Quilting for Beginners Part 2: Finishing Your Quilt

1. Introduction: Have you been curious about quilting, but feel a little intimidated to take it on. Perhaps you have a quilt top sitting in your unfinished project spin and you're not exactly sure how to begin finishing it. That was the case for me when I began my quilting journey. Or perhaps you're a more experienced quilter hoping to refine your techniques or learn a new skill like hand quilting. Either way, I'm so glad to have you here. Welcome to Quilting for Beginners part two, where we will focus on finishing the quilt top that we created in part one of this series. In this beginner friendly class, I'll break down the entire process of finishing a quilt, Helping you to finish your quilt with your own unique touch and style. Hi, I'm Julie Ray. I'm an artist and online educator based in Portland, Oregon of the United States. I've been making and designing quilts since 2017 and I absolutely love creating with fabric. When I was making my first quilt, I found it quite easy to follow along with the directions to create the quilt top. However, when I got to the end of the pattern, there was no guidance on what to do next. I didn't even know what to search for so that I could find the resources I needed to finish my quilt. This is the class that I wish existed when I was creating my first quilt. And I'm here to share everything that I've learned over the years and hopefully save you some of the time and frustration that I encountered creating my first quilt. This class will guide you through the entire process and offer a few different options for finishing your quilt along the way. Before beginning, you should have a completed quilt top that you work to finish throughout the course of this class. If you don't, go ahead and check out part one of my Quilting for Beginners series. In that class, I cover the entire process of creating a quilt top. And even offer a free quilt pattern for you to download and use. No quilting experience is required. However, basic knowledge of operating sewing machine will be helpful. So bring along your quilt top and sewing machine and join me as we transform your quilt tops into completed quilts. I can't wait to see the beautiful quilts that you create. 2. Class Project: For your class project, you'll be working to finish a quilt top. Using any of the techniques or options presented in this class. Post a photograph of your completed quilt and upload it to the project section of this course. I also encourage you to take photos of your quilt in progress so that we can celebrate your wins, cheer you on along the way, and see your project transform. In the next lesson, we'll go over the materials that you'll need to finish your quilt. I'll meet you there. 3. Matierials and Supplies: In this lesson, we'll cover some of the materials and supplies that you'll want to gather to finish your quilt. First of all, you'll want a working sewing machine. You don't need anything fancy. My first sewing machine was a used singer I purchased on Craigslist for $50 Created many, many quilts on that machine. More expensive models will have more features, but truly all you need is a machine that can make a straight stitch. The materials that you'll need to finish your quilt will vary depending on the technique that you decide to use to finish it. If you're uncertain at this point, I recommend watching through some of the videos so that you can decide which technique appeals to you the most. In order to finish your quilt, you'll need some batting, which is the thicker layer of fibers that goes in between the two layers of your quilt. And you'll also need some fabric for the backing and the binding. We'll be talking more about these materials and upcoming lessons. Don't worry too much about them for now. For cutting supplies, you'll need a cutting mat, a rotary cutter, a pair of high quality fabric scissors, and a six inch by 24 inch acrylic ruler. This is optional, but a square acrylic ruler measuring 10 " by 10 ", or 12 " by 12 ", can be really useful for squaring up your quilt. In this course, I'll show you two different methods for basting your quilt. For the spray basting method, you'll need a basting spray. I use this quick craft tack that I purchased from my local quilting shop. For the pin basting method, you'll need basting pins. These are specialized safety pins that have a curve in them designed specifically for basting quilts. The amount you need will depend on the size of your quilt. You'll want enough to place a pin every four to 6 " across the entire surface of your quilt. A few other things that you'll need for basting are painter's tape and a hero marker or a butter knife. I recommend using a non serrated butter knife. If you plan to use your machine for quilting, a walking foot will help keep the multiple layers of the quilt from shifting. Many machines will come with a walking foot, but you can also purchase a universal walking foot from any sewing supply store. The instructions manual for your machine will show you how to properly install it. You'll also need some quilting needles for your machine and a quilting thread. I recommend using a 50 weight cotton thread. If you plan to quilt your piece by hand, you'll need hand quilting thread. These threads can come in a variety of options. I'll talk about these in more detail in the hand quilting lesson. You'll also need some hand sewing needles. A small pair of thread, scissors, a needle threader, and a thimble. A thread gloss is optional, but I find it really makes a difference in helping the thread glide smoothly through all the layers of the quilt. For pressing your fabric, you'll need a steam iron and an ironing board or a pressing mat. Finally, for binding your quilt, you'll need straight pins or quilt clips. Straight pins work fine, but I really like to use clips. I'll be demonstrating both. So you can see the pros and cons of each another. Really handy tool, especially if you plan to attach your binding, using the sewing machine is a stitch in the ditch foot. I'll talk more about this in the binding lesson. In the resources section of this course, I've included a resource that lists all of the materials that I've mentioned in this lesson. Go ahead and take that to your quilting supply store or your favorite online supplier and gather the materials that you need. Once you have your materials gathered, join me in the next lesson where we'll start to prepare all of the layers that you'll need for your quilt. I'll see you there. 