How NOT to Make a Binding!

Easy Street is finally quilted and bound  

I really wanted to have this quilt finished for Bonnie Hunter's visit last week, but time ran out for me to even think about trying to do it myself.  So I asked my friend Ruth to quilt it for me.  

We chose this lovely feathery panto and Ruth used a gorgeous aqua thread... I just love it!!!!

I also chose to do the binding by machine - another time saver!  

Plus, the binding will be more secure and sturdy.  

Since this will be a guest room bed quilt, it will see lots of use and washings :*)

Sounds quick and simple, right?  

WRONG!

I had a really, really stupid moment while I was cutting the fabric for the outer border and binding.  The fabric was an older one in my stash and it worked perfectly with all the colors going on in the quilt - I especially love the little lime green specks in there!  But I had just enough - you know how that works, right?  I had a good chunk of yardage and then a nice-sized piece left over from an earlier project.  There was not an inch to spare - and no chance of finding anymore anywhere!

I carefully measured the quilt to figure out the number of strips I would need.  Nine was cutting it really, really close, especially with some of the strips from the leftover piece being shorter than WOF.

I calculated how wide I could make the border and still have enough left over for the binding strips.

And then I got stupid!

 I didn't recheck my measurements and I didn't write them down!!!  

You know the old saying....

Measure Twice, Cut Once?

Well, let me tell you, life is sure a lot easier if you listen to that saying!

And I'm adding in a for-the-future note just for me - WRITE IT DOWN!!!

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I also didn't listen to my inner voice.  The one that said, "Cut your binding strips first, then measure what you have left and divide it by nine for your border strips."  Yeah, that voice.  I didn't listen.  And I went to work cutting my border strips first.  TOO WIDE!!!!  Instead of cutting them 4-1/2" inches like I was supposed to do, for some weird reason I cut them 6 inches!   Oh boy, was I in trouble!

It didn't take very long to realize that I wasn't going to have enough left for my nine binding strips at 2-1/4" wide each.  I had nothing else that would work for the binding, and I really wanted that beautiful border fabric to flow out all the way to the edge!

So this is what I did....

The remaining fabric was enough to cut nine strips at 1-1/4" wide.  Then I cut 1-1/2" off each of the border strips, leaving them the 4-1/2" they were supposed to be cut originally.  This left me with nine strips of each width, some of them a few inches shorter than others.  This is a huge quilt, and I was worried that with the strip joins and mitered corners, I might lose too much and run short.  I was holding my breath the whole way!

I then zig-zagged them together, with the edges butted up next to each other, like this....

I used a dark blue thread on the actual pieces - this is just to show how I did it :*D

I wasn't really sure if it was going to work.  After stitching the first two pieces, I tugged on them to see if they would be weak or separate - nope, it was a nice strong join!  Next, I trimmed the strips to a nice uniform 2-1/4" wide.

Since the strips were different widths, when I folded them in half the zig-zagged section was hidden in the fold.  And it laid nice and flat for me!

Don't you just love the satisfaction of a pile of binding all prepped and ready to sew down?

But was it going to be enough?  

That was the big question!!!

According to my measurements, I was going to have only inches to spare!

And voila!!!! 

This is what I had left over - 9 inches!!!

It was actually more left over than I thought there would be, so Happy Dance time!!!

So that is my story about my recent Adventures in Binding.  

It is a cautionary tale, and one I hope to take to heart in the future.

In the meantime, I will be enjoying my new quilt....

I wish you all...

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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