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Saturday 4 April 2015

Binding



For me, there's only one pro to binding a quilt with a sewing machine--it's quick. The cons, however, are endless. For starters, the process is completely stressful. Days before I even start the binding I'm trying to get myself mentally prepared. I practice lots of exercises in deep breathing, a little music therapy, and as the time to begin gets closer, a motivating counseling session with myself in the mirror isn't unheard of. 

After I've machine-sewn the binding to one side, I start to break out in a cold sweat, because I know it's about to get real. While I'm sewing the binding to the opposite side, I try to stare without blinking, because I know with one flinch my stitches will run up over the binding and all hope will be lost. It's very easy to mess up, and with all the time that is spent on a quilt, I don't want the last step to be the one that ruins it all. 

I've tried many, many different methods to make my machine-binding look as good as possible: sewing it to the front and folding-it over and sewing to the back, sewing it on the back and folding it over toward the front, sewing through the front and back at the same time, sewing it to one side and then folding it over and sewing through both sides. Time and again I've tried to make my machine binding look professional, but I'm almost never happy with it. So, I finally decided to do something different.

I started hand-sewing my binding. I avoided trying it for a long time because I thought it would take too much time. Of course, it takes ALOT longer, but I absolutely love it. There's no crazy talk in the mirror, no cold-sweats, no stressful sewing--just me and the quilt watching TV together. The process is completely relaxing, and it looks worlds better when it's all done. I might not hand-sew the binding on every quilt in the future, but if time allows, I think it definitely worth the extra effort. 




8 comments:

  1. Hand sewing is very relaxing, I wish I did more of it. Quilting is about relaxing and having fun, if sewing the binding down by machine stresses you out that much, I would recommend never doing it again. LOL I've never hand sewn my binding, I'm too impatient, however if I was to ever enter a quilt into a show, I probably would, but my friends and family don't know the difference. LOL

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  2. I agree 100%. I just don't do a nice job machine stitching bindings. Usually I don't catch all the binding on the reverse side and end up hand stitching parts of the binding I missed. I actually enjoy hand stitching bindings. I find it is relaxing and one of my favorite parts of the quilt making process.

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  3. Hahaha! I broke out in a cold sweat reading this!!

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  4. I love hand binding, though it does take a long time!

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  5. I enjoy the hand stitching of the binding unless I'm in a hurry. No matter, I always have (so far) hand stitched the binding.

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  6. Funny how we are all so different. Binding is my favorite part. I've never hand sewn a binding and never plan to lol. The quilting part is what gets me dragging my feet :)

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  7. I get cold sweats thinking about machine binding too. There is a foot for my machine (Bernina) that is made just for this purpose. I've been wanting to get it, but it's pricey!! So until then, I continue to hand bind my quilts. And I let my kids help with the clover clips and they are happy.

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  8. Oh, and I detest hand binding. It never stays put for me. With all the washing we do around here, I just don't want to have to re-stitch things. I can see doing it for a wall hanging or mini, but we drag quilts around and build forts outside with them. I need something sturdier.

    And I don't much care if it's perfect, so I don't break into a sweat over it!

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XOXO Cristina