4. Preparing the Quilt Layers: In the previous lesson, we covered all of the materials that you'll need to gather to finish your quilt. In this lesson, we'll talk about how to prepare your batting and backing fabric for quilting. Quilts generally consist of three layers, commonly referred to as a quilt sandwich. These three layers consist of the quilt backing, which is typically a single piece of fabric, or in the case of a larger quilt, two or three pieces of larger fabric stitched together. The batting, which is a layer of thicker fiber, usually made of cotton. The quilt top, which contains the primary design. First, let's prepare the quilt backing. It's generally recommended that you leave about 4 " of overage on all sides, which means the batting and the backing should measure 8 " more than each of the finished sides of the quilt. In order to calculate the measurements for the backing and the batting of my quilt, I need to add 8 " to the width of my quilt top and add 8 " to the length of my quilt top. Let's say I have a quilt top that measures 18 " by 34 ". If I add 8 " to the width and the length, that means the measurements of my backing and batting will be 26 " by 42 ". Batting is sold by the roll, generally 90 or 108 " wide, or you can also purchase it pre cut. There are various options depending on the size that you need. If your fabric has a directional pattern, that is a pattern with an obvious right way, that would appear upside down or sideways any other way, then you'll have to take that into consideration when cutting your backing fabric. For example, this solid is considered non directional, which means it can be cut any way that uses the fabric most efficiently. However, with this stripe, I have a decision to make. If I lay the quilt top this way, the stripes will run across the quilt back horizontally. However, for this quilt, I want the stripes on the back to run vertically. This just means that I need to make sure I have enough yardage of the backing to account for the length of the quilt. If you're making a smaller quilt such as a wall hanging, you'll likely be able to use a single piece of fabric for the backing. However, since quilt and cotton is generally sold on bolts by the yard that are 42, 44 " wide, If you're making a larger quilt, you may need to piece two or three pieces of fabric together to have enough to cover the entire backing. For larger quilts, you have a couple of options. First, you can purchase a special fabric called wide back that is generally 108 " wide. It is designed specifically for quilt backings. Fabric options that are offered in wide back tend to be pretty limited if there's a specific fabric you want for the backing that's not available in a wide back. There is another option. The second option is to sew two or more pieces of fabric together until you've achieved the desired measurements. This means you'll have a seam on the back of your quilt, but that's not generally a concern. In order to piece your backing fabric together, you'll first need to figure out how much fabric you'll need. This fabric requirement may be included in your pattern instructions, But if it's not, there are a lot of free online quilting tools that can help you figure it out. One that I like to use is from the Quilters Paradise website. If I scroll down, you can see that they have tools to calculate a lot of different factors in quilting. But right now, we're interested in the batting and backing calculator. To use this tool put in the width of the backing fabric that you're using. Mine is 44 ". Here is where you'll enter the dimensions of your quilt top. The baby quilt that I'm making is 40 " wide and 42 " long. I want to include 4 " of overage on all the sides. I'll hit Calculate now they give me two different measurements here. The first is using a width of 40 ", which means according to this diagram, if this is the width, I would have a vertical seam down the center of my quilt back. The second yardage is if I plan to rotate this 90 degrees and make the width 42 ", this would mean that this seam would run horizontally along my quilt back. Constructing a quilt back with a horizontal seam tends to use less fabric than if you construct it with a vertical seam. For this reason, I'll generally use a horizontal seam for my quilt back. Unless of course, I need a vertical seam in order to account for the directionality of the fabric. You've determined the amount of fabric that you'll need. We can begin to prepare the backing first. Fold your piece of backing fabric in half so that the selvage edges match along the sides. And the raw edges match on the edge opposite of the fold cut along the folded line. For a very large quilt, you may need to cut the fabric into thirds in order to have enough to cover the width. Place your fabric right sides together along the selvage edge. Use pins to hold the fabric in place. Then sew a four inch seam from the inside of the salvage. Cut off the excess selvage a quarter inches from your seam line, then press your seam open. You can also get creative with your backing for the quilt shown here. I didn't have enough of the backing fabric I wanted to use to cover the entire quilt back. I pieced a few different fabrics together to make the backing wide enough for this quilt. There are a lot of options when it comes to your backing. Get creative and have fun with it. Now that you have the backing and the batting cut to the desired size, plug in your iron and press the quilt top and the backing fabric with lots of steam to get them as smooth and flat as possible. Now that you have all the layers prepared, ready to secure them together in preparation for quilting. In the following lessons, I'll be showing you two different methods for basting your quilt. Spray basting and pin basting. 