Art and Bed Quilts, Jackets, Handbags and Totes by Mary Bajcz

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How to End a Binding
Mary's Quilting Resume
There are many ways to end a binding.   I like this method because you can test to make sure it fits correctly before  cutting.   This method works on binding that's pressed in half.
Step 1
When sewing on your binding leave about 8" of binding unsewn at the beginning and stop sewing about 12" before you reach the end where you began sewing.   You need this much wiggle room for maneuvers.

Step 2

Arrange your quilt nice and flat on a surface and fold up your bindings somewhere in the middle of the unsewn portion  to see where they meet.   Be sure to allow a tail on your bindings of at  least the cut width of your binding.   More is better.   Do this where there are no binding joins.   You don't want to deal with that many seams in one place.   Using good scissors, clip through the bindings as shown in the picture.   The clip must be smaller than your seam allowance, but big enough so that you can see them when you open up your bindings.   These tiny clips show where edges should meet.

Step 3
Open up the binding on the right with your right hand......
Step 4
and turn your hand over as shown.   Now the right side of the binding is facing you and it's oriented correctly for sewing.  
Step 5
Open up the binding on the left hand side and lay it face down on the other binding end matching up the little clips.   The clips are too small to see so I've indicated where they are with the little green arrows.   At this step you are going to feel like the binding is too short, but it's not.   This is where the 12" opening helps give you " room to move".   Put in a couple of pins to keep the fabric oriented correctly.
Step 6
Then sew from the upper left corner to the lower right as indicated by the green line.
Step 7
Sewn.
Step 8
Check to make sure the binding fits nicely, then trim out the excess fabric and finish sewing the binding to your top.  That's it!!!  
The finished quilt...The Number Game