Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Birthing a Quilt


The first time I ever made a quilt I was shown how to birth it.  At that time is was very common to do. 
 
Finishing a project without binding is simplified with inside-out method for making a quilt sandwich, sometimes also called you may have heard it called “Birthing”.  


Cut the backing 2” longer than the top.  Take backing but in half. Place right sides together. Using 2 pins mark a 4” space along the width of the backing. Seam the edge using 2.0 stitch length and ½” seam allowance.  Press to one side (not open).

Next place the top on the backing right sides together.  Place the batting on the wrong side of the top. Stitch around the entire quilt.  Turn the quilt through the hole that was created in the middle of the backing.  Trim corners to remove excess fabric.  Use a corner turner to push the fabric to a point at each corner. Press and quilt as desired. 

The below project is a small wall hanging that works well for a first project to try this technique on.