5. Spray Basting: In the previous lesson, we prepared all of the layers of the quilt. In this lesson and in the lesson that follows, I'll be sharing two different methods for securing the layers of your quilt together, which is called basting. In this lesson, I'll discuss spray basting, which is a method for securing your layers together using a special adhesive spray. I just recently began exploring the spray basting method. It's so much quicker and easier than pin basting, especially for larger quilts. For this method, you'll want to make sure you have a well ventilated area. You'll also want to protect the surface from any sticky residue from the adhesive spray. Place the quilt batting down and smooth it out. Then lay the quilt backing on top of the batting and smooth it out over the top. Gently roll the quilt backing away from the batting. About halfway up, holding the spray ten to 12 " from the batting. Gently spray across the surface a little. Goes a long way. Use a light touch, then smooth the backing back down over the batting. Smoothing it out from the middle to the end. Repeat this same process with the other half of the backing until the entire quilt back is adhered to the batting. Now that the backing is secured, flip the entire piece over so that the backing is face down and the batting is face up. Spread the quilt top over the top of the batting and smooth it out. Repeat the same process that you did for the quilt backing. Pulling the quilt top back halfway spraying, and then smoothing it back down until the quilt top is adhered to the batting. All of your layers are now secured together. If you plan to use the spray basting method, go ahead and secure all the layers of your quilt together before moving on. If you want to learn about another method of basting, go on to the next lesson. We're all talk about a method of basting using pins. 6. Pin Basting: In this lesson, I'll teach another technique for securing the layers of your quilt together called pin basting. This method uses special curved pins, called quilting pins, or basting pins to secure all the layers of fabric together. This is my go to method and it's one that I've used for years. The advantage to this method is that you buy the pins once and you can use them over and over again. You also don't have to deal with any sticky messes or potentially harmful fumes from the adhesive spray. First, be sure the backing fabric and your quilt top are well pressed with lots of steam. Then clear a space large enough to lay out your entire quilt. A wood or tile floor works best, but you may need to be creative, depending on the space available. Place the backing fabric so that the right side is facing down, the wrong side, the side that you don't want showing will be face up at this point. Use masking tape or painter's tape to secure the edges in the corners. You'll want the fabric to be taught but not stretched. Be sure to smooth it out as flat as you can. Once your backing fabric is secured, lay out your batting fabric on top of the backing. Your quilt top will go on top of the batting right side facing up. Smooth everything out as well as you can. The smoother you can get everything at this point, the easier it will be to quilt. For this method, you will be securing the layers of your quilt together using curved safety pits. I store all of my pins in a jar and keep them open that way I don't have to fuss with opening them before I place them. It's a small time saving tip that really adds up. Begin in the middle of your quilt and work your way out to the edges. Placing pins every four to 6 ". As you're placing your pins, be sure that you're catching all three layers of the quilt. This will ensure all three layers stay together and don't shift. As we prepare for quilting, continue pinning until you have the entire quilt basted. This method takes some time, so be sure to stand up and stretch as needed, especially if you're working on the floor. If you haven't already, take some time to secure the layers of your quilt together using either the spray basting or the pin basting technique. Once your quilt is basted, you'll be ready to move on to the next lesson where we'll plan and mark out the lines that will act as a guide for your quilting design. I'll see you there. 7. Marking Quilt Lines: In the previous lessons, we discussed a couple of different methods for securing the layers of your quilt together. Spray basting and pin basting. Now that you have your quilt basted, you're ready to think about how you'd like to quilt it. Quilting is the process of actually stitching the layers of fabric together. It's what makes a quilt. A quilt. For most of my quilts, I quilt using straight parallel lines, either running vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. You want something that will best complement the quilt top. Look at your quilt and decide what quilt lines you would like to add. You might consider how you could mimic the flow or direction of the quilt design. Or perhaps you want your quilt lines to contrast with the design. Or perhaps you want to add lines that will emphasize a certain shape. If you don't want your quilt lines to be visible on the front of your quilt. Another option is to stitch in the ditch, which is where you create a line of stitching along the seam resources section. I've provided a document with some ideas for different quilt line designs that you can use as inspiration for your own quilt. For the baby quilt, I've decided to quilt using diagonal lines, using a neutral thread. Diagonal lines will add strength and stability to the quilt. That will help it withstand many cuddles. Quilt batting that you purchase from your fabric shop will generally have a recommendation of how close together your quilt lines should be. Check those guidelines and be sure to factor that into your quilting design. To mark my quilt lines, I use a tool called a hero marker along with my long acrylic ruler. If you don't have a hero marker, you can also use a non serrated butter knife, holding my ruler down securely with my non dominant hand. I will use the hero marker or butter knife to create a mark with my dominant hand. The hero marker or non serrated butter knife will leave a small visible line that you can later use as a guide for your quilting. I don't want my quilting to be too, since the denser the quilting, the stiffer the quilt will be. For the baby quilt, I'm going to make each of my quilting lines 3 " apart. Before moving on to the next lesson, take some time to plan and mark out your quilting lines. Once you've marked your lines, you're ready for quilting. In the next lesson, I'll give a brief overview of a few different quilting options so that you can start thinking about which technique you'd like to use to finish your quilt. I'll see you there. 