quilt finishing / binding???

[gilliam0128]

I received some beautiful quilt tops that my great grandmother made with her mother when she was younger.  (what a treasure!!) 

Anyway, I took them to a local quilting place to finish them with machine quilting because I do not quilt.  I can sew, but I have no means of quilting these - the smallest one will fit a full size bed.

I asked her to finish them with the old fashioned cotton batting and then muslin on the back since that seemed to be the closest match to what the front is.  I want to maintain the integrity of these as much as I possible can.  Well, I assumed that when she said she was going to "finish" them, that would include the edges.  I thought that was included in the $177.00 that she charged me. (Isn't that what finishing it means??)     

I was wrong.  She just put the batting and the backing on and then quilted it all together. (is that what they usuall do??)  I would think that some sort of binding is sewn on the edges before the quilting is done, but like I said I do not know anything about quilting - other than how much I love love love quilts.  So now I am left with these edges that I have no idea what to do with.   

What is the best way to finish the edges to keep it looking as traditional as I can?  I want it to look like it would if my grandmother would have finished it herself or as close as possible.

Two of them are wedding ring quilts and the edges are sort of scalloped because that is where the rings end. (Does that make sense?)  One is Holly Hobby dolls with a sort of frame around each. It is one big rectangle though.

Any suggestions?

[ZumaGirl74]

That's pretty weird, you'd think she'd either bind them, or let you know that binding was seperate.  did she have a price list for each of her services spelled out?

I do my binding by machine, which is *not* the way it's supposed to be done, but I'm a lazy cheater so there you go!  You could get away with machine binding the rectanglular one, but you'll probably want to hand stitch the binding on the wedding-ring one because of the scallops.

[SewHelpMe]

(is that what they usuall do??)

Yes.  I think that's usually what they do.  Only you're lucky that she provided you the backing, too.  I've always had to include the backing to go with my quilt top when I've sent them out for quilting.

Here's a great little tutorial on how to do the binding:  http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/continuous_quiltbinding/index.html .  Hope this helps you out.  It's time-consuming, but worth it.  However, I can honestly say the binding is the very reason I don't make more quilts!

[LostInOz]

I've recently finished binding my first finished quilt, and while the hand finishing was a long process, it's worth it. I used a technique pretty similar to the Heather Bailey tutorial, and it worked out well. Just take it slowly (and use thimbles!).

[Homerof2]

I have some quilts that were made by my grandmother and they all have a purchased ribbon binding that was hand sewn on.  I know that you can still get this kind of stuff at the fabric store.  I think it would be very authentic looking and save you from having to make your own binding.  If I was doing it, I would machine sew it on the front side and then hand sew it on the back (more work but it keeps it authentic)

Maybe if you could post some pictures, it might help with suggestions.

[gilliam0128]

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions.  I am going to try to get started on it this weekend.

Only you're lucky that she provided you the backing, too.  I've always had to include the backing to go with my quilt top when I've sent them out for quilting.

She does carry a variety of quilting fabrics and backing as well as batting, so I was lucky to be able to purchase it from her.

[Teresa_T]

Treasures indeed! Please post pictures of your completed quilts when done if you can. I'm sure many would enjoy seeing them. 

[Caecilia42]

If I get a little Clover bias strip maker, does that make single or double fold binding? Also, if it's a 1/2" strip maker, that means after sewing it on, I still have a half-inch of binding showing, not 1/4" (if I have to fold a seam allowance under)?  And where can I find a wide variety of commercial bias tape? I notice most quilt shops don't seem to have much.

[Homerof2]

And where can I find a wide variety of commercial bias tape? I notice most quilt shops don't seem to have much.

I can't help with the first part of your question but I can with this.  I buy all my bias tape at the fabric store (not the quilt shop) and they have a large variety.

[rae4beach]

Binding is not hard to make, just time consuming. I've never used the Clover thingy. When I make binding, I cut bias strips, sew them together, and then I fold the whole thing in half, and iron it. Usually have to fold as I go. Then, I machine sew the unfold edge to the edge of the front of the quilt. Then, fold over the folded edge to the back of the quilt and I usually machine sew (cheater I am!), but most people hand sew to the back of the quilt. I have a book called Happy Endings that is a great tutorial on bindings. Hope that makes sense!