Two Sided Binding

Once in awhile I am binding a quilt or runner and cannot decide on the binding because my fabric just doesn't coordinate with the backing and the front.  So today I had this quandary and decided to make a two sided binding.  I only do this occasionally so I decided to make a tutorial for myself because it took me all morning to get it right. I also made a sample for myself to hang on my peg board for the next time.  The front of the binding matches one of the batiks used and the back binding matches the backing.

 

 

 

 

 

Cutting the binding strips.

 

I sew my binding onto the back so that when it is flipped to the front I can machine stitch on the front so these directions will follow the procedure I use.

 

Front binding strips are cut to 1 5/8 inch. You will need enough strips to match the lengths of the sides and top and bottom. Each side,  top and bottom are sewn on separately. This 1 5/8 inch strip is folded in half, wrong sides together and pressed.

 

 

 

Back binding strips are cut to 1 1/8 inch. This strip is not folded.

 

 

The front and back binding strips are sewn together by matching raw edges, right sides together, of the folded front binding and the back binding (unfolded), as shown below using a 1/4 inch seam.  Once sewn together, the 1/4 inch seam should be pressed open.

 

 

 

Now sew the binding to both long sides first.  Place the right side of the 1 1/8 inch strip to the right side of the back of the quilt.  Sew in a full 1/4 inch seam; do not use a scant 1/4 inch.

 

 

Press up from the backing side.

 

 

Now turn to the front and sew with an Edge Joining Foot/Stitch in Ditch Foot with the needle moved to 1.3 to right of guide. Trim even with the top and bottom.

 

 

 

 

Now sew the top strip onto the back leaving about an extra 1/2 inch at both sides. When you flip to the front, before sewing onto the front, turn the extra 1/2 inch in to cover the raw edge. Do the same for the bottom and your binding is complete.

 

 

 

The binding will look great from the front and the back and lay flat.