Wavey Bindings

[Carol G.]

I posted a question in 2008 about wavey borders and all of the advice given by members was very valuable, so I'm back for more! Thanks to your tips, my borders all lie perfectly flat and stay very straight after quilting. Ths problem I run into occurs when I put the binding on. Once it is attached, the very outside edge is wavey, and gets a bit worse once the binding is sewn down. So far, it can be made to "behave" by my trusty steam iron, but I know it's not right. My preference is for a slightly wider binding, about 1/2". Often, i machine sew it on to the back, and stitch it down on the front using a decorative machine stitch. The problem seems to be the same if I sew from front to back, hand sew, or use a narrower binding, Does anyone have any ideas as to what may be causing this, or what I can do better to get rid of it? Any help will be greatly apprecaited!

Karen

[wendy w.]

It may be moving as you sew. Are you using your walking foot?

Are you measuring the binding before attaching it?

[Norma H.]

Something must stretch while you work. I don't know if this is your problem, but I find it very important to have everything lying flat on the table while pinning the binding on. If you don't pin it that might be your problem because it's easy to stretch things while sewing. It should not matter that you do wider bindings.

On straight edges you can have binding cut on the grain, but if you really can't get it to work you could make bias binding and stretch that a little bit while pinning.

Welcome back to the forum. It would be a very quiet forum if questions were placed with 6 years between them :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Norma H.]

HHMMMM - I think you ladies are onto something. I have not been pinning my binding, so perhaps it is stretching despite my using the walking foot. Next project, I am going to take more time and pin first - bet that will do it! Thank you so much.

PS - I haven't been totally "offline" for the 6 years, just usually a "lurker" with more to learn than offer! But, it's nice to see that someone noticed and welcomed me to speak more often!

[wendy w.]

Love your quilty profile picture

[Rita C.]

I am wondering if it is possible that you are slightly pulling the binding as you sew it on with your walking foot? The other thing you could do is use little dots of glue to hold the binding in place before you sew and that way it shouldn't shift. I like your profile quilt photo too.

[Lois B.]

Another idea. I agree the ideas already mentioned. In addition, is it possible that the decorative stitching may pull the inside of the binding together causing the outside edge to wave?

[Lois B.]

These are all great suggestions. In my summer projects, I will try to adjust all of these variables - measure the binding, pin or glue it in place before stitching, and check out the impact of the decorative stitching. I am confident you all have contributed to the solution!!!!! Thanks for the kind words on my profile picture. It is a block from my very first full sized quilt. My husband is of Dutch descent, and he was so kind to buy my machine, that I felt it needed to be tulip fabric with tulip blocks. I even did free motion tulips in the plain blocks. We are still sleeping under it and dreaming of getting to Holland someday!

[Betty J.]

Are you using a bias binding? You only need to do that for quilts with shaped edges and the straight of the grain is much less stretchy. Also, you could try starching the binding pretty heavily, glue basting it on the first side you stitch it on, and measuring it (though I never measure mine anymore, I did at first). Hope you solve this problem. It's just the kind of frustrating thing that can drive a quilter crazy.

[Betty J.]

With all the extra layers added when doing binding and even more if you do double french fold like I do. I end up with layers like this:

binding
binding
quilt top (maybe even this is doubled where a block seam exists on the edge where I"m binding)
batting
quilt bottom
binding
binding

that is thick! So on my older machine, I end up having to change the pressure of my presser foot (and with my walking foot too) in order to have it not stretch my binding as I sew it.

You might try lowing the presser foot pressure .. maybe it would help . Remember to put it back for regular sewing.

[Judith A.]

Sounds like the edge is being stretched in the binding process.
After squaring up the quilt sandwich, you might try stay-stitching the edge, just inside the seam allowance that would be covered up with the binding. I learned this in garment sewing.
I like to stay-stitch with a walking foot, and sew the binding on with the walking foot.
I had one quilt that wanted to go wavy on the edge even after I stay-stitched it. I basted the edge by hand with a strong thread to ease it into shape. That worked.
I use both glue and Wonder Clips to hold binding in place to sew.

If you starch your binding fabric first, and cut it lengthwise on the grain, that ought to help. I use straight-of-grain binding on quilts that won't get much wear - like wall quilts. However, the first quilt I bound with straight-of-grain binding wore out on the outer edge, where the one or two threads running up and down on the very edge of the binding got all the wear and tear. The binding literally wore out in two strips, one strip on each side of the quilt hanging onto the seam. So I use bias binding on utility quilts that will get a lot of use.
Judith

[Lois B.]

I hadn't thought about the bias edge being able to withstand more wear and tear, but I bet you are right.

[Catherine S.]

Thanks for the tip Judith! My son brought me back a quilt I had made for him years ago so I could replace the binding. I replaced the binding, but used straight grain fabric. I did use the folded method. I guess by the time it is ruined, the rest of the quilt will by too.

[E.M. T.]

I don't remember whose tip this was, but long ago I learned to cut my straight grain binding
strips just a bit off grain...so as to reduce that wear problem . I have done that a long time and
not had one split on the edge yet !! Bias used on a straight edge can present it's own problems
of stretching and rippling. IMHO

[Lois B.]

Very clever, Marilyn. Thanks