8. Overview of Quilting Options: In the last lesson, we marked out our quilting lines and you have your project ready to quilt. Before we jump into quilting, let me discuss a few different options you have so you can decide which method you prefer to use. There are two methods of quilting that I'll be teaching in this course, Straight line machine quilting and hand quilting. The first method we'll discuss is machine quilting. This is the method I use for the vast majority of my quilts. Machine quilting is faster than hand quilting and it creates a very secure finish. This is a good option for a quilt that will receive lots of use, especially if you think it will be machine washed frequently. Machine quilting stitches are smaller than hand quilting stitches are a good option if you want the quilt lines to be less obvious. Hand quilting adds a beautiful texture to a quilt and provides a more handmade look. It's much more time consuming than machine quilting, but there's something so lovely and meditative about sitting in a cozy spot with your quilt in your lap As you stitch, the quilt will maintain a softer texture than a machine quilted quilt. It is a great option for a quilt that will be snuggled. You may notice many quilts with a more meandering design achieved through the technique of free motion quilting. Method involves moving the quilt freely in the machine to achieve a more organic design. Honestly, this is not a technique I'm very knowledgeable about. Therefore, it's not one I'm going to be teaching in this class. If you are interested in learning more about free motion quilting, I've included a few references in the resources section of this class for you to check out. There's another technique that would be an option for finishing your quilt, and that's called long arm quilting. This technique requires use of a special long arm machine. Long arm quilting has the ability to achieve very precise and intricate designs and offer a beautiful finish. But because it requires access to a specialized and pretty expensive machine, it's not one I'm going to be teaching in this class. There are many quilters out there that offer long arm services that you can hire to quilt your quilt for you using a long arm machine. This is a really great option. If you want a really professional and beautiful finish, just do a quick search for long arm quilters to see if you can find any in your area. Before moving on to the next lesson, decide which technique you would like to use to finish your quilt. In the lesson that follows, I'll be showing my process for machine quilting. If you plan to quilt your project by hand, feel free to skip the lesson on machine quilting and jump right ahead to the hand quilting lesson. 9. Machine Quilting: In the last lesson, we discussed a variety of options for quilting your project. In this lesson, I'll show you the method that I use the most for quilting all of my projects. Machine quilting, machine quilting is a really quick and easy way to secure all of the layers of your quilt together. And it will create a really strong quilt that can withstand years of use. With machine quilting, you can create straight lines that are horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. This technique offers a very modern look. Let's begin by setting up the machine. I'm going to change out my quarter inch foot for my walking foot. The walking foot is a specialized foot that feeds the top and the bottom layers through the machine evenly avoid any distortion or puckering. And it's very helpful when working with multiple layers of fabric. Next I'm going to change up my needle. For a quilting needle, I'm using a quilting needle size 90/14 This is a slightly larger needle than I use for piecing. It will be better able to handle the multiple layers of fabric. I generally use a neutral color 50 weight thread, but you could use a slightly thicker thread. If you want your stitching lines to be a little more obvious, just be sure whatever thread you use that it's intended for machine stitching. If you use a thread that's specifically for hand quilting or hand stitching, it won't feed properly through your machine. As for my machine settings, I'll change to a slightly longer stitch length. I generally use a stitch length between 3.0 and 3.5 Before beginning to stitch your quilt, you'll want to test out a couple of practice stitches on a piece of scrap fabric and batting to be sure the tension is good. If the tension is off, the first thing I generally do is rethread everything, and that often does the trick. If not, you can adjust the tension manually on your machine. In general, if you're seeing the bottom thread come through on the top of the quilt, the tension is too tight and you need to reduce the tension level. If the top thread is showing through on the bottom, that means the tension is too loose and you need to increase the tension level. Roll up your quilt on the sides so that it will fit under the throat of your machine. As you begin stitching, bring your quilt over to the machine. If you have a large quilt, you may need to hoist it up over your left shoulder. Begin with a length of stitching in the middle of your quilt and work your way over to one side, always sewing in the same direction. As you begin stitching, go slowly and try to be as consistent with your speed as possible following the guiding lines that you created in the previous lesson. If you basted your quilt using pins, you can remove these pins as you go. There may be instances when you need to stop and start a stitch in the middle of your quilt. For example, if you run out of bobbin thread or your thread breaks, this happens to me all the time. If that happens, leave a long tail of thread and use a hand sewing needle to bring these threads to the back of the quilt. Once both threads are in the back, tie them off with a double knot. And then use the needle bury the ends in between the layers of your quilt. Keep working to quilt your whole project using the lines you marked in the previous lesson as guides. In this lesson, I showed you my process for machine quilting. In the next lesson, we'll learn a technique for quilting your project by hand. If you're not interested in hand quilting, your project, feel for you to skip ahead to the lesson where we begin to prepare our binding. I'll see you there. 