Friday, November 4, 2011

Striped Binding

Note . . . I've gotten some comments that this isn't really scrappy binding. I agree. So I've revised this post and changed 'scrappy' to 'striped'.. Thanks!

It's taking a while to stitch the binding on my Swoon quilt. So, I thought that while we all wait for the finish, you  might enjoy seeing a few of the process pictures for my striped binding.

Considering I needed 320" of binding, I figured I'd need close to a yard of fabric, so I chose four fat-quarters, making sure all the colors in the quilt were represented. (Here's the remains of the fat quarters I chose.)
Then I cut strips 1 1/2" wide from each fat-quarter, angled one end at 45-degrees, and sewed them together, off-setting the angled ends just slightly. Here it is after a good pressing. This piece consists of half of my strips, measuring about 14x24". It made 160" of binding, or half of what I needed.
The right-hand edge got trimmed off and then I cut my normal 2" strips diagonally across the pieced fabric.
And voila! Some lovely striped binding strips that I just stitched end to end. I forgot to take a picture after it was pressed, but do press carefully, as you are working with lots of bias edges here. I really didn't find it too fragile, though.
Finally, I machine-stitched the binding onto the quilt (had just enough), and you know what I'm doing now!

Total credit goes to Kati of from the blue chair for this striped method. Mine gives a really different look than alternating the fabrics with white, like Kati did. But I like how it makes the binding look like its own new fabric, incorporating all the colors in the quilt.

23 comments:

  1. Ooooh, this method is so interesting and the results....I LOVE it. Can't wait to see the end product.

    I sewed my binding on yesterday and will start the hand stitching today. It's the home stretch, for both of us!

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  2. This looks so cool!! I think I need to steal your idea and do a scrapy binding on my swoon...oh, wait, mine's not even quilted yet. Blargh.

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  3. That looks so great, Debbie! Very fun way to do binding! Not much longer till the big reveal!

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  4. lovely! I had never thought of doing it that way.

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  5. What a great way of making scrappy binding! It almost looks striped. Love it!

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  6. Thank you, you just solved a problem I had about binding my current project using some of the leftover bits. It looks wonderful.

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  7. What a great use of scraps... I can't wait to see the pictures of the finished quilt!

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  8. Wow! That's impressive. When I think of scrappy binding, I think of longer leftover pieces of binding sewn together. This is so cool! Did you have any trouble turning corners?

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  9. Oh my gosh - thank you for teaching us a new way of using scraps for binding. My goodness that fabric is gorgeous! Can't wait to see the reveal. :)

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  10. Lovely binding! I'm going to have to try that some time.

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  11. Wow! That's about all I can say. I have enjoyed my year of quilting but I'm not so sure I'd go to this much trouble for binding! I don't mind the binding step and quite enjoy having something quiet to do when watching tv with the hubs - but this takes it several steps beyond the normal. :) Good job!

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  12. This is so cool! I'm catching up on your blog - I'm really enjoying your work and thoughts!

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  13. No matter what you call it - it's super. I can't wait to try it. Thank you

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  14. Thanks for the lesson! I am working on an "in the hoop" embroidery project that has me doing a stitch and flip for the borders. It takes WAY too long to do those border pieces in the hoop. This method is perfect and will give me the exact same look!

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  15. Olá!

    Adorei a ideia, fica um trabalho diferente e muito bonito.

    Obrigada,
    Beijos
    Jussara

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  16. Must be fun to see these comments pop up long after the post! Love this idea and thank you for how to do.

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  17. Fun! I love how yours turned out!!

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  18. I've just found this tutorial in the nick of time. I have been following a Triangle QAL and loved my fabrics so much I wanted to use them all in the binding but did not know how. I'm going to give it a go today. Thank you so much.

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  19. I've spent all afternoon and made half the binding- it's time consuming but maybe thats because I was being extra careful about the bias. The end result is fantastic. I'll post a photo on Flickr when it's all finished but it has to go to be quilted first- I'm still a bit wary of quilting a full size quilt.
    Thank you so much for the tutorial. It had everything I needed.

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  20. This is so cute!! I guess this wouldn't be toooo horrible but you have more patients than I do. :) I love it!! <3

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  21. I'm making an Ohio State quilt for Dayton Children's Hospital cancer wing. I've used an Ohio State print, a Scarlet, and a Grey. I think this method will make the finished quilt look so much better than simply a Scarlet binding. Thank you.

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  22. t
    his technique will be perfect on an upcoming quilt!! Thank you!!

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