5 Myths About Quilting

Bias binding strips are indeed one choice when it's time to make binding for a quilt, but they aren't always a necessary choice.

• Bias binding strips are stretchy, making them a cinch to sew (neatly) around quilts with curved edges, but bias strips aren't required for straight-edged quilts.
• The threads in bias strips will end up running at an angle to the quilt itself -- if a thread in a strip eventually becomes weak and breaks, it will break around its own small portion of the binding, not all the way down the side of the quilt.

Crosswise Binding Strips

• Strips cut along the crosswise grain of fabric are a bit stretchy, too, and when cut, the grain is typically not completely straight -- a weakened thread will rarely cause a repair problem down the entire side of a quilt.
• Crosswise grain strips are more simple to make, and often (depending on available yardage) have fewer (bulky) connecting seams across their width, resulting in a neat, flat binding.
• Crosswise thread binding is a perfect choice for most quilts.

You should indeed avoid lengthwise grain binding strips. They have less stretch than crosswise strips, and their threads are more likely to run down a strip for a long distance -- a weak thread can make it necessary to repair binding on a longer portion of the quilt.

Use my tutorial to learn how to make crosswise binding strips and bias binding strips.

One of my biggest binding pet peeves concerns the binding instructions that many quilting authors have traditionally written. I've cautioned quilters on this since I began writing quilting books in the 1990s, but still see incorrect instructions everywhere.

The Real Deal

Nearly all patterns tell you to stop 1/4" away from the quilt's edge. That's correct if you are sewing a 1/4" finished width binding, and that width is a must if quilt blocks surround the outer edges of the quilt, since they have a built-in 1/4" seam.

What if you have a border, where the width of binding is arbitrary? I've made lots of miniature quilts with 1/8" bindings, and larger quilts with 1/2" bindings. Try stopping 1/4" from the edge of those quilts and you'll end up with a messy (if not impossible to construct) mitered corner. Stop sewing at the point that matches your finished binding width and the miter will create itself, almost automatically.

Read more in my mitered binding instructions.

I do usually press seam allowances to one side when I'm constructing patchwork, because that method helps enhance accuracy when units, rows and the entire quilt are assembled. When seam allowances in adjoining units are pressed in opposite directions, the loft (or height) each allowance creates helps you butt intersections together for a perfect match.

sometimes you'll find that pressing seams to the side creates too much bulk, especially if lots of seams meet in a given spot of your patchwork. When that happens, don't be afraid to press seams open.

We've always been told that pressing seam allowances to one side strengthens a block or quilt, but I personally do not believe that is true. Some will disagree, but I know many quilters who press open all the time with great success.

Match-up Tip: When adjoining units with pressed-open seams, align edges and stab a straight pin through both narrow channels where each seam should meet and secure. Leave the pin in place until the needle reaches that spot, remove the needle and keep sewing. Your seams should be perfectly matched.