calling @Iminei ... have a question on the way you do your bindings

[mudcat]

@Iminei Can you send me the link to a picture of one of your bindings where you use what I assume is a blanket stitch. I am getting ready to add the binding to a quilt next week and want to give that technique a try but I can't remember exactly how you do it.

signed, not a real quilter  :thinking:

[Iminei]

Blanket stitch is a fabulous way to make a quilt completely bombproof but you do need to have a mirror image function on your machine ....

Page 60 of this manual

If you dont have this ability to flip the stitch you will have the entire bulk of the quilt to the right of the needle ... Nightmare!

If you do then its plain sailing! You will of course get a line of stitching on the back or front of your quilt depending on which way you're sewing the binding on ... but on a pieced quilt it really isnt a problem.

I often make the blanket stitches into a feature, making the stitches larger than they need to be and in a variegated thread ... but if your quilt is primarily whites/lights and you are using a light grey/cream/white thread you'll barely notice them.

Here is an ALBUM never before seen by human eye.

Click on a pic to bring it full screen,
click on the i Icon/three dots to get info brought up to the side
and the magnifying glass to zooooom in.

I always play with my bindings, making them extra wide almost like mini borders and sewing from whichever side facilitates my needs. The hardest thing with using a blanket stitch is keeping the stitches as close to the edge of the binding as possible without wandering onto the binding itself.
I achieve this by having my nose as close to the quilt as I can.

I start on a leader, to overcome the automatic locking stitch, leaving long tails at the beginning and end to bury within the body of the quilt. I also sew quite slowly compared to other people (I believe ... but as I sew alone who can tell ?) which is good for control of where the stitches are landing ... blanket stitch can, if the stitches are large enough, be unpicked but its a pita and who wants to be unpicking that close to the end of what is usually a long journey?!

My advice is to make a long, thin sandwich; backing, wadding, fabric for top and fabric halved for binding and experiment with width and length of stitches ... you'll soon find what you like and suits you and how it goes, theres a rhythm to the stitch which is quite soothing ... Enjoy and do post pics!

Any questions just ask!

[Lowena]

I can confirm that @Iminei does indeed sew s.l.o.w.l.y. but that's an advantage when stitching binding down using this method.
I have done it but usually can't be a*sed bothered with the time it takes 

[Cazlyn]

That looks fab @Iminei i may give it a go sometime.

[mudcat]

Thanks so much @Iminei the pictures are very helpful. I just checked and I do have the mirror image selection so this is doable. In 25 years of owning this machine I don't recall ever using that functionality. I didn't even think I had the ability at first but then I remembered some never used buttons on the machine and was able to verify it was doable.

[Iminei]

Practice sandwiches for the blanket stitch binding for Junes Flash make

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Blanket stitch binding sample - finished on the reverse


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Blanket stitch binding sample  - Front showing stitching from reverse

I think I chose S. length 3.0
Stitch width 3.5

[PBear]

This does require a little practice- @Iminei has perfected this method and I have used it several times. The only time I messed up was when I got impatient and went too fast - it really does need you to go slow to make sure the needle goes into the correct place. I found the slowest machine setting was ideal.