Tutorial Tuesday: Fold-Over Binding

Ever realized your backing fabric would look great as your binding? Then realized you didn't have enough of your backing to cut out binding strips? Well you are in luck! Today I will be featuring a tutorial I made myself on what I'm calling, fold-over binding. This is a quick and easy way to bind your quilts, pot holders, or whatever else you may be binding. But what is it? It's where you simply take the backing and fold it over the front to be your binding! Easy! Plus, it adds less bulk to what ever you're binding, as my friend Susie pointed out!

Now on to the sea of my tutorial... if you need something clarified a bit more, let me know! The tutorial will start from the point where you would normally make the binding. 

1. Cut the quilt top and batting to the size you want. Make sure to not cut the backing in this process. Next, trim the backing down to be 1 inch outside of your quilt sandwich.

2. Here is a picture of my whole wall hanging with the backing cut 1 inch around the top and batting.

3. Another picture of the same thing, but closer up.

4. Fold and iron the back in half along the edge of your sandwich. Your "binding" should measure an 1/2 inch now.

5. Iron down one side, leaving the corners like this when you come to the next side.

6. When ironing the next "binding" side, fold the "binding" over so that it covers the first side creating a nice corner.

7. Here is a far off picture of the binding ironed down to an 1/2 inch all around the quilt top and binding.

8. A bit closer now...

9. Once you've ironed down all sides, fold the "binding" over the quilt top and batting on one side, and secure down like you would with real binding. (Yes, I used bobby pins. There's a first time for everything!)

*Pin one side, sew, pin the next side, sew, etc.*

10. Sew the "binding" down as close to edge as possible.

11. Sew all the way down the length of the side of the "binding". Even over the side that is not folded over the quilt top and batting like shown.

12. Fold over the next side of the "binding" like you did before. Sew as close to the edge as you can, and sew over the other side of the binding that is already sewn. This form a nice corner.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and will try it out sometime! Sorry if the wording was awkward or didn't make sense. It's my first tutorial :) If you do get confused, take a look at the picture and send me an email. Oh and don't forget to enter the Sew Me A Song Giveaway! It closes on Friday May 17th at 11:59 pm.