Journey of Quilting

Giant Granny Panties {week 6}

Why Giant Granny Panties??IntroWeek 1Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Welcome to week six of the Giant Granny Panties quilt along! Can you believe that we are finishing our quilt along this week??

This week we are binding our quilts and doing all those little things to make your quilt look it's best.
First things first... choosing your binding fabric. This is an important step so feel free to audition multiple fabrics. For my quilt I used a contrasting plain binding. You can read all about that little adventure here...

A good striped binding is always eye-catching. An easy way to achieve that is by using a plaid like I did.

The other way is by choosing a striped fabric and cutting it on the bias. Here is my tutorial on cutting bias binding strips... it's super easy!
You could of course use your leftover fabric and make a scrappy binding which is always fun as well.

As you can see, I rounded my corners. Once again, I liked the curves against the contrast of the lines and angles. My rounded corner tutorial is a part of my bias binding tutorial.
If you decide to round your corners the biggest thing to remember is not to pull or stretch your binding as you stitch it to the front of the quilt. Let your machine do the work and you just guide the binding with your hands. A stretched binding will make your corners turn up and that will make you sad. :(

I bind by hand most of the time because I really enjoy the process. I know that some people do not so here is my tutorial on binding completely by machine.

When I hand stitch my binding I use clips to hold my binding in place and then I start stitching. Try and use a thread that coordinates with your binding just in case little stitches are visible here and there.

And BTW, I am a lefty so unless you are too, don't try stitching left to right; it will take you a really long time to finish and you will probably send me mean emails!

Here are several good tutorials on binding:

- Crazy Mom Quilts binding tutorial. This is the tutorial I learned how to bind from...

- Mary of The Tulip Patch also has a great tutorial showing you how to use a pocket binding to join those last two binding strips.

Done with your binding?? Let's finish the quilt!

This is tedious but take some time and make sure there aren't any stray threads on your quilt top or back. Simply trim them if you find any. And you never know what fun you will find while doing this... I found a headless Pip once.

Fussy cutting is not my strength.

And last but not least... if you want that crinkly look then throw your quilt in the washer. I wash my quilts in cold water on the delicate cycle. I use Woolite for colors and a Shout Color Catcher. I have never had any problems with colors running... knock on wood.

I dry my quilts in the dryer on low with low heat. I have never had any issues with this method but if this is your first quilt to wash and dry you might want to check your quilt every few minutes.

And don't be embarrassed if you sit in front of your washer and dryer while your quilt is in them... I did this with my first few quilts. I may or may not have also been rocking back and forth on the floor with anxiety. ;)

Once your quilt is dry take it out and once again check for any stray threads. Also check your binding... sometimes you may not have caught all the layers as you were hand stitching. If you find a spot like this simply hand stitch it just like you did with the rest of the binding.

You are now officially done! Run outside and take some pretty pictures in natural, indirect sunlight and then head back inside and curl up under your quilt with a good book.

Don't forget to add your pictures to our Flickr group! I love seeing your progress and finished quilts. In a few weeks I'll start featuring some of your finished quilts here.

Thanks for quilting along with me. Enjoy your Giant Granny Panties {quilt}!