Sometimes you just want to feed fabric through the sewing machine... without having to do a whole lot of thinking. If you want to do mindless sewing but still feel productive, “scrappy bindings” is the answer!
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| Prepping a batch of double-fold bindings for charity quilts. |
Here's how...
Pull from your stash:
- those lengths of fabric left over from past projects,
- orphan 2.5" precut strips,
- trimmings from other bindings—the piece that was cut off after making the join,
- long, skinny trimmings from wide backings,
- the yard cuts you bought as a "good buy" but didn't really have a plan for.
Cut the fabrics the width you use for bindings (I cut bindings at 2.5" for charity quilts). I also cut the ends of the strips at a 45-degree for a bias join.
Sort the strips by color, value, or print... or just mix them up for a truly scrappy binding.
Chain piece the fabric strips together at the 45-degree edge to make long, continuous lengths.
Press the seam allowances (I press to one side since I've joined the strips on the bias) and then press the strips lengthwise (wrong sides together) for a double-fold binding.
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| One of my kitty quilts received a scrappy yellow binding. |
It’s good to have a stash of bindings at-the-ready for kitty quilts, kid quilts, and charity quilts... or whatever project you have that calls for a scrappy edge. I have a batch of kitty quilts that I’m working on. These scrappy bindings will be put to good use in the not-too-distant future.
