Here's a little Binding tip

Good morning, my quilting friends.  I hope you are staying warm this fine day.  We're a chilly 1-degree at the moment.  If I were in Juneau, Alaska it would be 40-degrees outside.  Well, not to worry, when it's this cold I tend to hole up in my sewing corner and sew away.

But, this post is not about me, per se, it's about how to make the sewing on of the binding a little less stressful.

To start with, I always use bias binding.  There's lots of reasons for that.  Bias binding will curve if you need it to curve, or stretch just a bit to keep tucks from forming.  The main reason I like bias binding though is that it's so much more sturdy to protect the edge of the quilt.  When you put straight of grain binding on, there is just one thread running along the edge of your quilt where it gets the most wear.  I can't tell you how many vintage quilts I've seen where the binding has split apart along the edge due to our grandmothers and great aunts using straight of grain binding.  With bias, you have hundreds of threads criss-crossing that edge so they tend to hold together as a group so much better.  You remember that old phase don't you, 'strength in numbers'?  It's true here as well.

The problem I have with cutting bias for binding is that after I get enough binding cut for my quilt, I have this piece of fabric left with that big bias cut.  I know, I could do the bias in a tube thingy where you don't end up with that bias cut but I'm not so fond of that method.  It takes a bit longer for me to mark all those lines where you cut with your scissors but mostly I don't like the bias seams so close together and you can't avoid that with that method.  Anyway, I've solved the problem of having that strange bias cut piece by just using it all up to make more binding.  I'll probably use it on a donation preemie quilt or a small project.  Sometimes I'll cut a bunch of binding just because I use a lot of one color.  I use a lot of black binding so having a ton of it all ready to sew on makes it easier for me in the long run.

So, now is the time where I have to figure out how to store this extra made binding so it doesn't get wrinkled and tangled up.  Okay, you've seen those cute little 'binding buddies' for sale in a few places, right?  They look like a big wooden spool that has a ball on the end painted like a face.  They are cute but pricey and I'd have to buy a bunch of them for all the bindings that I've made up.  I tend to be a bit of a penny pincher so before I ever saw those binding buddies,  I had a brainstorm to use a toilet paper roll, a paper towel roll or, a wrapping paper roll.  I just wrap the paper roll with my binding and pin it in place. 

But here's my newest idea that I want to pass along.  Even with my neatly wrapped rolls of binding I still had the problem of managing the roll while I'm sewing on the binding.  ***  Idea***  Why not use one of those paper towel holders to put the binding roll on so it will unroll while I'm sewing?  Hey, it worked.  I didn't have a paper towel holder but I did find a little pewter condiment dish with a tall center pole that works just fine.  It's heavy enough to support my roll of binding and those little condiment bowls can hold something in my sewing corner that is useful, too.  Win-win I'd say.

Sorry but I don't have a tip about the hand stitching part.  Well, maybe I do.  I use those little clips to fold the binding all around the quilt before I sew.  I have a lot less needle pricks now than before I used those.

Okay, on to the sewing corner.  You have a great day.