Quilt binding...YouTube.....and question

[Magot]

Interesting Lennie - we have videos at school that we download from you tube and save - I hadn't thought of the copyright issue - ours is mostly because we cannot access you tube from school ( banned site) and bring them in on a memory stick. I'll have to look into that. I thought the copyright resided with whoever made the video..

[lendube]

Jan, I knew my answer wasn't completely right when I posted it. I just knew that there were rules against downloading videos. I checked it out and here's what I found. http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/y ... 77a4&hl=en Some "Partners" allow it however I don't know what a "Partner" is. I'm guessing they're paid members. There's also information down the page on Macs and downloading that you might find interesting.

So, in essence, it's just frowned upon and they make it difficult. Videos are not copyrighted but downloading is not encouraged and is for the most part against Youtube's policy.

[kjh9835]

I'm back....

Made another of the Super Sized Nine Patch baby quilts yesterday, put the other two in ziplock bags for future sewing along with the backing and binding fabrics so I won't have to hunt to see what I have left in my stash that coordinates.

This one turned out better but still is not perfect. I'm not looking for perfect, I'm looking for experience but nice enough for a gift even if just to family members. Most ppl I know won't nickpick/see the flaws that I do. I spent the afternoon/evening sewing, watching videos, pausing them, sewing, restarting the video, pausing, sewing, and so on. Good thing the computer room is next to my sewing room. I also copied and pasted parts of forum posts that I printed off and hung on the wall by my table.

I set my machine to do a blindstitch. With the bulk of the quilt to the left of the machine as usual, I wanted to sew down the line of stitches where I attached the binding to the back and have the needle go sideways over onto the binding but the needle only moves to the left, not the right and I can't figure out if there's a way to make it go over to the right. I ended up sewing the binding on "backwards" with the quilt to the right of the needle, rolled up in order to get the stitches to go over onto the binding. It was difficult but I got it done. I'm going to have to play around with the different stitches and see what I have that will be a nice finish stitch for applying the binding.

I cut the binding 2.5", used a 3/8" seam allowance, still had some difficulty getting it to wrap around the raw edge to meet the stitching line from where I attached it to the back. I think until I get better, I'll go wider with the binding so it's easier to attach.

Also had some difficulty with the mitered corners, I got them to miter ok but they are so thick that I broke two needles in the process. Should I be trimming them diagonally, even just the batting, to reduce the bulk? Maybe the wider binding will give me more to hold onto and flip over to squish down the layers? I started off using my even feed foot but switched over to the regular foot halfway through.

I bought some fusible thread yesterday (1/2 off, yay) and want to try it also. Do I just use it like regular thread in the bobbin only and after sewing the binding to the back, fold it over and press? Regular stitch or zig-zag? I also bought a spool of invisible thread just because it was also 1/2 off and I may want to use it sometime.

Kathy

[HeyJudee]

Kathy, in order to do the binding with the blanket stitch going the other way, your machine must have the ability to reverse the stitch. Mine has that feature. My friend who doesn't have that feature uses a plain zigzag when sewing on the binding. But now I don't use the blanket stitch any longer. I've switched to doing it with a straight stitch. I like it better and takes less time to sew, IMHO. I'll see if I can take some pics of how I do mine the next time I do one.

Doing the mitered corner initially is the important part. Folding the 45 degree angle and ensuring that the top edge is lined up exactly with and not jutting out past the quilt's edge is critical from my experience. This is the part I'm referring to http://quilting.about.com/od/bindingaquilt/ss/mitered_binding_2.htm). If this is done properly, then it is easier to make and sew the miter on the other side. I'd suggest making some simple placemats and binding them to practice the binding technique. This is what I did...made some 24" x 24" premie quilts to figure out the easiest and best way that works for me.

[bridesmom]

Like Judy I don't do anything but a straight stitch. I have a foot that has a little guide down the middle and I set the needle just over to the right and stitch my bindings down that way. I tried the fusible thread but you have to do a zigzag stitch, yes the fusible is in the bobbin, but I didn't find it make it any easier to do, and because I can't move my zigzag stitch back and forth (the fancy bernina's can do this) I have a bad time getting the stitch where I want it on the 3/8" line. I've seen people do fancy decorative stitches but I think I'd only do that on small pieces like placemats, takes too long.

When I do my mitred corners I have a quilt glue, can't remember the name, but I sew the binding down almost to the corner, make my mitre, and use the glue to just attach the edge of the corner, then stitch slowly into the corner, pivot and go again. Make any sense?

[HeyJudee]

When I do my mitred corners I have a quilt glue, can't remember the name, but I sew the binding down almost to the corner, make my mitre, and use the glue to just attach the edge of the corner, then stitch slowly into the corner, pivot and go again. Make any sense?

Ohhhhh...I never thought of using glue. Gonna have to try that since I have lots of glue sticks. Thanks for mentioning this. Will let you know how it works for me.

[bridesmom]

It also works to hold my quilt labels in place, to hold pockets in place (if I'm washing the fabric, cause the glue washes out), for anything that I could use a pin but am too lazy to do it, I hate sewing over pins!