Wednesday, December 14, 2016

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might...

Do you have a wishlist for your quilting?  If you've been following me recently, I wish I had a clean, organized, and beautiful quilting room.  I'm taking steps toward that, but that's not my wish for tonight.

Tonight, I wish I liked my quilt bindings done by machine.  I don't.  I really, really don't.  My favorite looking binding comes when I stitch the binding on to the front by machine and hand stitch it to the back.  Sadly, this takes a bajillion years.  Machine binding is faster, but it also looks different.

I once again tried to like machine binding tonight.  I worked on a quilt where the binding didn't matter much.  I machine stitched the binding on, turned it, and stitched it down by machine.

Here's how it looks on the front:


The stitching doesn't look terrible, but Wow I need a manicure!

Here's how the stitching looks on the back:


Let's assume I get better at binding (I need more practice), that my stitching lines are perfectly straight (they really, really aren't), and that I used thread that matched better (the easiest of the three to accomplish).  Even if I do all of that, I still don't like the look of the stitching on top of the binding.

Once again, I'm back to hand stitching my bindings.  Now I guess I wish that I stitched faster...

What is your quilting wish?

This blog post is part of the 31 Day Blogging Challenge from Muppin.com.


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11 comments:

Tish Stemple said...

Machine binding and I have come to a compromise...flanged binding. I really love the look it gives the front of the quilt. That extra added touch allows me to forgive myself if I'm not in love with the way it looks on the back. My quilty wish is to finish all those stinking un-quilted tops...I'm mentally preparing for 2017 :)

susan said...

Hi Debbie! I like your wishlist...cuz it looks similar to mine...I'm wondering if you used DecoBob for the binding thread if it would blend/sink into the fabric. Maybe ribbon candy would solve the binding issue? LOL Have a great day!
Susan

Eileen said...

Debby ~ have you tried attaching your binding (using Bella or Sergio) as you quilt the top? That way you don't have to wrestle it through your domestic machine and it cuts the time down by a lot ~ and I too am SO unhappy with the look of machine-stitched binding.
Have fun!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I WISH I could perfect my corners when I bind by machine. As much as I love to do it all by hand, I just can't do anything larger than a tablerunner anymore....

Tracy in WY said...

Have you looked at the tutorial from Pat Sloan on machine stitching binding, I do mine that way and find they do not look messy at all and I like the decorative stitching. Sew the binding to the back, turn to the front and stitch with a blanet stitch. After a little practice it looks great.

Janet J said...

Check out the "Quilt Binding:Flanged Binding by Machine" video from Mcall's Quilting. I searched for "fabulous machine quild binding" and this one came up. It May do the trick. I actually love hand stitching binding but I can see the arthritis thing being a factor. I may try this too.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=fabulous+machine+quilt+binding&view=detail&mid=29A69D6999E6F94A6BDC29A69D6999E6F94A6BDC&FORM=VIRE

Vireya said...

I was going to suggest something like Tracy did above. Sew it to the back first, then turn it to the front and stitch. The extra line of stitches will be visible on the back but that doesn't usually matter. The front will look neat because you control exactly how far from the fold you stitch, unlike the stitch-in-the-ditch method where it can be a bit hit and miss.

Eileen said...

I use invisible thread and stitch the binding to the back first. Then I bring it around to the front and stitch as close to the edge as I can. I go very, very slow.

Bonnie said...

I hate hand binding -- mainly because it does take so long to do. I've been machine stitching my binding for a while. Practice does improve it but.... I tend to do as Eileen with some success. My guide as to whether to hand sew the binding or not is what is the end use of the quilt. If I am making quilts for kids and donations... I'll usually sew it by hand. If a quilt is going to be on my bed and used a lot, machine. Smaller pieces I'm more inclined to hand stitch the binding because there is a bigger likelihood I'll actually finish the binding. Decisions, decisions.

Debbie -- Sheltered Stitches said...

I was doing my bindings like this also, then saw a blog where she demonstrates sewing from the top, but just a hair or 2 onto the binding.. matching or contrasting thread as desired, I've done both and am much happier with my results now! I never would even consider hand stitching! I like a little hand work, but my hands would cramp up before I turned the first corner!