Oh do I feel your pain Beverly. I too have such a terrible time hand sewing the binding on the backside of the quilt. To answer your question, I have used a zig-zag stitch to machine stitch my bindings. To me it looks okay and it will last longer for the user (my grandson or daughter). But I wish I knew how to machine quilt the entire binding!! I recently viewed one of Eleanor Burns short videos and she said she machine quilts all her bindings. But of course she didn't show "how" she does it.

I will follow this tread; I'm interested as well.

Susan

I don't think either one is tacky. However, if I had the choice I would rather see the binding sewed to the back, folded over and the decorative stitch on the front. I don't know very many people (except for the quilt police) that would even bother to look at the back binding. Maybe this is a temporary ailment anyway, give it a chance to rest and you will probably be back to hand-sewing in no time. Hey, I made a couch quilt for myself last year and folded the backing over to the front and bound it that way, if someone sees it and don't like it they can go home and make their own quilt their own way!

Beverly, I do it the way Rita does when I machine sew binding. I haven't done it many times - it doesn't seem much faster than hand sewing! But if the hand sewing isn't possible due to pain, it's the way to go.

If you're not entering the quilts in a show, I don't think there's anything wrong with machine sewing them.

Have you seen a dr. about the pain?

Donna

Seems what I have read is that it's best to sew binding on the back, turn it over and do a decorative stitch or close to invisible stitch on the front. This could be a time I might try using clear monofilament thread on the top when stitching on the quilt top. Or....I might try a very tiny buttonhole stitch in a neutral thread, stitching in the ditch with the side stitch going over to catch the binding. I love that buttonhole stitch for so many things!

Teresa

By the way, I still do the binding (usually) the normal way, machine sew on the front, fold over and hand-stitch on the back. But if I was in pain I would find an alternative by machine. I have seen bindings done on TV front and back by machine, if memory serves me right, it was sewn to the back first, then folded over to the front and sewn. However there was much care taken about the width of both the binding and the seam width so that the first seam didn't show. I think the zig-zag or decorative stitch method is a good alternative.

I think this is a good tutorial on machine binding by Sharon Schamer.
I am making some quilts for some children in my family, and wonder if I should machine sew the binding. I like the blanket stitch or applique stitch -
but I have less experience then others here.

I feel your hand pain (literally). rest - rest - rest.....makes it a little better:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Machine Binding

I'd do it the way Teresa mentions. Makes sense and you can certainly make it look good. Sharon Schamber is good and I use her books a lot. Her glue and iron methods make things come out very accurate and I do that with bindings a lot. Do whatever makes the job easier for you.

Best thing for pain is chocolate, I've heard.

Beverly I am sorry for your painful hands and can sympathize.
I have machine stitched the binding on my more recent quilts for children as I think they last better thru the freqent washings. I have sewn them to the back and folded to the front and stitched with a st. stictch close to the edge. I used matching thread.
I think a decortive st. would be fine as well as a blaket, applique or narrow zig zag., remember it is your quilt and your choice. Jayne

Thanks everyone, I think I will try it on my next quilt. It is one for me, so I can practice on it.

I have seen a doctor, one said it was arthritis and would be progressive, which it has. I saw an orthopedist 2 years ago and he said it was just a "strain" and rest it for a couple of days. Well, that helped till the 3rd day when I used it again. It used to just bother me for an hour or so after I did a binding, now it is a couple of days, and more than a bother. Guess it is time for a new orthopedist.

beverly

Well as to the bindings, I read & hear it's always best to attach bindings on the front by machine & then turn them to the back (hand or machine).

I just sent my first bed quilt to the LA quilter asking that he machine stitch it front & back as the receipient (my Mom) lives in assisted living & is not in control of the laundry.

As to the thumb, sorry for your pain. If it's arthritis, have you checked out (1) glucosamine & chondroitin & (2) the night shade diet (nightshades are veggies like eggplant, tomato, pepper & potato, all of which are thought to worsen inflammation & arthritis). Often folks can reduce their aches & pains by eliminating these foods from their diets.

Sorry & feel better soon.

Oh no. If I eliminate eggplant, tomato, pepper and potatoes I will starve! All I'll have left are green beans and corn. I had not heard about the nightshades, I'll have to check in to them.

I did try the glucosamine and chondroitin for about a year with no effect. That was when I went to the orthopedist to make sure it was arthritis.

I do have bone spurs in my neck and shoulder that give me fits from time to time, but after some rest and therapy those will get better. But this thumb thing just doesn't.

DH thinks "it's just a little thumb, how bad can it be", but when you drop everything you pick up it can be pretty bad.

beverly

The only thing I have ever taken that helped arthritis or any other bone, joint, or muscle ailment is Naproxin (brand name Aleve, but you can get it store brand), it doesn't act like it's working for the first few days because it isn't an immediate relief from pain but after about 3 days you usually can tell it's working because it works on the inflammation which is what causes the pain. I feel for you since I have bad back flair-ups and occasionally swollen joints in my fingers. So use the machine and keep quilting despite the ailment, no-one who matters is going to look down on you for it.

