Have you ever used stripes for binding a quilt?
I love stripes! and I think they work so well for finishing a quilt, if it’s not on its borders I would definitely use it for the binding if I can.
I am making a custom quilt at the moment and I have been taking a few snap shots in some of the stages so I can share a few tips. Here’s the first one: preparing your stripy binding tape.
I always make my binding tape when I am cutting all the fabric for the piecing, then I have it ready when the quilting is done. I love that stage, that moment when your quilt is nearly finished and you are looking forward to a couple of hours on the sofa and back in the company of your (neglected) family…
So here we go. After you cut all your strips (I always cut 2.5″ wide by WOF and here I am using Funfair Colour Strips by Stof).
Have a good look at how the stripes go. Choose the stripe that is completely full and closer to the edge (I am choosing the pink one with white dots on the vertical strip at the right of the photo)
Now place it onto the strip that lays horizontally, with right sides together (RST), and making sure that the horizontal top sideline of the pink stripe is aligned with the top edge of the bottom binding strip. You will see in the photo below that the edge of the strip on top is also aligned with the sideline of the vertical pink strip on the bottom.
(I don’t mind much about the perforated selvages because this won’t be seen when I sew the binding onto the quilt)
Pin the two strips in place to prevent them from moving and draw a line from the top left angle to the right bottom angle to use as a guide when you are sewing.
Sew along the line, backstitching at the start and the end and cut about 1/4″ along the seam.
Press the seam open and cut the excess tips on the sides.
Now you have a continuous stripy binding tape with matching stripes!
Have you got any tips on stripy binding? Or maybe on how to make binding altogether? You might like to share them, just write in the comment box!
El Petit Taller 