Hi! I’m Kate from Snail Crafts. I’m here in Ottawa, happily hibernating from our chilly weather and basking in the heat from my iron. 

I have been quilting for a couple of years and was fortunate enough to be asked to teach at our local quilt shop. On the agenda this past weekend was binding and mitered corners. I can’t decide if I’d just seen too many or if I was trying to be different, but what about rounded edges?

Curves are - scary? Difficult? Not straight? I think as quilters we tend to shy away from them. I was most hesitant to cut into my completed quilt top to round the corners. But, I grabbed a dinner plate and held my breath. Lined it up at the corner of my quilt. My plates are of an economical variety so I did use it as a hard edge to cut against. Success! Now... can I do it three more times? It was a relief to get that over with. Onto the binding. 

Typically, I would cut 4 straight grain binding strips and sew them all together. However, binding on a curve requires the fabric to have stretch, so it is recommended to cut on the bias. 

Just in case you’ve never cut binding on the bias before - line up the ruler against the selvage at the 45 degree mark and cut on an angle. Confession - I hadn’t either. The strips are small which equals more time spent sewing them together. Pass. But those little snippets are perfect for the rounded corners. You only need that smidge, to give you the extra stretchiness when you’re going around the corner. 

For my mini quilt, I cut 4 straight grain and 4 itty bias strips. I laid them down onto the quilt, alternating straight/bias. I wasn’t concerned with precise measurements. Just needed to have the bias strip start and end around the curve. When that looked good enough, it was time to sew them all into one and press the binding in half.

I bound the quilt as usual, until I reached the curve. Grabbed some handy dandy clips, and carefully drove around the corner. I didn’t find it especially challenging as long as I took it slow and made a concerted effort to keep my seam allowance consistent. I made sure when I was finishing the quilt and joining the strips together that I waited until after the curve was over. No need to make things tougher on yourself.

We won’t mention the technique on how to sew the binding on the back because I’m going to let you pick. Some of us love to use the machine, some of us like to cozy up on the couch or a long car ride and hand sew it on. In my quilting classes, I like to present multiple paths and let the students pick the road that calls to them. Whichever road that is, we know it will be marked with stray threads.

And also in my case, dog hairs.

Thank you for following along with me this weekend! Make sure to check out the @Canadianmqc Instagram feed to see all my posts from this weekend.

~Kate