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10 simple steps for binding with perfect corners

by Christine Baker

Yesterday on QUILTsocial I finished up machine quilting a modern baby quilt using a decorative kite stitch on the Dreamweaver XE from Brother. Today I’m trimming the quilt and I’ll show you 10 simple steps for binding with perfect corners.

The Dreamweaver XE

The Dreamweaver XE

The first thing I do is trim the edges of the baby quilt using a rotary cutter and ruler.

Trimming

Trimming

It’s always a good idea to label quilts, but I have to admit, it’s my least favorite part of quilting!! This is the solution I’ve come up with.

I ordered embroidered ribbon labels from It’s Mine Labels and I pin one of them to the back of the quilt in one of the corners. I make sure that the raw ends of the ribbon almost reach the raw edge of the quilt. Once the binding is sewn on, the label is secured and there’s no hand stitching required!

Now that I have this Dreamweaver XE embroidery machine, one of these days I’ll try embroidering my own ribbon labels!

Add ribbon label

Add ribbon label

I’ve made my binding using a grey Colorworks Solid from Northcott following the same technique I’ve shown in previous QUILTsocial posts.

Now I’ll select the “quilting stitches” key on the LCD screen.

Select "quilting stitches"

Select “quilting stitches”

The screen shows that I need to attach the “J” presser foot.

Install the "J" foot

Install the “J” foot

Step 1

Start by sewing the binding to the raw edge of the first side of the quilt and stop ¼” from the end. Back-stitch to sew reinforcement stitches before cutting the thread.

¼” from the end

¼” from the end

Step 2

Flip the binding to the right of the corner, so that the raw edge of the binding makes a continuous line with the raw edge of the second side of the quilt.

Flip to the right

Flip to the right

Step 3

Fold the binding over so that the fold is lined up with the first side of the quilt and the raw edge of the binding is laying along the raw edge of the second side of the quilt.

Fold to the left

Fold to the left

Step 4

Starting right at the folded end of the binding, back-stitch at the edge of the quilt and then sew along the raw edge of the binding using a ¼” seam until you get to the second corner of the quilt. Repeat Steps 1-4.

Stitch from the outer corner

Stitch from the outer corner

Step 5

Once the binding is sewn to all four sides of the quilt, go to one corner and fold one side of the binding over to the front of the quilt.

Fold one side over

Fold one side over

Step 6

Fold the second side of the binding to the front and pin both sides in place, making sure that the edges meet in the corner.

Fold the second side

Fold the second side

Step 7

Select a decorative stitch on the Dreamweaver XE. If necessary, adjust the width and length of the stitch. I’m using Utility stitch 3-16 which looks a lot like a hand stitched cross-stitch.

Adjust width

Adjust width

Step 8

Working from the front of the quilt, line up the edge of the binding under the presser foot, then press the “Reinforcement Stitch” button to start sewing.

Press

Press

Step 9

Keep sewing along the binding, allowing the decorative stitch to stitch the edge of the binding down. When you get to the corner, use an awl to hold down the corner of the folded binding to make sure that it doesn’t move before it gets stitched.

Use an awl

Use an awl

Step 10

Use the needle down feature on the Dreamweaver XE to drop the needle where the two corners of the binding meet and then pivot to stitch the next side.

Pivot at the corner

Pivot at the corner

Here is my binding, sewn down with stitch 3-16 on the Dreamweaver XE.

The finished binding

The finished binding

And here’s my finished baby quilt, pieced and machine quilted with the Dreamweaver XE from Brother.

The finished quilt

The finished quilt

I really love how my baby quilt turned out and I’m really happy that I was finally able to use one of the charm packs that my friend Nellie brought me when she returned from Quiltweek in Lancaster last year!

The Brother Dreamweaver XE made piecing and quilting this quilt a delight! I can’t wait to discover more of its great features in next month’s project! Have a great month, see you next time.

This is part 5 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 4: Decorative stitches plus laser pointer = beautiful machine quilting

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2 comments

Granny G. February 5, 2019 - 11:03 pm

Your quilt is adorable. I’ve used decorative stitches for binding too – it’s fun and the result is delightful. I have a Brother Dreamweaver too – it’s an older version than yours but boy do I love it!!! It’s the best machine I’ve ever sewn on and I’ve been sewing for over 60 years.

Reply
Teri c October 2, 2018 - 11:37 am

I love the idea of using decorative stitch to sew down binding.

Reply

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