quilt progress #5 - it's ready!

Yes, the quilt is ready! Before I show you the finished state, let me tell you first how I framed it with bias binding cut from the same fabric as the backing. I opted for bias binding because it won't wear out as easily as other edgings.

For bias binding, you need to cut at a 90 degree angle across the straight grain. Put a set square to the fabric's straight edge like in the picture below - the set square's long edge will show you the true bias. I use a long ruler to draw up the binding strips. To bind a 1 cm edge you will need to cut a 4 cm wide bias strip = 1 cm times two plus 1 cm seam allowance at both edges.

I needed around 4 and a half metres of bias binding, so I planned for 5 meters to be generous. Of course none of the strips cut would be as long as that. It doesn't matter, because it's really easy to join up bias strips - the only rule is that you need to sew them together at an angle, like so:

 

Once I had my bias strips ready, I first spent some time basting the edges of the quilt to prepare for sewing. You don't necessarily have to do this; the quilting stitches should hold everything together. The reason I basted was because my charms ended up on the bias at the edges of the quilt which makes the fabric stretchy, and I wanted no chance of distortion during sewing. Once all was secure, I pinned on the bias binding and stitched it on.

 

Usually you'd want to have a nice machined seam to show at the front, and then a hand-finished edge (or a very precise machined edge) on the back. 

After unpicking three times, I decided that I'll have to do it the other way around. My difficulty was that I wanted the binding to join exactly to the tip of the nice squares along the front, but I'd always end up sewing slightly over or under it... 

So I machined on the back and then proceeded to hand-finish at the front, in order to be super exact about where the points and edges met. I got on with the hand-sewing phase while watching old Miss Finland competitions from the 1950s and 60s on TV.

 

I need to mention that I cannot do a proper mitred corner to save my life. I struggled with it long enough by now trying to understand the actual technique to no avail, so I just made up my own solution.

I bound the blanket's shorter edges first. Then did the longer edges, leaving the joining 1 cm unstitched at each corner. Then just folded and tucked and hand-stitched until they looked like mitred corners. I'm sure it doesn't fool the pros but it looks good enough to me.

So, after 3-4 months of labour of love, this first quilt for our first baby is finally ready!