What order to do things in?

[Vezelay]

Simple beginner's question - I've been googling and reading online advice so now I'm more confused than I was!

I'm making a cot quilt - I sew garments, bags and have done basic quilting on projects but this is my first actual quilt. I've gone the easy route and bought a panel. I have thin cotton batting (baby lives in Australia) and backing fabric. The "quilting person" in the local shop sold me 5 yards of standard 1 1/2" bias binding which as soon as I got it home I thought was probably too narrow, but as the quilt is thin I'm hoping it will do. I plan to use free motion quilting - I even booked a lession for next week.

I've made the quilt sandwich - just need to spray baste it. Then there's trimming, F/M quilting, possibly basting the edges and binding. So what order do I do those in?

This is my panel if it helps - mine isn't damaged! Presumably I trim off the white edges as my binding seam is only 1/4". I read that some people extend the batting into the binding but mine is too narrow (in places) for that as it was originally meant for another project.

Thanks for any advice 

[Iminei]

Take the  binding back to the shop along with a large whole Plaice or Haddock to slap them round the face and tell them they shouldnt be allowed to sell in a shop when they obviously dont know squat! 

Too much?????

Binding for a quilt should be 2 1/2" wof strips joined on the diagonal ..... You dont need bias binding ...

Please Vezelay look through my cot quilt from start to finish thread ..... everything you need is there (ignore the quilting bit I went a bit off piste, simple crosses of lines are great.)

Any other questions just ask!

[Lowena]

Never use bias binding for a quilt. 2.5" strips cut straight across the fabric.
Schedule - piece the top, sandwich the quilt ( btw we call it wadding over here, it's batting in the USA ), quilt the  layers together ( making sure the wadding and backing are bigger than the top ), trim to size, add the binding.

[Vezelay]

Shucks re the binding. I was just so grateful that the young woman wasn't as unpleasant to me as usual that I believed her supposedly expert advice. I even asked "do you make quilts then?" and she said "Oh, yes". Any attempt to return the binding I bought @Iminei will be met with contempt and almost certain refusal, so as I'm not that hard up I'll just buy some fabric and cut my own - which incidentally is what I was going to do in the first place until she revealed her superior quilting knowledge.

The second fabric shop in town is worse and to be avoided at all costs. The third is pretty awful and has nothing you want. I mostly buy online.

So...quilting, trimming, basting, binding - in that order. @Lowena as I mentioned my wadding is unfortunately only just the same width as my panel, though longer. I'm hoping that will be OK as I don't have time to buy more (online) now. If  necessary I'll just have to trim more off.

[Lowena]

Baste before trim 

[BrendaP]

I mostly agree with what the others have said.

Bias binding if for curved edges because it will stretch and compress.  Straight edges need straight binding.  Cutting strips across the width of fabric is usually more ecconomic but cutting the binding on the lengthways grain is very slightly more stable.

Quilts are usually bound with a double thickness of binding whereas bound edges on a garment are usually only single thickness.  A lot of people cut their binding strips 2.5 inches wide but I think that makes for a loose bind and I prefer to cut the strips 2" wide.  However, Imi's instructions show the binding stitched down by machine, I nearly always stitch it down by hand stitching into the row of machine stitches which initially secured the binding to the quilt.  Both methods are correct, go for the one which you can do neatest.

Once you have made the sandwich, using any combination of pinning, basting and 505 spray, quilt it "as you wish" and then trim away the excess wadding and backing.  All three layers should be the same, and with a pre-printed panel hopefully you won't need to do any squaring up.

Join the strips of binding together - again I am at variance with Iminei as I make 90° seams not 45° but again it's a matter of preference.  90° does work better if the binding is striped and I like stripes going across my binding.

Then fold the binding in half lengthways, right sides out, and press.  Then attach to the edges of the quilt so that all the cut edges are on top of each other and machine stitch with good 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Turn the binding over and stitch down by hand or by machine.

Mitred corners look nicer but the quilt police won't be after you if you choose to bind two sides and then bind top and bottom.

