Hi! Today I want to show you the fastest way to bind a quilt: use Madam Sew’s binding foot! This foot is a snap-on foot that fits many brands of sewing machines and is also referred to as the bias binding foot.

The binding foot features two screws that allow you to adjust the width and the position in relation to the needle; it is a snap-on foot, so installation is simple. It accommodates pretty much any binding you will ever need, thanks to its sliding guide.

The second screw allows you to align the binding with your needle, even if your machine doesn’t give you the ability to adjust the needle position.

If you are wondering if this foot will fit your sewing machine, read this blog about sewing machine shanks and presser feet or get in touch with our customer service hello@madamsew.com 

Before you install the foot on your machine, you need to prepare the binding and insert the quilt. Once this is done you will move the whole thing to the machine.

This part is simple! Just slide the quilt with the foot attached under the presser foot shank and bring it down so that it hooks over the foot’s center bar.

Next, adjust the needle position so that it is just to the right of the edge of the binding. Alternatively, you can loosen the back screw on the foot, and slide the binding so that it is positioned under the needle.

Bring the needle down, remove the pin or clip closest to the front of the foot and start sewing slowly. While you sew, hold the binding firmly around the edge of the quilt and stop frequently to readjust.

As you approach each corner, estimate or mark where you are going to need to stop in order to turn at a right angle.

Slow down and stop with the needle down, back-stitch and cut the thread. Now you can release the presser foot and slide the quilt out with the foot still attached.

Remove the foot from the quilt. Fold the binding at a ninety-degree angle away from the side you just finished and against the edge of the quilt’s side that you are getting ready to bind.

As you fold the binding, create a 45-degree angle right at the corner, and pin it in place on both the front and the back.

Now slide the binding and the quilt back into the binding foot and slide it all the way to the corner, so that the needle hole is right where the stitching from the previous side ends; secure with pins or clips.

Bring everything back to the sewing machine and hook the binding foot’s bar to the presser foot shank. The front of the foot may be too high due to the multiple layers of fabric folded at the corner, if that is the case, slide a folded scrap of fabric of paper under the back of the foot to even it out and start sewing (even a short, thick ruler like the one I’m using in the picture will work).

Continue to the next corner and repeat until you have done all four.

Trim the ends so that they overlap by one inch, then mark a line right in the center of the overlap. This will be your stitching line.

Stitch right in the line you just marked, trim the seam allowances to ¼” and finger press open.

Fold the binding over the edge of the quilt and secure with pins or clips.

For this part, we are not going to use the binding foot, as you can’t slide it all the way over the already stitched end. Instead, use a stitch-in-the-ditch foot.

Align the edge of the binding against the right side of the blade, adjust the needle position so that it will also be to the right of the blade and start sewing slowly, checking that the bottom edge of the binding is being caught in the stitching.

The stitch in the ditch foot was my all-time favorite quilting foot, but the binding foot is serious competition; I can’t resist a speedy finish after all the time put into quilting. That is what this foot does, it speeds up the process of installing the binding considerably. It works pretty well with this little quilt but I wouldn't recommend it for heavy quilt projects with wide binding. It can't handle a lot of bulk.

If you are interested in other presser feet, follow this link and browse through our presser foot catalogue. We also have some other tutorials about sewing quilt binding:

• How to finish a quilt with binding
• How to sew binding with the edge-joining foot
• Three binding hacks
• Make your own binding with a bias tape maker
• How to self-bind a quilt

New to quilting? We have a complete beginner series about quilting too

Show us your work in the comments, and ask us any questions as well, we are always happy to answer them.

Happy Quilting!

Ana

Blogging for Madam Sew