Candy Stripe Quilt Binding

It's very easy to get stuck in our comfort zone and use the same method of quilt binding on every quilt. I know that I am certainly guilty of that. My standard method of quilt binding is double fold straight grain and I tend to use that time and time again. That's why it's such fun to try a different method and give a bit of fizz to a quilt.

The quickest way to make a long enough length of candy strip quilt binding is to sew together several strips of fabric. I have used 2.1/2" wide strips of fabric in black and white and sewn them together to make a panel.

Lay your ruler across the panel at an angle of forty five degrees. This means that your quilt binding will be cut on the bias, but more importantly it means that you will get diagonal seams on your binding so that it's not too bulky. Cut strips 2.1/2" wide until you have used the whole panel. You may need to make several panels depending on the size of your quilt.

Join the strips together as necessary to get the length that you need. This will be the length and the width of your quilt and then times by two and add about ten inches to allow for the corners and the join. Fold the binding strips in half along the length to make a folded strip 1.1/4" wide. Starting about half way down one edge of the quilt, lay the binding on the edge so that the fold is towards the centre and the raw edges are in line with the raw edge of the quilt. Start sewing a couple of inches from the start of the binding so that you are leaving a trailing edge.

When you get back to the beginning of the quilt binding, stop sewing a few inches from where you began. Trim the end of the binding so that you have an overlap of about half an inch with the trailing end that you left at the beginning. Turn under a small hem on one of the trailing ends and tuck the other end inside the fold. Sew across the gap so that the quilt binding is completely attached to the quilt. Flip the binding to the back and slipstitch in place.

Doesn't it look good having a different binding on your quilt!