[Iminei]

unfortunately only just the same width as my panel, though longer

You can join wadding ... I do it all the time ....

[BrendaP]

I don't bother with a joining strip, I just use large hand stitches to hold the two pieces butted together.  Once the quilting is done no-one, not even you, will be able to tell where the join is.  Some of my quilts have multiple joins in the wadding.

[Vezelay]

Baste before trim 

@Lowena  I meant baste the edges before binding. Presumably you'd trim first. Is that something you lot would advise?

[BrendaP]

If the quilting goes right up to, or at least very close to, the edges there is no need to baste.

[Renegade Sewist]

The Yank version: cut binding strips 2.25" or 2.5", but if you do the wider you take a generous 1/4" seam allowance. Join 'em how you like; I vary it depending on the fabrics, blah blah. You want the batting to fill the binding. Here everyone I know fills the binding. It generally looks more finished and wears better.

As said, if your quilting goes to the edge, no need to baste before binding. When I don't quilt the border I baste before I trim so the 3 layers stay put and are even all around the edge. If you trimmed first things can shift on you and you don't want that.

It's OK, but not great that the batting and panel are the same width. Compensate for not having extra width by careful basting before quilting. On a cot quilt you won't want too dense of quilting, as it stiffens the quilt. We want the little one comfy & cozy. Also you still want to cut the backing larger than the front so you don't have to worry about it shifting. After you quilt take a good look at all edges and if the batting hasn't shrunk up from the stitching trim along the colored edge of the panel. If it did shrink up you may need to trim a small amount of the panel off all around, same amount on each edge. Baby won't know the difference.

[Vezelay]

Great to have everyone's quilting wisdom here  .

The Yank version: cut binding strips 2.25" or 2.5", but if you do the wider you take a generous 1/4" seam allowance. Join 'em how you like; I vary it depending on the fabrics, blah blah. You want the batting to fill the binding. Here everyone I know fills the binding. It generally looks more finished and wears better.

Doing the math on this it seems that for a 2 1/4" binding strip the binding will protrude 5/8" beyond the trimmed fabric sandwich. So how can the batting fill that? Maybe quilting binding is applied differently to other binding that I'm familiar with.

The way I calculated it: 1/4" seam allowance, then another 1/4" from seam to quilt edge x 2 counting the other side = 1". The remaining 1 1/4" doubled is 5/8". Must be some way to fill the batting that I can't see.

[Deafoldbat]

Let's add a little heresy here 

I don't use double fold binding, and the world has failed to end. I cut 1½ inch strips, joining them at 45 or 90 deg depending on how short of fabric I am. You can match stripes at 45 deg, it just takes thought (and muttering). 45 deg joins just distribute the bulk from the seams a bit better than 90. To make sure the binding is filled, I trim the wadding and backing ½ inch from the unfinished edge of the quilt.

As BrendaP said, bias binding is for curved edges. You can make your own if you need it.

I never spray baste. Safety pins are fine. Just take a few minutes to smooth things as you work. If it isn't right, unpinning is far less (but still) annoying than unsticking, or pulling out tacking thread. Slight puffiness will probably quilt out, or can be eased out as you go by unpinning and smoothing.

I shall now go and check the livestock behind the settee  in case the quilt police are reading this!

[Kad]

I don't use double fold binding either, in fact I cut 1 3/8" strips.
I machine around the edges of the quilt sandwich with a long stitch at 1/4" in from the edge of the quilt top.  Then trim the backing and wadding to match the quilt top. I sew the binding on with a 1/4" seam allowance and then handsew it to the reverse of the quilt.
This makes for a tight well-stuffed binding which is very economical with fabric.

[Vezelay]

I don't use double fold binding, and the world has failed to end.

I don't use double fold binding either

Oh, the penny's just dropped! The 2 1/2 inches is in fact usually folded in two before sewing on. That explains my confusion. (Told you I knew nothing). So many different ways of binding quilts - all of them food for thought. @Kad 's method is how I assumed it was done.

I'm learning...