(upbeat music) - Welcome to the Ultimate
beginner Quilt Series by Fat Quarter Shop. In this series, I'm gonna be showing
you how to make a quilt all the way from the start to the finish. This series is sponsored by Moda Fabrics, and EverSewn sewing machines. I'm gonna be giving you lots of tips, and we're gonna be building
our first quilt together. Welcome to the very last video of our ultimate beginner quilt series. Thank you so much for joining me. Today I'm gonna show you
how to wrap up your quilt by putting that final binding on. I'm gonna be using the Creative Grids 6
1/2 by 24 1/2 inch ruler that we've been using the
whole time, a rotary cutter, I'm gonna use size 80 needles,
a 6 1/2 inch square ruler which is gonna help us
square up our corners our Fat Quarter Shop small ruler so that you can draw lines
and join your binding. We've got our binding strips that we cut earlier in the series, we're gonna be using
binding clips, a FriXion pen and I like to black gold
Clover needles for binding and just our regular pins. So, let's get started. So we have our binding strips already cut and I am going to take each of them and cut the selvedge off. And I'm gonna line up the top of the ruler and cut off the edge so
it's nice and straight and then we're gonna take
these to our sewing machine, and we're gonna join them together into one long continuous piece. So to join your strips you
always want to make sure you have right sides together
so I've got right side up. I'm gonna take the next strip and I'm gonna go right side down. So the right sides are now together. I'm gonna pin twice,
once at the top right. And once at the bottom left, and you can see that I left
a tiny bit that overhangs and the reason I do that
is so when I'm sewing I can really eye where
that corner intersection is in case the fabric shifts. I'm gonna draw a line
from corner to corner. And if you want to make sure that is going the right
direction you just flip it open and you know your line is the correct way. And I'm just gonna join all of these into one continuous line, and
then go to the sewing machine. So right side up, grab your
next piece right side down, they're now right sides together. Pin twice. And just by having this peek out it really just helps me
nothing gets out of place, when you're putting your binding together. We're just gonna keep
doing the same thing. So when I'm sewing, I would usually use a thread
that matches my fabric, and I do that on all of my binding. For today we're gonna use a navy so that you can see my stitching. But again, you would normally use a color that matches and I like
to use Aurifil 50 weight I'm going to use an open toed foot. And I'm just gonna stitch
directly on the line with the 2.0 stitch length and see as you're stitching the reason I left this
lip over a little bit if you want to sew directly to that point where it intersects. So if your line gets a little bit off just go straight to this
little intersection. And I'm gonna chain piece and just keep adding all together and then we'll clip
them apart to save time. And now we're gonna go clip these apart and press them. So I have these all chained together. I'm gonna first just clip them apart. And then to cut them. I'm going to just cut up a little bit and we're just gonna
trim a quarter inch away on all of them it
doesn't have to be exact. But the only you can go this way. And then just cut the little tip off. or you can just cut up, and then around. And again, this doesn't
have to be accurate. We just want to leave a
quarter inch approximately. And then when you are ironing these it's best press open because you're gonna have a lot of bulk in that intersection. So first I like to set my seam. Press to one side, and then press open. If you're not comfortable pressing open you can press to one side,
and then as you progress, you can press open on a future quilt. And as I am ironing I'm also
gonna iron out the creases that are from the center of
the fold so I do that as I go. So press so I'm gonna do that with all of the remainder of these. And again, you would
normally use aqua thread, we're just using navy today
so you can see our stitches. So now you have a big
long continuous piece. And we are going to put
wrong sides together. And we're gonna be very careful to keep this really lined up as you go and we're just gonna press. When I'm pressing I'm
just gonna go up and down. And I just go really nice and slow. And I do this for the entire piece so you're just gonna
do this the entire way. And if you go up and down
rather than side to side your fabric will not move and
it will stay more in place. And you want to give it
a little bit of a press so you get a really nice crease. Because on the crease you're gonna be putting stitches in later. So we're just gonna do the whole line, and it does take a little bit of time so put on a movie, watch TV. And as you get to one
of these intersections where everything goes across. You just want to make
sure everything lines up. So now we have all of
our binding ready to go. I'm gonna set it aside. I've got my quilt top,
and I do my binding, a little bit different than other people so I'm gonna show you the Kimberley way. I take a Creative Grids ruler and I use the side that
has the strong dotted line at the quarter inch line. And I am going to cut the quilt, a quarter inch away from
