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Thursday, October 6, 2011

How to Tame Your Bindings.

It rained yesterday and a very little bit today.  I love rain, I call it quilting weather.  I love to sit in my studio and work and watch the rain coming down in the backyard and listen to it hitting the roof.  Yesterday I went to quilting class, stopped by the J-store on the way home to buy some fabric to make the binding for 'Under the Jellicle Moon'.  I found JUST what I was looking for - a white background with kitty paw prints in a neutral palette.  I made the binding while it continued to rain heavily all day.

I inserted an empty spool of aurifil through the hole in an old cd and wound the binding around the spool.  Then I set the spool, cd and binding onto the upright spool holder on my machine.  This makes a great way to hold the binding while I sew it onto the quilt.  Here's a few of pictures of what this looks like.

Here are the components - an empty spool from Aurifil Thread, an old cd, and the binding:



Here's the aurifil spool inserted through the hole in the cd:


Then I wind the binding around the spool.  This picture shows everything assembled and ready to use:


And here it is, set onto the spool holder on my machine, all ready to start sewing:


I use this method to 'tame' the binding - I can't stand working with a tangled jumble of binding.  This method makes it all hands free while I sew.  The binding just unwinds like thread off a spool while I sew.

When you're done, the left over binding just slides right off the spool, and you can store these prewound binding scraps for use in scrappy bindings later on. 

I had my friends over for Mah Jongg today, so while I sat out a couple of games, I sewed on the most of the binding, finishing it up after they left.  Tonight, I did the hand sewing on one side.  Three sides to go.

I am hoping to have it all done by October 29th.  We are having a 'reveal party' for those who were involved in the block of the month series that resulted in this quilt.  I shouldn't have any problem finishing up by then.  However, until I hear back from Road to California on whether or not the quilt has been accepted, I can only work on it in cat-free environments.  This means working on the hand sewing at home is just out.  I will work on it during class time.  If the quilt IS accepted, I want to have to do as little de-furring as possible.

Anyway - hope the little tutorial on how to tame binding helps someone.  Have a great weekend everyone.

13 comments:

  1. Great idea, I'm going to try it. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Rain is great sewing weather! The tutorial looks good. It is something every quilter faces and you have come up with a workable idea. Sounds worth trying to me.

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  3. Very clever technique - I'm going to give this a try. Also, well written instruction (this from a retired teacher). The only change I would suggest is to show a "before" of the binding as well as the very tidy "after". Thank you for the idea.

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  4. Kay - good call about showing a before of the binding - I've changed the first picture to reflect the 'before'.

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  5. I want to try this. I don't have aurofil thread so will have to look for something else to use. Thanks for the great idea.

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  6. A neat idea. I usually throw mine over my left shoulder as I sew it on. Store the leftovers wound on the cardboard tube from wrapping paper--its upright in the corner for storage

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  7. A nice tutorial! It sure beats my "method" of letting the binding puddle on the floor while sewing it on!

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  8. Very clever idea. You've done a nice job on the tutorial. Very easy to understand.

    Vickie in Cleveland

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  9. Well done Anne, and a great idea, one I would have never thought of in a million years!!! Mine usually is just laying all over the place and I straighten it out as I go....

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  10. Fantastic idea! Thank you. I can't wait to try it.

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  11. I had to come back and say how neat is this idea! Thank you for sharing it!
    Oh...also, mahjong is a game I remember my mom would play with her girlfriends when I was growing up! :o)

    Blessings & Aloha!

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  12. What a great idea on getting all that binding under control!

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  13. Love this idea, the only other comment is....I don't like your black background....makes for very hard reading.

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