Some years ago, I bought a beautiful fabric collection called Larkspur by 3 Sisters (for Moda). I loved the fabric, but wasn’t sure what to do with all those lovely vintagey prints and colors. Then Miss Rosie’s Quilt Company provided me with the perfect pattern, Into the Wind. Sometimes you just have to make a quilt exactly as shown.
It could not have turned out better!
I have had the top finished for some time, but only quilted it recently, with the plan to gift it to someone special this Christmas. Yesterday I disciplined myself to get the binding on without further delay. Of course I did it by machine! Here is my process:
Pressing is a key element in getting machine binding to turn out well. I cut my binding strips 2 1/2″ and pressed the strips in half once I had sewn them together. I attached the binding to the quilt top and pressed it over to the wrong side. I took care that it was pressed evenly and that the corners were folded properly on the underside. I did not pin or glue. A thorough pressing was enough. Then I stitched in the ditch.
There were two machine adjustments that helped my stitching come out more even and precise. One, as you see in the photo above, I moved my stitching speed to slow. S.L.O.W. That is my strongest recommendation: go super slowly.
I also raised my stitch length to 3.0, which I think is fine for topstitching. Look, you can out the window behind me….Not the best photo, but you get the idea.
So, what does it look like on the underside? Not too bad. I’m satisfied. I will take it over five hours of hand sewing.
“Well, what about the corners?”, you may ask. I’m satisfied with those too.
I started my machine-binding journey slowly, with smaller projects like coffee mugs, then moved on to table toppers and runners. Then I tackled a couple of small quilts, and finally graduated to stitching full-sized quilt bindings on my machine. It has been a real game-changer. Now my quilts actually get finished and don’t hang around for a year waiting for me to bite the bullet and sew those bindings on by hand. I know a lot of you are going to tell me how much you love sitting in the evenings by the TV and doing your handwork, and that is fabulous. My eyes aren’t so good anymore, though, and sitting in anything but the brightest (even outdoor) light is the only way I can do good handwork. And frankly, I don’t really enjoy it. I am so glad I forced myself to try something new, and now I love machine binding all my quilts.
I wish all of you a marvelous weekend and a blessed time in these days before Christmas. Our son Ahren arrives on Sunday from Ireland to stay through the holidays, and it will be a busy time for us in the coming weeks. I promise to post when I can, and you can be sure there will be lots of recipes, because Ahren is full of cooking plans!
20 Responses
The quilt is absolutely gorgeous 😍 it makes me want to make it!
And kudos to you for tackling the machine binding. It is done perfectly! I recently had a quilt quilted and decided to have them also do the binding by machine (i can’t do hand bidning anymore) Yikes! It was such a disappointment 😞 looks great from the top but the underside is a mess. It’s usable of course, but I was sad how it turned out.
Enjoy every moment with Ahren and don’t worry about posting! We all out here in blogland just want you to have a wonderful visit!!
I am so glad I practiced machine binding enough to do a halfway decent job of it. What a time saver!
Beautiful quilt! You will make someone very happy receiving a special gift!
Thanks Doris. I hope they like it.
Lovely quilt! The fabric was just right for that pattern.
I’ve had to learn to machine bind for donation baby quilts, and now that’s my go-to method. Just did a king size in less than an afternoon on my domestic machine. Love hand binding, but…..
I have always found hand-stitching binding kind of tedious. I can only see well enough to do it if I sit outside, which can be pleasant on a nice day with a good audiobook to listen to. Otherwise, I’d rather get the job done quickly and move on to something else!
Pure perfection, Nicole!!
The fabric I used for the binding had been starched, which made it press well, which helped keep things in place while I stitched.
What a lovely quilt and those fabrics are just beautiful. I miss the 3 Sisters fabrics.
Thanks, too, for the lesson on machine binding.
Hope your family and Ahren have lots of fun and good food while you’re all together once again.
Hugs!
Moda does still release new collections from 3 Sisters. There is a group coming out in July that is all blues. It is called Breathtaking Blues and is gorgeous. Here’s a link to the preview: https://webfiles.modafabrics.com/webfiles/fcc_breathtaking-blues.pdf
Thanks for sharing your beautiful quilt! Miss Rosie patterns are the best. You do a wonderful job with machine binding, I’ve followed your instructions but I need to practice more. Starting with mug rugs is a great idea, even a table runner seems cumbersome. So glad that you recovered from the vertigo. I have two friends that had it in the past 2 months, one recovered completely in 24 hours with medication and PT, the other is still struggling after almost 2 months. Take care! 🎄❄️🎄
I have collected almost all of the Miss Rosie patterns and think I need to start making the ones that I haven’t gotten to yet. I have also made some that I’ve given away and maybe I should consider remaking them for myself!
As far as machine binding goes, start really small, go slow and use pins as you go along. Eventually you won’t need the pins. Really good pressing first helps too.
Nicole,
Someone is going to be so lucky to be receiving such a beautiful quilt! I do love hand sewing a binding but I also want to learn how to do it by machine. I am going to start out small for my first attempt. I wish safe travels for your son, Ahren, and may you have a wonderful time during his visit.
Thanks Carol! I can’t wait for him to get here. Last year he got a bad case of flu while he was here, and I sure hope that doesn’t happen again! I told him to wear gloves and a mask on the plane!
I’m a sucker for 3 Sisters fabrics! They’re so soft & cozy looking no matter what pattern you use. You’ve really gotten proficient at machine sewing bindings! I’ve had cataract surgery, but by late afternoon I still need to stop sewing–machine or hand—apparently, I need a lot of light! Enjoy every moment of the holidays with Ahren! Your readers will be right here when you return!
I was so happy with the results of my cataract surgery, except for the sensitivity to light. Now the macular degeneration in my left eye has messed things up for me. I am grateful that it is treatable and that I have had improvement.
Gorgeous fabrics! They made a beautiful quilt. Some lucky person will be getting a prize gift!!!!!!!
I hope they like it and can keep their dogs off of it! Oh well, it will be out of my hands…
Your machine binding looks great! I too have moved to machine binding in the past year and use the same process. Have been practicing on donation quilts. I have a bi-level foot for my Pfaff that helps with the top stitching. The corners are still challenging but are getting better!
The corners are the trickiest. Sometimes I stick a pin in to hold things in place, but with really good pressing, the fabric will stay put.