Beverly,

Sorry to hear about your hand...big bummer! My friend with rhumatoid Artheritis says Aleve helps her tons!

I usually sew the binding to the back of the quilt first, then when you flip to the front, you can see how to line up the fancy stitching better along the edge of the binding. I've done this for utility & baby quilts a bunch, and just today at the park someone was commenting on the stitch I'd used on my park quilt.

I think doing it this way looks really nice sometimes.

jen

Beverly,

After reading all the wonderful suggestions on binding I did want to mention what I do for my arthritis pain on my hand when I get a flare up. I use SALONPAS. They are small band-aide like patches that are specifically for pain of arthritis, strains, bruises or sprains. The come in 2.56 X 1.65 inch patch that you peal off a film and put on your hand or finger etc. They smell like menthol and eucalyptus (which I love) and they last for hours. Oh, don't worry you have to get your nose close to smell them - it's not something that anyone else would notice. Sometimes I wear a cotton glove to keep my hand warm at the same time I wear the patch. They only cost maybe $6 or $7 dollars and there are 40 patches in a box. You can buy them over-the-counter at ANY drug store. They sure do bring me relief. I don't have to wear them all the time only when I've done too much on the computer or hand sewing for too long. Well sometimes when a weather fronts rolls in. ~lol~

I just thought you might want to know there maybe something other than taking a pill. I think the Olympic athletes wear them as well (they have different sizes for shoulders etc.)

Take care and I hope your thumb feels better soon,

Susan

Susan, Thank you for posting about Salanpas. I think DH and I could both make use of them.

Beverly, I've tried sewing binding to the back, bringing it forward and then sewing. I really didn't like how it looked on the back. I always look on the back. I much prefer, if there's enough fabric, bringing the backing to the front and then stitching down. If doing a straight stitch, try using a zipper foot. You can get right down there to the edge and see what you're doing, too! It's awesome! Sorry about your thumb.....hope it gets better soon.....

SharonG/FL

Do they make SALONPAS for knees? I've got osteoarthritis in my knees pretty much all the time. I'm even taking part in a research study at the clinic where my Dr. is on staff. Wonder if they work on lower back pain that may or may not be arthritis too? Geez, it's *heck* gettin' old!

Beverly, I usually machine stitch / hand stitch ... have sometimes machine stitched both using decorative stitch when I'm in a hurry or it's for a baby/child.

I agree with toolgranny about pain management - Best thing for pain is chocolate, sometimes a shot of tequilla or a glass of wine helps too!

Sue/polardream

Thanks Susan, I had not heard of them. I'll give them a try, along with the chocolate and tequila.

Yes it is, Teresa.

beverly

I just looked up the web site for SALONPAS and they tell all about them (sizes etc.)

Here is the link: http://www.salonpas.us/

If you Google them they tell where to buy them and how much they are. But you can find them at your local drug store as well.

Susan

I feel your pain Beverly, literally lol! I have pain in the joint of my right thumb and it has an obvious large knot.
My daughter developed rheumatoid arthritis in her 20's and she did drop tomatoes from her diet. It's the acid that's the problem, so her specialist in Tampa says.
Tomatoes were her fav fruit/veggie and are mine too.
I think hand sewn bindings are so gorgeous but I am using the machine too.
I have tried to line up my binding on the front and back to catch them both evenly, but so far not yet. Even drew a line in pencil as a guide and I still missed some spots on the back.
I sew on the front, glue to the back, iron glue dry, use as close to a matching thread as I can find, and stitch from the front side. Mine are also narrow bindings and that helps me.
It takes practice but mine do look OK now.
Good luck with your pain management!
Rosa

Thanks Rosa, I had not thought of glue. DUH, of course it would work better than pins.

The thumb is getting better, but don't want to start binding DD queen quilt yet.

beverly

The glue works really well for the mitered corners too. Just a little goes a long way.
I find hand sewing the binding to be so relaxing. I wish I could sew with my left hand too!!
Looking forward to pics of your always lovely quilts.
Rosa

beverly, look at the link up-thread I posted for Sharon Schamber's method for using the glue. I think Rosa originally posted a youtube on the method last year. The link is a step by step, and machine sewn. Very good directions.
Hope your finger is feeling a lot better.

Another easy--I mean really easy way to bind a quilt is to bind from the back, using your backing for your binding. Trim your batting only, so it's flush with your quilt top, leaving the backing un-cut. Then, trim the backing so it's 1 1/4 inch larger all the way around.
Fold the edge of the backing in toward the quilt so that the edge of the backing hits the edge of the quilt top. Press, then fold backing over the quilt--pin if you like and sew. You can play around with it a little to make mitered corners, or just fold them over. It works really well, especially if you use a walking foot. You can use a straight stitch or a decorator stitch since you'll be sewing on the front.

Good luck with our hand issues--hope it improves for you.