A small leap in my skill set means this little baby quilt is happily bound. I've always had a bit of envy for those who could do machine binding well. It's a delicate balance getting the edge of binding to look nice without making a massacre of the back.
Not long ago, another fabric friend (though I can't remember who) mentioned that a stitch-in-the-ditch adapter was now available for my Bernina walking foot. So I walked right into the shop and plunked down my $20-30. It sounded like something I needed. At the time, I didn't realize how helpful it would be for binding. As I was getting ready to work on this quilt today, I decided to give it a try. And this is success in my book.
When machine binding, I'm partial to attaching binding on the back first and then bringing it around to the front. Others work in the opposite direction. How about you?
*this little quilt is the first of a handful going into the shop. I'm aiming for a shop update of quilts, hippos, platypuses and other goodies on May 1.
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I attach mine on the back first. I make sure that the thread I use matches the item I am binding. When I bring the fabric to the front and machine down, I line the edge of the binding up with the line of stitching.
ReplyDeleteI must admit, I haven't machine bound a quilt though, I actually kind of like hand stitching it in front of the TV and prefer not to have the top-stitched look on my quilts. Maybe after a few more quilts? I have done it on heaps of other things though. If it's going to be top-stitched, I want it to look its best from the front.
If I am hand stitching binding down, I will do it the opposite way and machine stitch the binding to the front and hand stitch to the back.
The quilt is gorgeous, by the way. Some lovely fabrics in there!
What a gorgeous quilt! Love the fabrics you chose! That Liberty Adelajda is one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteWhere do you find an adapter like that for a qood price? In our Bernina shop it costs at least 70€.
This is just a new bottom for the walking foot. The walking foot itself was similar to the price you quoted. I don't remember exactly as it was purchased in Japan.
DeleteMy walking foot is #50 - http://www.bernina.com.au/product_detail-n25-i62-sEN.html
I don't know the number for the sole plate, but it's an attachment you can buy for it.
The baby quilt is just beautiful! I have never machine bound a quilt mainly because I too love the hand-stitching bit after the stress of quilting!
DeleteThanx!
DeleteI sew to the back & then topstitch from the front. I actually love seeing the stitches on the front, all neat & pretty. I use a bobbin thread that will blend in with the back, but it doesn't always look the neatest back there. Still, it doesn't bother me much, definitely not enough to hand stitch - I would never get a quilt finished that way!
ReplyDeleteI stitch to the back and then fold around to the front. I do it all by machine. I love handwork...i'm a stitcher and knitter...but for some reason I can't really get "in to" hand sewing binding. Just not my thing. It's almost like torture when the quilt is that close to being done and then just sitting there hand sewing...
ReplyDeleteI also stitch to the back first and then the front so that the front is all nice and tidy. Funny that I never thought of switching out the bobbin fabric to make the back nicer. I actually just hand-finished the binding on a project for the first time since I started quilting (about 3 years & 9 quilts ago) and I must say it is a very nice finish. But I'm all for having it done and off the to-do pile for anything bigger than a crib quilt.
ReplyDeleteI love the fabrics (that I can see) on your quilt - beautiful combination! As for the binding, I have been experiment a lot lately with machine stitching the binding - I too prefer attaching to the back first because I feel it gives me more control when sewing down the front. However, instead of a straight stitch, I've been using a zigzag in a contrasting and bright color thread to make it more deliberate and part of the overall design. This doesn't look right with every quilt though so I do need to practice my stitch in the ditch!
ReplyDeleteI seem to be the freak here that goes front to back lol It just happened to be the way I learned
ReplyDeleteThat's such a pretty quilt! And the Liberty print is stunning.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard about the stitch in the ditch attachment until now but it's a great idea. I've started fully machine sewing binding for charity quilts so this would be really helpful. Mostly though I hand sew my binding - it gives me an excuse to watch tv! And I sew to the front first then the back, so you're not a freak Katy!
It looks like it turned out great! I tend to do the opposite, stitch to the top first then the back, but I do it blindly, by machine stitching in the binding ditch on the top, and hoping to catch the binding on the back as I go along. It usually turns out quite well.
ReplyDeleteMachine sew to front, hand stitch to back.
ReplyDeleteOooooh, that walking foot adapter would come in handy. My Bernina is a 1630 from 1996, so I'll have to see if my walking foot can use the adapter. I sew my binding to the front, then stitch in the ditch on the front to catch it on the back :-)
ReplyDelete