In part one of this tutorial, I began showing you how to construct a set of quilted placemats. We have completed the quilting of our little placemat sandwiches and will now turn to the finishing touch, which is the binding.
First, connect two 40” cut binding strips as demonstrated in my previous binding tutorial. Do this for each of the placemats, which means you will end up with four (4) binding sections measuring approximately 80” each.
Next, take each binding section to the iron board and fold them wrong sides together (in half) as you press them. This creates a double-fold binding.
At the beginning of the binding application, leave a long loose tail of about 7-8 inches as shown. Begin sewing the binding three-quarters of the way down one side. This leaves plenty of maneuvering room when the tails meet.
Sew the binding around the placemat and stop a little beyond your last curved corner. Notice how much space is left between each binding tail.
Overlap your two binding tails as shown. Since my binding was cut 2” wide, I will overlap the tails by 2”. If my binding had been cut 3” wide, I would overlap the tails by 3”.
Formula: width of cut binding = measurement of overlap
Mark the 2” overlap on one tail and cut off excess. I like my overlap to be snug since I don’t want any fullness in my binding when I continue attaching it later.
Now unfold each end of the binding and form a right angle as shown, placing right sides together.
Draw a diagonal line from one corner to the other. Pin and sew on the line. Trim the excess seam allowance down to a quarter inch and finger press open.
Fold the binding back together and finish sewing it to the placemat.
Fill a bobbin with fusible thread and set you machine at 3.0mm stitch length and 3.5 mm stitch width. Zig-zag stitch around the seam allowance of your binding.
Roll the binding edge to the back side of the placemats and steam press in place, using a cotton setting on your iron.
Top stitch around the finished binding, using a 3.0 mm stitch length. You should now have four beautiful placemats ready to grace the table of a cherished family member, friend, or neighbor.
I want to thank Judy for demonstrating this method of binding at a recent Piecemakers4Life meeting.
nrw
Just what I needed, more about binding. The placemats are beautiful. Thanks again for being so kind to Clint and Brittenee. Nancy you are so talented and so willing to share. Thanks again, Barbara Ann.