Two Color Binding Tutorial

As I said in my last post, I've developed the habit of using the binding as a design element for the quilt. Such was the case for Interlude,

which has red on the top and bottom, continuing the strong red horizontal element, and a print on the sides that blends with the quilt top edges. 

Why did I do it this way? I felt red binding all around would have conflicted with the horizontal lines. A print could have worked, but I still wanted to keep the strong vertical/horizontal theme I had going. And besides, I'm always up for a challenge!

So how did I deal with the corners? Well, here's a tutorial in case you want to try this on your quilt. Mine is applied by machine, but feel free to hand stitch.

First, decide which color goes on first. Here, I chose the red binding, so that when it gets covered with the print at the corners, it follows the same pattern on the rest of the quilt. In this picture, it's stitched to the front, ready to be turned to the back.

The end is cut even with the quilt top. There is no need to backstitch at the end as it will get covered.

The binding is turned to the backside, and finished by stitching in the ditch on the front if by machine, or stitching by hand. 

Backside

FYI, I use school glue to hold my binding in place on the back for machine stitching. I also wash my quilts, so I don't worry about the glue. It's a tool, so I use it!

This is the front, with the cut edge even with the quilt top.

The adjoining piece of binding is applied to the front 

Front

with an inch or so folded snugly over the cut edge, onto the back.

Back

The binding is stitched as usual to the front, with a few backstitches at the edge.

Here's the back.

The binding is flipped flat, away from the front. At the corner, a bit of glue tacks down the short piece, snugging it up against the edge of the quilt.

This prevents the edge of that little piece from misbehaving when folded over.

See how well it's hidden? Ah, the miracle of glue!

Again, to finish, it's either stitched in the ditch from the front, or by hand. A few backstitches at the end are added for security.

Back

And here's the front.

Nice and neat and a beautiful finish! 

The quilt police may not like it, but it works for me, and it works for this quilt. Give it a try the next time your faced with a binding dilemma!

Have a great weekend quilting!