HATE hand sewing binding, so I was thrilled to learn this technique!
ReplyDeleteHi, Nadia. I, too, was a hand turner - before Scrap Squad 2013. Welcome to our ranks. I just finished a king-size quilt for my last SS project. I used Susie's magic binding for all 500+" of it, or I would never have met my deadline. I like the look of Magic Binding (link above) and it is a fast finish. Deadlines make for different techniques. Again, welcome to Scrap Squad - it is soooooo fun.
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