Trying Something New

When Weeks Ringle spoke to the KC Modern Quilt Guild last month, I was quite taken with the quilts she showed us.....the few that I photographed that evening (below) were just a handful of the ones we saw.  Beautiful!

Weeks even passed the quilts around so we could touch them and see them up close.  She talked about her quilting background and process and technique--all fascinating.  Binding the quilts was one of the things that caught my attention--it is a one-step machine sewn binding--and it turns out there are directions for this method in the latest book out by Weeks and her husband Bill Kerr, Transparency Quilts.  It also turns out that I recently purchased their book when I learned that Weeks was coming.

Now, in the past, I haven't had much luck with bindings sewn down by machine.  Granted, I haven't practiced much, which is probably one reason it ended up looking so sloppy--especially the back since you're stitching it down from the front.  But this method made sense to me, more than others had, and I wanted to try it.

I decided to whip up something small and quick, a mug rug (8.5" x 7"), then started on the binding.  You use a bias tape maker (although the fabric strip doesn't have to be cut on the bias), fold it in half and iron it,

slip it over the edge of the quilt, pin and stitch.

It felt a little fiddly at first, especially around the corners, but the directions are clear and easy to follow. I think it looks pretty good on the front...

...and on the back.

By the way, have you tried these Wonder Clips? I preferred the straight pins for this project, but I use the clips on my binding when I'm hand stitching it to the back and I love them!

Marilyn