If you want to learn how to sew on blanket binding, we will teach you four easy steps! This guide is best for satin binding, which is famous for blankets. However, you can apply similar techniques to other materials.
It’s always helpful to edge your blanket to improve its finish. The binding also ensures that your blanket won’t fray, especially for some materials like fleece. But with the guide below, you can use any blanket material with satin binding.
How To Sew On Blanket Binding For Beginners
Do not be intimidated in sewing binding on a blanket yourself. This four-step guide will teach you how to use satin blanket binding that you’ll typically find pre-cut and ready to sandwich your blanket.
1. Prepare the blanket and position the binding
Selvage your blanket before you place it in the middle of the satin binding. The shorter side of the binding will be on the top or right side of the blanket, while the longer side will be below the blanket. When you sandwich the blanket in the binding, always check if it reaches all the way inside the binding fold.
2. Sew the binding by hand or with a sewing machine
You can sew the binding by hand or with a machine using a zigzag stitch. Start at the beginning of the binding, ensuring that you’re also getting the bottom edge. If you used a sewing machine, you could set its width to 4.25.
3. Miter the corners
Mitering the corners is essential when you sew on the blanket binding. To do so, you’ll just stop sewing when you’re close to a corner and secure with a backstitch to create a mitered fold. Some people also find it easier to leave the needle and sew without securing it with a backstitch.
Fold the binding over the edge of the side you’re about to sew to miter the corner and carry on stitching. You can always do the technique you find the easiest when mitering the blanket corners, especially if you’re using a sewing machine.
4. Finish the blanket
Finally, you will add another piece of binding to finish all around the blanket using the techniques you just learned. A helpful tip to have a neater look when joining another satin binding strip is to make some slip stitches at the corners.
How Do You Sew Blanket Binding Corners?
Sewing on blanket binding is relatively straightforward and quick because you’re only stitching on pre-measured materials to your blanket. However, some people find it tricky to bind around the blanket corners, especially for beginners. If you use a sewing machine, follow these steps:
Binding corners with a sewing machine
- As you sew close to the corner of the blanket, stop and remove it from the sewing machine.
- Clip the threads and make a pleat with the binding around the top and bottom corner to miter it.
- Pin the corner you just mitered and place the fabric back to your sewing machine and sew a back tack stitch on the pleat.
How to miter corners on self-binding quilt
Another method to bind a blanket is to use its back fabric as the binding, also known as a self-binding quilt. For this instance, you will make the mitered corners slightly differently:
- Clip the corner of your back fabric and fold the first edge to hide the raw side.
- Fold the border again to cover the top material and fold the binding corner to create a triangle. Check if the bottom edge of the folded binding corner is even with the top fabric or quilt edge.
- Fold the remaining raw edge so that it meets the top of your quilt, and fold it again to cover the quilt edge.
- Check if the resulting corners are sharp and neat before pinning everything in place and sewing the binding.
How Do You Sew Satin Binding On A Crochet Blanket?
A fantastic way to finish a crochet blanket is to sew satin binding around it.
- Wash the satin binding with some mild detergent in warm water and dry before sewing it to the crochet blanket to prevent shrinkage. Then, cut the satin strips so you’ll have two pieces each for the length and width. The measurement will be 4 inches more than your blanket’s length and width.
- Fold the crochet blanket lengthwise and widthwise and do the same for each satin trip. Mark the middle point of each satin piece and blanket edge. Lay the blanket and strips so you can match the markings and pin the binding pieces into place with half an inch of the blanket tucked inside their folds.
- Baste and sew the satin strips onto your blanket with ¼ inch seam allowance on each strip’s end. Finish by mitering the corners.
Conclusion
The best way to finish your blanket is to sew on blanket binding. At this point, you have learned the techniques for how to sew on blanket binding using satin strips. You’re essentially sandwiching your blanket in the middle of a satin strip and then sewing the binding around the blanket.
We have also taught you how to miter the corners, even if you made a self-binding quilt or crochet blanket. Overall, binding the blanket and making mitered corners are easy techniques that every DIY-lover must know. If you have any more questions, feel free to leave them below!