Baby Quilt, the final episode

I finished quilting this morning, but want to go back a little bit to making the bias binding. Many years ago a friend gave me the Quilter's Strip Ticket from Lamb Art Press, Inc. Many quilt shops carry them and they can be ordered from various online quilt suppliers. It is the best less than $10.00 you will ever spend! It is a laminated sheet with directions for making your own continuous bias binding in a variety of widths and lengths. After measuring around the perimeter of your quilt, you add about four inches to that measurement for turning corners. The back of the ticket contains tables for a variety of widths of bias. Once you've decided what width you want, you find the closest measure to your perimeter and the ticket tells you what size square of fabric you will need to make the bias. I decided to make my bias three inches wide. It will be folded in half and I don't like to work with less than an inch an a half. Once the raw tape is all cut, fold the raw edges together and press.


Trim the edges of the quilt to remove excess batting and backing fabric.

The interior thread basting is removed. I leave the edge thread basting in until the bias is sewn on the quilt.

Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts generated quite a response with her post about piecing scraps of batting as a thrift measure. I'm the daughter of two parents who lived through the Great Depression, so I've always been thrifty even before the economy went down the tiddy bowl. Not only do I piece batting, I save what I trim off the edges, cut it up small, and use it to stuff my Doorknob Art.

After the bias is cut, each end is at a 45° angle. Pin the raw edges of the bias to one side of the front of the quilt. Begin in the middle of the side. Turn the leading edge of the bias up a quarter of an inch and secure with a pin.

Place another pin about six inches further down the bias and finish pinning bias to that first side of the quilt. Place a pin one quarter inch from the edge. You will stop stitching there.

Use a walking foot (also called a dual feed) to sew bias to your quilt. The walking foot helps to move all layers of fabric under the needle together. If you are going to quilt, you need a walking foot. Begin stitching just beyond that pin that you placed six inches from the edge of the bias.

Stop stitching a quarter inch from the edge and cut the threads.

Fold the bias up to form a 45° angle. Finger press.

Fold the bias back over your angle fold and begin pinning the raw edges to the second side of the quilt.

Stitch the bias to the second side beginning right at the leading edge and stopping one quarter inch from the edge.

The back of the quilt should look like this at the first corner.

The top side of the first corner should look like this.

Continue on to the third side in a similar manner. Pin the final side just as you did the other sides. Extend the bias to overlap the leading edge of the bias (where you started) and make a mark where the doubled bias began.

Unfold the bias and, using a ruler, mark a 45° angle.

Cut the bias on that marking line.

Fold the bias in half again and place the end inside the leading edge bias fold.

Pin in place.

Sew the last side, sewing over the first stitching to secure it.

Fold the bias over the raw edge to the back of the quilt.

Sew the seam where the two ends of the bias met first, then continue to sew the bias down to the back of the quilt.

Stop when you get to the first raw edge.

Fold the bias down to form the mitered corner.

Continue sewing the bias to the back of the quilt on the final two sides.

Fini!