where my quilt ended. And I just follow. I don't, I just follow the
quilt exactly like it is. So for example, it gets
a little curvy here. See how it gets a little curvy. That's okay I just cut
it just follow the line. So I just cut. And when I get to that curve. Let's see. I'm gonna look,
I'm just gonna move my quilt. Like this. And that makes it
straight, so it was curvy. And I'm gonna put my
ruler down, join it here and see how it's curvy I
just keep that ruler taut and pulled my quilt to make it straight. And when it is quilted you will never know there was a curve there. So you just straighten it, that way you're still
cutting a quarter inch away. And I'm just gonna rotate
I'm gonna cut all four sides the same way and then I'm gonna show you a
little trick for your corners. And then we're gonna attach the binding. Binding it's actually one
of my very favorite parts of making a quilt. So when I get to this next edge. I'm going to do the same
thing, quarter inch away. And if a little bit is
poking under I just pull it. We're just cutting a quarter inch away. The reason I leave the quarter inch is because I want my batting
to really fill up that binding so I don't have flat binding, I really like my binding
to be nice and full. So I'll show you how it looks at the end. So when I send my quilt to a long armer. If I send it I tell them
not to trim my quilt because I like to trim it myself. And I like to trim a quarter inch away. And then I'm gonna give you some tips on how you can make your
corners be really square. Yay, so we have it all trimmed. So you can see I've cut
a quarter inch away. And there is your backing. And what I'm gonna do is on each corner, I'm just gonna take a Creative Grids 6 1/2 inch square ruler. You can use any ruler you like. And I'm gonna draw a
line where it's square and that way when I
start adding my binding. I follow this line so that my quilt squares up in the corner. So, you can see that to square it up I need to kind of go in a little bit here so I'm gonna follow this black line. When I'm attaching my binding. Instead of the fabric, and
this one looks pretty squared. This one doesn't need any adjustment. But if anything's off a little bit. I will just draw that line. That one looks square. And this one looks like
I could maybe get away with a little bit there. So I'm just gonna follow these lines so that my corners are nice and square. And then I'd like to start by
binding on the very bottom. So, this is the bottom edge of the quilt. And I like to just leave a
gap, maybe 10 to 12 inches. And so what we'll do is I'm just gonna kind of
start about right here. And I'm gonna leave about a 10 inch gap. So I have lots of room, and we're just gonna start stitching, and I'm gonna show you
at the sewing machine how you go to each corner, how you rotate each corner
how you go all the way around and how you join. So I've left about a 10 inch tail. And I'm gonna start where I put my pin in. I am lining up my binding
on the edge of the quilt and I'm leaving this
quarter inch gap of batting I'm not sewing on that. I'm gonna put the edge of my walking foot on this piece. A walking foot comes with
most sewing machines, and it is going sandwich everything and it is going not
just move on the bottoms it's gonna move on the top so if you have something really thick, it's gonna move it through. So I'm just gonna start stitching. I'm using maybe a 3.0 stitch length. Stitching all the way. And I'm just lining up
the binding, as I go. I don't pin or anything I
just line it up as I go. Now when I get towards the edge, I want to stop a quarter
inch away from the quilt top ignore all of this batting out here. So, this is the edge of
my quilt top right here. And I want to be a quarter inch away. So I put a little ruler and mark it with my FriXion pen that's
gonna go away later with heat, and I'm gonna stitch to
the quarter inch mark. Leave my needle down. Now you do not want to
cut your thread here or your stitches will come out. I'm gonna pull my foot up, rotate and I'm just gonna so
straight off at a diagonal cut my thread. And I'm gonna pull this. And we're gonna try to
make 45 degree angles so I'm gonna go like this. And now you can see that
this is not lining up this edge right here
is not exactly lined up with the quilt top so that
means I didn't sew enough, so I need to do one more stitch. So I'm gonna start over. So this time we're gonna go a
little bit farther and pivot. And again, I'm stitching
a quarter inch away from the edge of the quilt top And I'm gonna fold my binding back. And you can see now that
my binding is 100% lined up with my quilt top, so if you take a ruler, it should be flat all the way. I like to crease it a little bit and then keep it in
place with your fingers. Keep your fingers there. Pull your binding back. You want it to be lined
up right at the top and right at the edge. And I like to put a little
pin so it stays in place, so you should have a
straight edge right here for this to come out nice
and straight on the edge. You're gonna start stitching before you get to the binding so you can just stitch a
little bit on that batting. Keeping that in place and
you can see right here that I drew this line with my FriXion pen which means I want to
line up with the line. So my quilt will be a
