March 2009 Update: This method features on the instructional DVD Four Fantastic Quilt Finishing Techniques that I made with Quilters Companion magazine. I have a handful of copies of the DVD and magazine available for sale.

My community themed quilt My People is now on the Twelve by Twelve group blog. As obsessed as I am with alternative finishes, there will always be a place for a classic continuous binding with mitred corners. I previously linked to a video demonstrating this technique but it is no longer available. So here is my tutorial (with clickable photos) to show you how to avoid unsightly lumps and bulges where the two ends of your binding meet.

Binding Strip Preparation: Cut your binding strips the desired width. (l like to use 2in strips for a 1/4in binding but this is a very personal thing!) If you have multiple strips, join them with 45 degree seams. Press the seams open to help distribute the bulk. Press the binding in half lengthwise with the wrong sides together.

  
1. Using your walking foot and starting midway along one side of the quilt, stitch the binding to the front of the quilt-top edge, matching the raw edges. I use a quarter inch seam and stop (and back stitch) 1/4in from the corner. Make sure you leave a tail on the binding of at least four inches (see photo/step 5 below).
2. At the corner, fold the binding strip up at a 45 degree angle. Finger press.
3. Then fold the binding strip straight down so that it is aligned with the next side of the quilt to make a neat corner. This will make a mitred corner when the binding is folded to the back.

  

4. Continue stitching, either starting from the edge or, as I have done here, in by 1/4 inch.
5. On the final side, leave an unstitched gap of 8-10 inches so that you can easily work with the tails.
6. Lay one tail flat and, at the end of the tail, chalk mark a line equal to the total width of your binding (in my case, 2 inches).

  

7. Lay the second tail flat (and very slightly stretched) so that it overlaps with the first tail. The chalk line on the first tail will dust off onto the second tail. Trim the second tail at the chalk line.
8. Open out the ends of the tails and pin them together right sides together at right angles.
9. Mark a stitching line at a 45 degree angle across the corner. Sew along the marked stitching line.

 

10. Trim the seam and press the seam open to distribute the bulk. Lay the binding flat and stitch down to complete the binding.
11. Turn the folded edge of the binding over to the back of the quilt and slipstitch it into place. Look! The join hardly shows up! Alternatively, you may like to sew the back down by machine as Melody Johnson demonstrates in her Machine Binding Tutorial