Knitette

Quilt bindings are the ONLY thing I hand stitch....... Machine to front, hand sew to back.

I HATE, HATE, HATE stitching anything by hand. (I've broken many a needle machine sewing on a button and getting the measurements wrong ).

If it's a wall hanging, I usually machine sew to back and do a fancy stitch on the front.

Jcarpentier

Wow! Thank you all for the answers and advice! I guess this was a good question. So what it boils down to is preference. I have machine stitched bindings in the past but on my next project I'm thinking of hand stitching it. I found a nice tutorial on You tube from the Crafty Gemini (I love her!) so will try her method. Thanks again.

Sewnoma

I machine stitch every time. My grandmothers were both quilters and both of them machine-stitched their bindings every single time, so to me it's what looks normal. 99% of my quilts are for myself or gifts to close family, and if any of them noticed something like how the binding was sewn on I'd probably pass out from shock, as none of them are quilters. (And they're all used to Gran's quilts too.) I'm too impatient and busy to hand-stitch the binding - I'd never finish a quilt if I did.

It can turn out very nice if I'm careful. I even managed to win a ribbon at the local county fair with one of my quilts, machine-stitched binding and all.

Clmay

I machine sew my bindings. It just looks neater and I can use a fancier stitch on the front.

Jinney

That is exactly how I feel. I hate sewing by hand.

Donnamarie

I used to hand sew but now have problems with my hands. Now I always sew the binding on the back. I try to make my binding the same color or fabric as the backing. I cut 2 1/2" strips, folded in half and then sew the binding (1/3 of the way on the binding) to the back. I always press the binding up, then bring the binding to the front and sew (just be sure to cover your sewing line from the binding). I think the binding is the first to go and that it holds up much better being machine sewen. Tip: I always use my walking foot on binding and don't bother to pin, just be sure not to pull the binding as you sew.

cathyvv

I machine bind because it hurts my hands too much to hand stitch more than a few stitches. Therefore, none of my quilts would ever get finished if I hand quilted.

Advantages to hand stitching - if done right, you can hardly tell that it was stitched at all, very crisp, neat, finished, professional look.

Advantages to machine stitching - it's done, and it's done sooner. Less stress on my shoulders, arms, hands. I make a lot of charity quilts, so machine stitching gets them done sooner. I've heard people say that it makes the binding sturdier, but can't say one way or another if that's true. If you can use a decorative stitch on the binding, it gives a nice look, too.