little bit more square. And you're just gonna line up your binding with the edge of your quilt top and stitch all the way to the next corner. And you can see as I'm going
I'm just aligning my binding as I go. Now I'm getting close to the edge. So again I'm gonna put a mark a quarter inch away from
the edge of the quilt top. Draw a line across, and that
is where I'm going to stop and pivot. And you can see that somehow
the hit right in the corner and that happens and I'm okay with that and it's totally fine
it'll still look fine. So I'm gonna go straight
to where I drew the line. Turn the quilt. Sew off of your quilt. You're gonna pull your binding back. It makes a perfect line. You're gonna pull this back. Make sure the top is straight line. Put one pin in start
stitching on your batting, stitch all the way down
to the next corner. Now if this is crooked up here, when you get to the end, your quilt will have a
funny looking corner. So that's why it's important
for it to be straight there. And when I'm adding the binding I do like to have my needle down, it keeps it in place a little bit better, 'cause you're gonna move and stop a lot. Again, we're at another corner. So we're gonna just make
a mark a quarter inch away from the top. We're gonna sew through that line and sew off diagonally. The reason I saw diagonally this way is 'cause that
is how your fold goes. It makes it lie flatter. If you stopped your stitch right there, when you pull this back your
stitches would come out. So again we're gonna fold. And we're gonna see that
not exactly a straight line. So I'm off about an eighth of an inch. So I'm gonna stitch again and just stitch a little
bit longer to that corner. So we're gonna try that again. 45 degree line, now it is a straight line. Pull it back nice and square, put a pin and
sew down to the next corner. And again, we're gonna draw a line, a quarter inch away from
the edge of the quilt top. Sew to that lie, pivot. And we are on our last row. That makes a straight line. Pull back. Now, see if you put it this way, that would not look good in the end it wouldn't be straight so you want it to be just like this. So you're wanting a straight line here, and a straight line here and that is how your corners
will come out really pretty and that took me a long time to learn. So now we're on our last line and we're going to stitch all the way until about 10 to 12
inches before your start. And now we have this about 10 inch gap we're gonna go to the cutting table and we're gonna figure out
how we're gonna join these. So I left a gap about 10 to 12 inches I'm gonna lay the first one down flat I'm just gonna cut it off a little bit. So it can lay flat. I'm gonna put the other one on top. And it's laying flat. Now remember when we
first cut this binding. It's two and a half inches wide, so whatever size you
originally cut your binding is the size that you're looking for here. We're gonna find the center. And I'm gonna trim this bottom one. So first I'll trim this. Cut it in the center, just
so you have room to play. So we're gonna leave that there. We're gonna put the
other side right on top. And whatever you cut your binding that is the size that
you're gonna measure. So I'm gonna take this ruler it's actually the exact
size of the cut binding. So you can see this is
the exact same size. You're gonna measure over from
right where you cut this one, the cut size, right here. So if you cut your binding two inches, you would measure two inches, we cut ours 2 1/2 so we're
gonna measure 2 1/2 over. And we're gonna trim right here. So we have, and it can go either way. As long as this distance
right here between the two is the size you cut your binding which was 2 1/2. Now we need to join them. So to join them. You just have to think in
your mind, how it's gonna go. And so they're gonna be joined right here. And I like to pin this in place and I kind of visualize it in my head how it's going to go before
I get to the sewing machine, and I'll put in a Wonder Clip
to help get it out of the way and I can't but I like to visualize it. So you can see that I'm
joining these together. And if I draw a line from here to here. And sew it's kind of go just like this. So I visually figure that
out in my head before. So, get this pinned, I
like to put a lot of pins because there's so much bulkier, it'll move a little bit so
I'm gonna put a lot of pins. I have these two fabrics
right sides together. I'm gonna grab a Wonder Clip. And what I'm gonna do with this quilt is I'm gonna bunch it up so that when I get to the sewing machine I've got some room to move. Now I need to sew from corner to corner. So I'm gonna draw a line before I get to the sewing
machine so that helps me. And I know it kind of looks wonky but I feel like if you do it this way, you can visualize and make sure it works before you get to your sewing machine so I'm a visual person so
I really kind of visualize make sure it's gonna work before I go because I have messed
this up several times. So now all we have to do is
go sew from point to point. And we'll come right back. So I'm gonna get this bulk out of my way. I'm gonna leave the walking foot on just because I need it on for the next step and I don't want to switch that out so as I'm doing binding I
leave my walking foot on, but I'm gonna lower back
