Binding Nightmares!

Okay so binding isn't always a nightmare but sometimes when you're on a time crunch or just want to see a project finished it can make you crazy.
My preferred method of binding would be to lay the binding on the top of the quilt sew at the ¼" mark all the way around and then fold over to the back and hand stitch. Sometimes there just isn't time for all the hand work for example those last minute baby showers.

So what happens when you just sew your binding down instead of hand stitching...

Usually your top will have a nice finished look like this (which I really like) but....

If your binding is too wide it can look like this on the back (which I REALLY don't like) and then...

If you manage to cut it just the right width (see above) you have to hope and pray your able to catch that small 1/16 of an inch and with out looking. Because remember this is the back side and we want to make sure our front side is perfect like the first photo, so we sew front side up.

It was suggested to me by another quilter that I sew the binding to the back side of the quilt and then fold over to the top so I can make sure I'm catching that 1/16".

I tried this.... first with a test swatch, here's the front side.

And then the back side...

It's really hard to see the stitching line with the fleece (which is actually and advantage at this point). My swatches of this technique actually came out pretty good, of course next time I'll bear in mind that I'll be wrestling with a large quilt and not this easy to maneuver small swatch of fabrics.

And here's how that final project actually came out....

This is the front side, not too bad. In some parts the line wavers I'm not sure if it's the fleece giving me extra bulk and trouble or this technique. Unfortunetly the back side did not turn out as well as the swatches.

 It's kinda hard to see because the fleece actually seems to cover over the issue, but I'm at least ¼" away in this spot and in others right next to binding were I wanted to be. Basically you're still sewing blind, the only upside being that you don't end up with a flap of fabric hanging out or places were you miss the binding all together because it's too narrow.

Will I try this method again? Not really sure.

What do you think of this method?

Thanks for reading♥

Oregon State Blanket, Go Beavers!

Here's the quilt I made for my friend who's gonna be a first time Grandma. Cutting out the squares with the logos took some time and is always a little frustrating as these grid patterns are never exactly square. I usually avoid these types of fabrics since they have gotten me in the past but I liked the varying logos and sizes. The backing is fleece which I haven't worked with before. It actually quilted quite nicely, I was mostly worried about bunching up. I'm so happy to be done, on time. I always get a little stressed with a time crunch ahead so now that this project is out of the way it will be happy leisure sewing from here on out.

Thanks for reading♥