Binding

Yesterday I cut out and pieced the binding for D's lap quilt.  For the binding I used varying lengths of the different flannels that are in the body of his quilt.  When I was finished sewing all of them together as randomly as I can (which means I had a pattern that I hoped would look semi-random) and ironed the resultant binding, it looked quite good. 

Then I sewed the binding on.  Of course, whenever I work on this quilt I attach the even-feed foot to cope with the flannel.  That made attaching the binding easy.  Until I arrived at the end where one has to attach the two ends.   I thought I had made everything easier for myself by purchasing a "binding tool" that had instructions printed directly on it.  It'll be easy now, I though to myself.  Not so.  I think that in order to get the instructions printed on the plastic tool, they had to shorten them too much.  I read them over and over, and I followed the diagram, but it didn't work for me.  Grrrr.  Back to my old stand by; I had to take out my print out of how to attach the two.

Here's what I learned from the doing this yesterday.  A pieced border of this kind on the right quilt is really great,  However, you must end the binding strip with the same fabric you used to start the strip.  That makes the two ends you have to sew on the diagonal to make the binding lie flat, the same.  Mine were different, and that means that there is one diagonal meeting of two different colors on a strip that is made up of fabrics sewn together horizontally.  Think about it, and you'll see what I mean.

Bindings, how I love them.  Ha!