down to a 2.0 stitch length, which I've already done. And we're gonna sew from point to point, and there's just a lot of bulk you kind of have to just move stuff around so that you can really get this in here. It's not always easy. And you can always change
your foot if you want to, but I never do. And so now we're gonna go press. So now before I iron it I'm
gonna make sure it works, so it does it works. Now I need to trim this
a quarter inch away I'm just gonna trim a quarter inch away. And we definitely want
this to be pressed open. So I'm just gonna press from the back. Finger press and then press from the back. And then we're going to press this down make sure it's nice and flat. And I like to put some pins in here. Just because sometimes you'd
have to finagle it a little bit to get it to fit and we're just gonna go
back to the sewing machine with our walking foot on and go back to a 3.5 stitch length, and we're gonna start stitching
over the previous stitches. So I'll start here, go all the way down and then go over my previous stitches and that's gonna anchor that down. So again I'm going over
my previous stitches. And everything is secure. So now we're gonna go iron. So the next thing I'm
gonna do is in the corner I'm gonna cut the corners. I'm gonna cut a little triangle off, make sure you don't go
into your fabric at all. This is going to help on the next step when you're hand binding that
there's not too much bulk in those corners. So that's the first thing I do is cut these little triangles off. So there you go little triangles just to get a little
bit of that fabric off. And then, this is something unique that I also do is I'm going
to press, press this out. It's gonna make it nice
and crisp on the front. And it's gonna make that binding
go down easier on the back. This is a step that a
lot of people don't do. So you can try it and if
you like it you can do it and if you don't have to do it. So we're back all the way to
the beginning where we started. And what I like to do now is I like to Wonder Clip the entire quilt. So Wonder Clips hold it on the back. And you can see that if you pull, if you pull this binding back, it's gonna join right
where your stitches are on the sewing machine and you have got a nice fat binding and there's no weakness in it. That's why I leave that batting on. And the way that I do my Wonder Clips is I literally just put them on. When I put them on I don't line it up. I just throw them on, I Wonder Clip the entire
quilt at one time, even if it's a king size quilt. Actually my kids will do it for me, but I will do the whole quilt, now it does make the quilt very heavy. So you can just do a little bit at a time do whatever works for you. And I'm gonna just the corners you just keep going you
just ignore the corners but see the corner's
coming out really nice. And then I prefer to hand quilt the back. And I prefer to hand stitch
the binding down on the back you can machine binding
if you're interested in that we have some videos, but I really like to hand bind it's one of my favorite things to do. And I am gonna show you how to do that right after I get all of
this Wonder Clipped down. And I'm doing this every
two or three inches probably three inches. I have another box and I'm just gonna keep
pinning these Wonder Clips. And now we're gonna hand stitch this down. So I like to use Clover
black gold needles, and I just get a package
of size nine to 12 I'll use any of the sizes. So when I open it I'll
probably just pick one. Any of them, the size
doesn't matter to me. But what I like about them
is they bend a little bit. So as your stitching, they will bend and it will
help you get into the groove. So I like to take from my spool. Maybe 20 inches, where you cut your thread is where you knot it. So when it comes off of your spool This is where I cut it, I'm gonna knot it. I'm gonna lick my finger. Put a circle around, push and I have a little knot. It really doesn't matter
what kind of knot you do, any way you make a knot will be fine. I'm gonna thread my needle. And again, we would normally
be using aqua thread, but I want you to be
able to see the stitches. So to start, I'm gonna start on a corner so that you can see how to do the corner. I'm gonna put the needle
and underneath back here. And I'm gonna come up
right at that stitch line. So I'm gonna pull this through. And see my knot is going to be hidden. I'm going to use my thumb on my left side. On my left hand to hold
it down as I stitch. I stitch from right to left. Some people go the opposite way. I put my needle in right on the other side of my machine stitch. I go about an eighth of an inch and I come up right in the
very edge of that fold. I pull up and you can
see my thumb stays there to keep it in place. And I keep doing the
same thing I go back down into where I just came
up an eighth of an inch. Come up right in that fold. So I'm making really small stitches. And I have my thumb, very tight on there. And you can see that as I'm stitching I'm working right on this navy stitch so I'm not going too far away from it, I'm just stitching right
on the other side of it that way your binding lays
the same exact distance from the front from the edge on the front and the back. And so you can see how
it looks on the front and on the back, and because
my stitches are so tiny, even though I'm using navy
you can hardly see it. It's just sinking right in there that Aurifil 50 weight
