Modern Baby Quilts- Binding
By Casey Corey
Binding. The piece de resistance. The binding is the fabric that covers the raw edges of the handmade baby quilts. It’s the final piece of fabric to be sewn on. It weaves the front and back together providing a common point for both sides.
So much time, care, and work has already been poured into quilt by the time it’s time to attach the binding, and if the binding goes wonky- it can really ruin the quilt. It’s so important that I sew the binding fabric together first.
Picking the fabric pattern is just as much fun for me as picking the backing fabric. I almost always use a cotton fabric, but you can use either a solid or a patterned fabric.
If it’s a busy quilt, I like to use a complementary solid. Baby girl’s Llama Quilt was very busy, so I used a rich, dark yellow to bind it. It matched one of the colors found in the llama fabric and complemented all the colors on the top.
If it’s a quiter quilt top, then adding a stripe or a grid can add a lot of personality. A floral fabric on a sweet, feminine quilt finishes nicely. On the Raspberry Lemonade quilt, I used a bright aqua stripe. I faced the stripes horizontally to contrast against the vertical geese.
On this Equilateral Triangle quilt, I used a black and white striped fabric.
No matter which fabric binds the Casey Sheila Quilts heirloom that you bring home, we always hand stitch the back down. It’s durable enough to last the years yet still gives the quilt a beautiful finish.