Mod-Mood Quilt 9 ~ Get Your Binding On
I had fun hand-quilting my Mod-Mood Quilt in Step 8 and now I'm ready to bind the edge. There are multiple ways to bind a quilt. Little Red Hen presents a good binding tutorial, and About.com presents multiple binding options with tutorials on mitered bindings, double-fold bindings and self bindings. I've chosen to bind my quilt using a combination of approaches which I call an invisible binding, because the binding folds to the back and appears invisible on the front of the quilt. It has a similar look to the knife-edge binding demo by Bloomin' Workshop, but the construction process is closer to the self-binding, mitered-corner tutorial by Penny Halgren.
Step 9: Get Your INVISIBLE Binding On
A. Use a 1" bias strip and sew it along the edged of your quilt TOP, log-cabin style. Be sure to sew the strip to the quilt top only. It's usually best to do this before basting your quilt sandwich and doing the quilting.
B. Press the seams towards the center of the quilt, then trim the corners at a 45 degree angle half way between the corner point of the quilt and the corner point of the binding. See illustration below.
C. Once all of the hand or machine quilting is complete, turn the quilt to the back side and trim the batting and backing even to the binding seam. See the top image of this post.
D. To set the corners in place for mitering, fold the previously trimmed corners of the binding over to the back and pin in place at the corner point.
E. Fold the binding in half so it meets the edge of the quilt batting then fold again over the back edge of the quilt. Pin in place. The corners will automatically self-miter if you prepared them as stated above. See the top image of this post.
F. Use a slip stitch or a blind applique stitch to sew the binding down by hand.
Next up is my finished Mod-Mood Quilt. Stay tuned!
Make Your Own Modern Mood Quilt
If you are entertaining the idea of making your own mod-mood quilt, I want to hear from you. What strikes your fancy? What’s holding you back? Join the challenge! Share images of your process on the Mod Mood Quilt Flickr pool. Or grab a Mod-Mood Quilt button here to post on your blog and join my blog roll.
If you are already working on a mood quilt, post an update or any questions you have about the process or techniques and I will respond.