10. Hand Quilting: In the previous lesson, we learned all about machine quilting, which is a really great option if you want to finish your quilt quickly and have a really strong finish hand quilting, while significantly more time consuming, adds such a lovely texture and creates a truly handmade look. It's also a really beautifully meditative practice and I encourage you to try it out. There are lots of options when it comes to hand quilting thread. The kind of thread you choose will depend on the look that you want. Thread weight is indicated in numbers and it's a bit counter intuitive. Smaller the number, the thicker the thread. This thread is about a 30 weight thread that I used to hand quilt this kilana quilt. This pearl thread, however, is an eight weight and it's a lot thicker. I used this thread to hand quilt this quilt and you can see how much chunkier and more visible the quilting lines are. A thick thread, like a 12 or an eight weight will offer more contrast and provide a lovely cozy texture where if you're using a finer hand quilting thread such as a 20 or 30 weight, the stitching will be a little less visible. In terms of needles, you'll have to try out a few different hand sewing needles to see what you prefer. In general, a thicker thread will require a larger needle. I tend to use the smallest needle I can that will fit the thread that I'm using. There are a few other tools that you'll want to have as part of your hand quilting tool kit. The first is a thimble. I like to use leather thimbles or a leather thimble with a metal coin at the center because I like the flexibility of it. But there's lots of varieties out there, and they're generally not very expensive. Pick out a few and try them out to see what you prefer. A small pair of thread cutting scissors are also good to keep nearby. A needle threader will help make the work of getting the thread through that tiny hole so much easier. I also recommend picking up some thread gloss thread gloss will coat the thread and help it glide smoothly through the fabric as you sew. And it also helps prevent tangles. I've done hand quilting with and without thread gloss, and it truly does make a difference. To apply the thread gloss, first cut a length of thread about the length of your arm. Then open the cover of your thread Gloss and place your thread across the top. Then replace the cap and slide the thread through. This will coat the outside of your thread, helping it glide easily through all the layers of your quilt. Next, let's thread our needle. I will place the small wire of my needle threader through the hole of my needle. Then I bring the thread through the loop of the wire and then pull the wire back through. Next, let's make a quilters holding the needle with my thumb and index finger sharp point up. I'll bring the thread behind the needle to form a T. Then wrap the end of the thread around the needle, counter clockwise a few times. The number of times you wrap around will depend on the thickness of your thread. I'll generally go around three or four times with this thicker thread. Then take the long end of the thread up and over the needle, and pull the needle up and through. You should end up with a good solid knot at the end. If you don't try again, this can take a bit of practice to get right, but it's a really quick, efficient way to make a knot. To start quilting, place your needle between the backing and batting fabric and bring it up through the quilt top along one of your marked quilt lines. Place your thimble on the middle finger of your dominant hand. This is what you'll use to push the needle through the layers of the quilt protecting the skin of your fingertip. Hold your needle securely with your thumb and index finger and insert it through the layers of fabric. Using a rocking motion, bring your needle up and back down through the layers of fabric a couple of times. This is called loading your needle. Once you have your needle loaded with a couple of stitches, use your thimble to push the needle through the layers of fabric, pulling the thread all the way through. To start, perhaps just load your needle with one or two stitches. With practice, you'll be able to load more. It can take some practice to get your stitches even. But I promise that as you go, you'll find your own rhythm. One thing you'll want to mind as you go is your tension. You want to pull the thread all the way through so that the stitches are taught. But don't make them too tight or else your quilt will begin to pucker. When you get to the end of your quilt, pull your thread through the quilt top and the batting and create a knot so that the knot is embedded between the batting and the backing layers. If you get to the end of your thread in the middle of your quilt, here's what to do. First, make a small knot a few millimeters from where the thread exits the quilt top. You want this knot to be small enough to pull through the fabric, but large enough to catch. You want the knot to be about one stitch length away from where the thread leaves the quilt top, then make the next stitch. But this time, rather than pushing the needle out through the back of the quilt, you'll weave the needle in between the batting and backing layers. Once you've gone a few inches in between these layers of the quilt, bring the needle back up the quilt top. Grab the end of the thread that's attached to the needle, and pull until you feel the knot pop through the quilt top and the batting layer. This will secure your stitch. To begin the next stitch, enter your needle through the quilt back, weaving it between the quilt top and the batting a few inches away from where the last stitch ended. Then bring your needle through the quilt back at about the place you would expect the next stitch to begin. Pull your thread all the way through popping the knot through the backing and batting layer of the quilt that the knot remains buried between the quilt top and the quilt batting. From here, you can carry on with your regular hand stitching. Take your time and enjoy the slow meditative process of hand quilting. Don't worry too much if your stitches are not all the same size, that will come with practice and it adds to the charm of a hand quilted quilt. I really hope you enjoy the process of quilting your project, as this is the heart and soul of a quilt. Once you've finished quilting your project, we'll move on to the last step, which is adding the binding around the raw edges. I'll meet you there. 