Binding Part I - Joining the ends

Thinking that someone might find my binding methods helpful, I took pictures for a post last fall. Can you have blog UFOs? Finally, here's how I join the ends of regular binding when attaching to a quilt.

I'm skipping the part where you sew the binding on and turn corners. That's covered in lots of other places and usually pretty much the same wherever you find instructions. This post is about joining the last two ends of the binding together. I thought I was using the Fons and Porter method, but I just looked in their "Quilter's Complete Guide" and it's not exactly what I do. Not sure where I learned this then, but it is fairly easy, and the final seam looks like all the other seams in the binding if you joined your binding strips on a 45-degree angle.


Stop attaching the binding to the quilt a good 10 inches from where you started
so you have room to maneuver the pieces.
Make sure the start end is trimmed at a 45 degree angle. 



Tuck the beginning piece into the end piece, making sure the pieces are flat
and as taut as you'd want them in the finished binding.



Draw along the angled edge of your binding to mark the end piece.



Pull the end piece out and extend the line across the width of the binding.
Make sure the line is at a 45-degree angle from the strip edge.
Then, mark another line a HALF inch from your mark,
closer to the edge of the binding strip and away from the attached end.
The half inch is the quarter-inch seam allowance for the two ends.



Trim along this second line.  



With right sides together (and making sure you don't have a twist in the strips),
line up cut ends of binding strips, offsetting them slightly
so that your quarter-inch seam will start and end
in the V formed by the two pieces.

Press the seams open, and stitch the last part of the binding to the quilt.
Turn the binding to the back and sew in place as usual.

I hope this was helpful and that it makes sense!