stays in there really nice. And I only use one thickness of thread I don't double it up,
and any kind of threads you have you'll just kind
of tuck them in here. And you can see that batting that I left it just fills up the spot. So I'm just gonna keep going. Keeping my thumb right on there. And I take my time I
don't rush doing binding because I enjoy it so much. So my stitches, there are some, maybe
3/8 of an inch apart. And I'm just going through the back. And every now and then
I'll look to the front to make sure that my thread has not gone through to the front 'cause sometimes it does and
if it does I'll pull it out. So I'm just making sure
that this just stays right on the back. And as I get to a Wonder
Clip I'll just take it off. And the corners are not
as hard as you think. I used to think they were a
lot harder than they really are and I would overthink it. So I'm gonna stitch right to the edge so where do you see this intersection. You can see the intersection right here. I'm gonna stop right here and stop. And I don't even look at the front, because I know that
because of the way I did it by making the 45 degree
angle, it's gonna be pretty. So I'm going all the way
to that point right there. So I've stitched to that point, what I'm gonna do is I'm
gonna stitch one more time right in that point I'm gonna put my needle
back in the same stitch and come back up the same stitch and that just kind of anchors it. And you can see on the front,
I've got a 45 degree angle. I'm gonna rotate slightly
so I can keep going. I'm gonna put a Wonder Clip right here. Using my thumb I'm gonna
just kind of finagle it so that I get that same
exact as the front. So I just put it right there. And you can see that point, it's hard to see without my finger but so I'm just making that same exact. And I'm gonna put my needle right back in. And at the point, and go back
through that same stitch. And just keep going, and
sometimes it gets a little hard. And that looks nice and pretty. and you just keep going
to the next corner. So the corners are super easy you just wanna do an anchor stitch so that you anchor it and an anchor stitch to me, that just means you're
going to just stitch twice in the same spot, and it's probably not
really an anchor stitch, I'm just calling it that and hand binding I think makes
your quilt look really nice and pretty. It's just that finishing touch. So you're just gonna go all
the way around the edge. And then when we get to the very end, I'm gonna show you how
you join it all together. You do all the corners exactly the same. So I've been stitching and now I'm getting a little bit short. So I'm gonna show you how you end. I'm gonna do a stitch. Go back in the same place I just stopped, pull my needle back through. So it's back in this binding area that you're not gonna see. Pull it taut. So it's taut, it's really
tight, put my finger there. I'm just gonna create a knot, I'm gonna put a loop,
pull it, pull another, pull it through a loop and cut. So it's hidden, you're
never gonna see that. So I'm gonna start again and
show you how you start again. Get your thread, where you cut your thread is where you're gonna knot it. So just any kind of knot. Thread your needle, these
needles have a little small eye. So now I'm gonna put my needle in, and I'm gonna scoot it underneath here. Go to the stitch previous to the one I ended, push it through and come up. Now your knot is hidden. Go back to where you, so you're
just doing another stitch right where you had your ending stitch and you're just gonna go
over and just keep going. And you never knew where you started, and you stopped 'cause you're just going
over previous stitches and you're hiding everything in this area and since we added that
batting you got more area in there to hide stuff. You're just gonna go all the
way around to the very end. So now we have done the hand quilting all the way around the edge
and I'm just gonna show you how you join to where you started. Just doing the same stitches. And since it is navy you
can really see the stitches, but if you used aqua you
wouldn't be able to see that. Okay, so we're getting
kinda close to the beginning you should see we've
just got an inch or two, and you're just gonna stitch just like you've been
stitching the entire time, nothing different. And you can see as you go
you'll get a little bit faster. If it's more comfortable for you, you could always stitch
from left to right, I just happen to stitch this way. So, you're just gonna keep stitching. And you're just gonna get to where your previous stitches are. And I just stitched about
three more stitches over. So I'm just stitching right on
top of my previous stitches. And then when I get to the end, I'm gonna pull my needle through. Just a little piece right there. I'm gonna have a loop and
my needle through that loop and make a tiny knot. Then I'm gonna put the needle
under, go through my batting, You're not gonna see that knot because you're pulling it though. And then you're gonna snip this, and it's gonna fall right back in. And that is how you do your binding. (upbeat music)
Thank you for joining us for our Ultimate Beginner Quilt Series, make sure to hashtag
ultimate beginner quilts so I can see your quilts. And subscribe to our YouTube channel for beginner friendly quilts. See you next time.