11. Preparing the Binding: At this point, you should have all of the quilting complete on your project. The last step to finishing your quilt is to add the binding, which is the process of wrapping fabric to encase the raw edge. Let's begin by cutting our binding strips. To do this, fold your yardage of fabric in half and use your long acrylic ruler to cut your width of fabric strips. Holding your long acrylic ruler with your dominant hand line up the top edge of the fabric with the 2.2 inch mark. Then holding the rotary cutter in your dominant hand, cut your fabric along the line of the acrylic ruler. Moving the rotary cutter away from your body, you'll want to make sure that you have enough. 2.5 inch by width of fabric strips to cover the entire perimeter of the quilt, plus about 12 to 15 " of overage. If you're following a quilt pattern, the cutting instructions should indicate how many width of fabric strips you need. Next, we'll need to sew these strips together. We could just sew them end to end, but I find that sewing them diagonally provides some added strength and creates a less harsh seam. To sew them together, place two strips together with the right sides touching at a 90 degree angle. Add a couple of pins to secure these in place. Mark a line from corner to corner, ensuring this line divides the strips from the excess that will be cut off on this line that you marked. When you're finished sewing your seam, cut the excess fabric a quarter inch from the seam line. Continue until all of the strips are attached, being sure to pay attention to which is the right and the wrong side of the binding as you go. Once all of the strips are attached, press the seams open, then fold the long strip of binding in half, lengthwise matching the long raw edges with the wrong sides touching. This will encase the seam allowance inside the binding press. Well, the last thing we need to do to prepare the quilt for binding is to trim off the excess batting and backing and square off the corners. To do this, I like to use my ten, a two inch square acrylic ruler along with my long acrylic ruler. I'll place my square acrylic ruler in one corner and use that to make sure my corner is nice and square. Then I'll use the long acrylic ruler to trim the excess off the edge, ensuring I have a nice clean line along all of the edges of the quilt. If you don't have a square acrylic ruler and you only have your long one, no worries. You can just as easily square up a quilt using only your long acrylic ruler. If you're creating a quilt that you intend to use as a wall hanging, you'll also want to go ahead and prepare the hanging tabs at this point. To do this, simply cut 24 inch squares from any leftover fabric. I generally use the same fabric as I do for the backing. But that doesn't really matter since it will be on the back of the quilt and won't be seen anyway. Fold each of these squares in half so that the opposite corners meet, forming a right triangle. Press them. Well, that's it. If you plan to add a personalized label to your quilt, I recommend jumping ahead to the bonus lesson that shows you how to create this. You'll want to have your label ready before attaching the binding in the next lesson. In the next lesson, we'll attach the binding to the quilt. I'll see you there. 12. Attaching the Binding: In the last lesson, we prepared our binding strips. In this lesson, I'll show you how to attach the binding to the quilt. As a reminder, if you'd like to add a personalized label to your quilt, pause here and go ahead and watch the bonus lesson at the end. As you're going to want to have the label ready before you attach the binding to the quilt. Before we attach the binding, let's pin the hanging tabs in place. If you plan to use them, turn the quilt over so that the backing is facing up. Place one hanging tab in each of the top corners so that the raw edges match and the folded edge of the hanging tab is facing towards the center of the quilt pin or clip these in place. We want these hanging tabs to get sewn in along with the binding. Also, if you plan to add a personalized label to your quilt, you'll also want to pin that in the corner so it can get sewn in with the binding. Let's attach the binding beginning in the middle of one side of your quilt pin the binding to the quilt top matching the raw edges on one side, leaving an eight to ten inch tail. If you're using straight pins to secure the binding to the quilt top, place them so that the sharp end of the needle faces toward the quilt. This will allow you to easily remove them as you sew the binding to the quilt. Continue pinning until you get to the corner. Then bring the quilt over to the sewing machine. So using a quarter inch seam allowance, you'll want to backstitch at the beginning and the end. A back stitch is just a couple of stitches backwards and forwards that secures the stitch in place. Stop about a quarter inch from the end, back stitching to secure and then cut your thread. Now let's make a nice clean corner. First, hold the binding straight out in the direction you just sewed. Next, fold it up away from the quilt at a 90 degree angle. This should create a fold that's 45 degrees from the corner. Place a straight pin across the binding strip to hold that fold in place. And then bring the binding strip down over the pin so that the long raw edge of the binding matches up with the long raw edge of the next side of the quilt. Use a pin or a clip to hold this corner in place, secure the binding to the next edge of the quilt using straight pins or clips. And then bring the quilt over to the sewing machine. So the next edge of the binding backstitching at the beginning and at the end, stopping as you did before, a quarter inch from the end. Repeat the steps to create the corner and sew the next edge of the binding down. If you've attached hanging tabs or a personalized label, go slowly and make sure these get stitched