How to Finish Your Bindings with Invisible Hand Stitches
Tips for Attaching the Binding by Machine, Too!
Hand sewing the binding down is the last step and an enjoyable one for many quilters. It’s so satisfying to sit and stitch while knowing the quilt will soon be finished.
If you’ve been struggling with hand sewing the binding, you’ll appreciate the great tips provided by Nadine from Fabric Bias.
She covers how to attach the binding by machine and then demonstrates how to create invisible stitches for finishing it off. One of her tips is to not iron the binding in half, saying it folds over more neatly if the binding is unpressed.
For stitching, Nadine uses very thin needles, like straw needles, also sometimes called milliner’s needles, in a size 10 or size 11.
“You could use an applique needle as well, but I like the longer straw needles. The size 11 is harder to thread, so if that causes an issue, use a 10.”
See all of Nadine’s binding tips in the following article.
Note: Nadine’s article is no longer available but we found excellent instructions at Fish Museum + Circus for finishing a binding with invisible hand stitches. Click the link below.