to the quilt back as well. Continue sewing the binding all the way around the quilt top. When you get back to the side where you began sew the binding until you get about ten to 12 " away from where you first started attaching the binding. This will leave an eight to 12 inch gap between where you started attaching the binding and where you ended attaching the binding. We'll use this space to attach the ends. The last step is to attach the ends of our binding so that they match up perfectly and lay flat on the quilt. This was the part that for the longest time, I found to be the most difficult. And it took me years to learn the method that I'm going to show you for getting the binding right every time. First, snip a one to two inch piece from the end of your binding. The amount you cut isn't important. It's the width that we'll use as a guide. Next, lay your binding strips flat on your quilts top so that they overlap. Now, take the piece you cut from the end and lay it in the middle of the overlapping binding so that it opens like a book. You're going to cut your binding strips so that the overlap measures the same width as this guide, just like that. Now open up the binding strip that is on top and bring the corner down to meet the lower edge, forming a triangle. Finger, press this seam to create a crease. Now this is the tricky part that can take a little finagling and practice. Bring the ends of your binding strips together, right sides touching, so that they form a 90 degree angle. You'll likely need to scrunch your quilt up together to achieve this, which is why we left a generous amount of space. You want to be sure that the crease you created divides the corners from the binding that attaches to the quilt. It should look almost like a letter, a pin. These two pieces of fabric in place, I usually place one pin on either side of the crease so that they're parallel to each other. Sew a line of stitching along this crease. Remove the pins and before trimming the excess, lay your quilt flat to see that the binding is the right length. Getting this right can take a little bit of practice. And I often end up redoing this a couple of times to get it right, but keep at it. You can do it once. You've checked to be sure the binding fits the space, you can trim the excess seam allowance and sew the rest of the binding to the quilt top. Go ahead and take some time to finish attaching the whole binding to the quilt. In the next lesson, I'll show you a couple of different methods for finishing your binding either by machine or by hand. I'll see you there. 13. Finishing the Binding: Now that your binding is attached to the quilt, all we need to do is wrap it around the raw edge and secure it to the other side. There are two main ways to do this. By hand or by machine. Securing the binding by hand, in my opinion, is a little bit easier and offers a really clean look. Securing the binding by machine takes a little practice and skill to achieve a clean, even look, but it's quicker and a little bit more secure, especially if you're planning to use hanging tabs. Begin by taking your fabric scissors and very carefully snipping the corners of the quilt. Be sure just to snip the excess fabric and don't cut into the stitching. Whether you plan to finish your binding by hand or by machine. You'll begin by wrapping the binding around the raw edge of the quilt and securing it in place with either pins or clips. Be generous with how many clips or pins you use. I find the more I use, the better results I get, especially if you're attaching the binding by machine. As you wrap your binding around the raw edge, make sure the fabric of the binding is covering the line of stitching by at least an eighth of an inch. When you get to a corner, continue to wrap the binding around the raw edge and lay it flat. Maintaining the folded binding in place. Begin to wrap the next edge of the binding over the raw edge. This should create a nice clean corner. Keep pinning until the binding is wrapped around the entire raw edge of the quilt. Once you have your binding wrapped and clipped or pinned around the entire perimeter of the quilt, we need to secure the binding down. We can do this in one of two ways, by hand or by machine. I'll first demonstrate how to finish the binding by hand. We're going to secure the binding to the back of the quilt using what's called a whip stitch to begin create a quilters, not at the end of your thread. I demonstrate how to make a quilters hand quilting lesson. Alternatively, you can just create a double knot at the end of your thread. Bring your needle behind the binding to hide the tail and the knot of the thread. Bring your needle up so that it just catches the end of the binding and pull it all the way up and through. The next stitch will begin by bringing the needle through the back right next to where it exited the binding. Weave it between the layers of the quilt, 13 to 12 an inch, and then come up again, catching the edge of the binding. Let's walk through that stitch again. Begin your stitch by bringing the needle into the quilt backing right next to where the last stitch exited the binding. Weave it about three to two an inch between the layers of the quilt. And then bring the needle up through the backing, catching the edge of the binding to complete your stitch. As you're doing this, make sure that the needle is weaving between the layers of the quilt and not coming through the quilt top because you don't want these stitches to be visible on the front of your quilt. Continue stitching this way to secure the entire binding to the back of the quilt. Once you get the hang of it, this stitch is really quick and offers a really clean look. When you get to a corner, you can whip stitch up the fold and then bring the needle back down to continue down the next edge. The other option for attaching the binding to the quilt involves using the machine. This method is less time consuming than hand stitching the binding to the quilt, but it requires a little bit more skill and precision. I recommend if you're trying this method, go slow and be patient for machine binding, I generally use the same settings that I use for quilting. Setting my stitch length to 3.0 in order to keep the look cohesive. When choosing your thread for machine binding, you'll want to have the top thread either match the background of your quilt or match the thread that you used for quilting. You want the thread you use in the bobbin to match the color of your binding. Place the quilt in the machine so that the folded edge of the binding is face down. Stitch slowly, very close to the seam line, all the way around the perimeter of the whole quilt, catching the binding on the other side. This can take some practice and skill to get right. There are so many times I've had to go back and redo this step because the binding didn't catch my number one recommendation. Use lots of pins and go really slowly. When you get to a corner, leave your needle down. Lift up your presser foot and turn your quilt 90 degrees. Then you can lower your presser foot and continue stitching without breaking the thread. One trick that has really improved my accuracy with machine binding is to use the stitch in the ditch foot. This is an attachment that came with my machine that has a guide that follows along the ditch of the seam. I place this guide in the seam where I attached the binding and will either keep my needle centered to sew directly in the ditch, or offset my needle one position to the right for a stitch that's right next to the seam. Check out your sewing machine manual to see if your machine has a similar feature. While a stitch in the ditch foot is not necessary at all. I just started using it a few months ago. I found it really helps a lot. That's it. Your quilt is done. It's ready to be snuggled, hung up, and displayed with pride. I'm so proud of all of your hard work. Making a quilt is no small task and you've completed the entire process. If you haven't already, join me in the bonus lesson, I'll show you how to create a personalized quilt label, which can add a really beautiful personal touch, especially if you're making this quilt for a gift or to honor a special memory or occasion. 14. BONUS: Creating a Personalized Quilt Label: Welcome to this bonus lesson on creating a personalized label for your quilt. Adding a handwritten label to a quilt is a great way to personalize it, especially if this quilt is in honor of some occasion or memory or is to be given as a gift. If you do plan to create a label for your quilt, you'll want to add it before you attach the binding to create a personalized label. Here are some things that you'll need. A plain white piece of paper, just a plain eight. A 211 sheet of computer paper will work fine. A pencil and an ink pen. A pen that's designed specifically for writing on fabric. You can find this at just about any craft or fabric shop. White or very light piece of fabric that's cut to a five inch square as well as a piece of contrasting fabric. Cut to be 52 by 5.2 " square press both of these squares and half diagonally to create two triangles. You'll also want a light box or a window and painter's tape. We'll begin by writing our message on the piece of paper. First cut a piece of plain white paper to measure the same size as the white piece of fabric, 5 " by 5. ". Then fold your piece of paper in half, diagonally matching the corners and forming a crease In order to ensure you have enough seam allowance to stitch the label to your quilt, you'll want to create a half inch margin on each side. I also like to create guiding lines so that my writing is evenly spaced and stays straight. Then write your desired message something like, handmade with love your name and the date is nice. Or perhaps include a meaningful quote. Be sure that the message will fit within the label and isn't too small that the letters will merge together. I recommend beginning with a pencil and tracing over with a dark pen once you have your message, just as you like, I've created a template with a few different quilt label options for you to use and trace if you're feeling a little stuck on what to write or if you prefer to use a pretty font as opposed to your own handwriting. You can find this template in the resources section of this course. Once your message is finalized, put it on a light box or tape it to a window, and place the piece of white fabric over it. Trace the message using a fabric pen. Go slowly and take your time. Writing on fabric can be a little tricky. Your two triangles of fabric together with the lighter colored fabric, with the writing on top, lining them up along the raw edges, keeping these two pieces of fabric together, pin the label in place in the bottom corner of your quilt, matching the raw edges of the label with the raw edges of your quilt. The label will be secured in place when you add the quilt binding. Once your quilt is bound, you can secure the folded edge of the label with a whip stitch or with a hand quilting running stitch. Be sure to sew between the quilt layers so that your stitches don't show on the front. Personalized quilt labels can add such a meaningful touch to a finished quilt. Have fun in fusing your quilt with your voice, love, and style. 15. Final Thoughts: You did it. You created a quilt from start to finish. No matter how many quilts I make, completing that last stitch and seeing the final piece come together always feels like such an accomplishment. If you've made a wall hanging, simply place a wooden dowel into the hanging. Tabs, hammer a couple of nails into the wall, and you have a new piece of wall art. If you've created a quilt, get ready for some snuggles or wrap it up with love and care and send it off to its new home. A little pro tip. I like to use the salvages as ribbon. It adds a really beautiful touch. In the resources section, I have included a document with instructions on how to care for your finished quilt. This will ensure your quilt stays clean and loved for years to come. If you loved this class, I would really appreciate it if you would leave a review. Reviews help others find this class and your feedback really helps me continue to create quality content in the future. If you're not already, be sure to follow me on skill share so you can be the first to know when new classes release. Lastly, be sure to share your finished quilts in the project section of this class. I truly can't wait to see the beautiful quilts that you create from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for letting me be part of your quilting journey. Bye bye for now.