How to Bind a Quilt by Machine: Methods and Steps

The short answer

Machine binding is a double-stitched finish. One line of machine stitching attaches the strip to one side, and a second line secures it on the other side. Diary of a Quilter describes sewing it twice, with the first seam hidden.^⁠[3]
Most tutorials on this method use 2 1/2-inch strips. String and Story says most quilters it knows cut their strips at 2 1/4 inches wide. It also knows quilters who go as narrow as 2 inches or as wide as 2 1/2.^{⁠[1][2][3][4][5][6]}
Add extra length to the perimeter for corners and the join: 10 inches in the WeAllSew and Melanie Ham tutorials, and 12 to 15 inches in String and Story. Then round the strip count up, not down.^⁠[1][4][5]
Choose the order by the look you want. Stitching to the back first keeps the first seam hidden, and the finishing stitch on the front can be matched to your quilting. Stitching to the front first leaves a row of stitches on the front, and the back is finished by hand or by machine.^{⁠[1][2][3][6]}

Two ways to machine bind and who uses each

Attribute	Attach to the back first (Bryan House Quilts, Diary of a Quilter, Polka Dot Chair's machine method)	Attach to the front first (String and Story, Polka Dot Chair's traditional method)
Where the first seam goes^{⁠[1][2][3][6]}	Back of the quilt, with the binding folded toward the front afterward	Front of the quilt, with the binding wrapped to the back afterward
Where the finishing stitch goes^⁠[1][3][6]	Front of the quilt, stitched over the binding edge (Diary of a Quilter; String and Story's topstitching option)	Back of the quilt, by machine or by hand (String and Story's stitch-to-back option; Polka Dot Chair's hand finish)
Who describes it as their approach^{⁠[1][2][3][6]}	Bryan House Quilts calls it their favorite method, Diary of a Quilter presents it as a quick finish, and Polka Dot Chair uses it for its machine method	String and Story calls it the traditional route, and Polka Dot Chair describes the usual method with hand finishing in the same way

How much binding to cut

Measure each side of the squared quilt rather than relying on the pattern, because quilts are not usually perfectly square (WeAllSew). Add the four sides together, then add extra length for the corners and the join.^⁠[4][5]

The divisor is where tutorials differ. WeAllSew divides the total by 42, its average width of fabric for most quilting cottons without the selvedges, and rounds up. Diary of a Quilter also divides by 42. Melanie Ham divides by 38 for a bias join and by 40 for a straight join, and says these numbers work whether the width of fabric is 42 or 44.^⁠[3][4][5]

Melanie Ham works one example: a perimeter of 216 inches plus 10 inches gives 226, and 226/38 = 5.95, which rounds up to 6 strips. The 6 strips are cut from 15 inches of fabric, and Melanie Ham suggests a half yard for some wiggle room.^⁠[5]

Strip width is a matter of taste and quilt weight. Bryan House Quilts, Melanie Ham, WeAllSew and Diary of a Quilter all use 2 1/2-inch strips. Polka Dot Chair prefers 2 1/2 inches because the extra quarter inch gives more room when binding and a wide enough edge over thicker backings such as minky. String and Story says most quilters it knows cut their strips at 2 1/4 inches wide.^{⁠[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

For straight-of-grain strips, WeAllSew folds the fabric in half with the selvedges together, cuts with an acrylic ruler and rotary cutter, and trims the selvedges from each strip.^⁠[4]

Joining strips and preparing the edge

Trim the excess batting and backing so the quilt has a square, neat edge, using a rotary cutter and ruler.^⁠[3]
Zigzag around the outer edge of the quilt to hold all the layers together before the binding goes on, as Melanie Ham does.^⁠[5]
Cut strips across the width of the fabric and trim the selvedge from each strip.^⁠[1][4][6]
Join strips end to end with a diagonal seam. Lay two strips at a right angle with right sides together, overlap them by about 1/4 inch as WeAllSew does, and stitch across the corner on a 45-degree diagonal. Trim the seam allowance to about 1/4 inch and snip the threads between joins, as String and Story describes.^⁠[1][4]
Press the seams open, then fold the joined strip in half lengthwise with wrong sides together and press it, as Diary of a Quilter and String and Story both describe.^⁠[1][3][4]

Sewing the binding on, step by step

Start in the middle of a side, not at a corner. WeAllSew leaves a tail of at least 8 inches before stitching and secures the start. String and Story starts 12 to 18 inches from a bottom corner and leaves a 6 to 8 inch tail.^⁠[1][4]
Choose your side. Bryan House Quilts and Diary of a Quilter both attach the binding to the back first, and Diary of a Quilter notes that this first seam is hidden. String and Story's front-first route leaves a visible row of stitches on the front, as the comparison above shows.^⁠[1][2][3]
Set up the presser foot and seam. Use a walking foot if your machine has one, as Bryan House Quilts and Diary of a Quilter recommend. WeAllSew aligns the raw edge of the quilt with the edge of the foot, uses a 3/8-inch seam allowance and sets the needle to +5, which it describes as furthest right of center. Bryan House Quilts and Diary of a Quilter use a quarter-inch seam instead.^⁠[2][3][4]
Switch to the BERNINA Edgestitch foot 10D and engage Dual Feed for the final stitching, as WeAllSew does. WeAllSew says Dual Feed keeps the many layers moving evenly. A reader comment on that article suggests the BERNINA walking foot with its edge-stitch sole plate would also be a good choice if you do not have foot 10D.^⁠[4]
Miter each corner. Stop about 1/4 inch from the corner, backstitch, and lift the foot. Fold the binding up at a 45-degree angle, then fold it back down so the raw edges line up with the next side. Pin the fold, as String and Story and Diary of a Quilter both do.^⁠[1][3]
Stop about 10 inches before the start, leaving a gap. Following String and Story, lay the two tails so they overlap by about 5 inches, unfold one end, refold the corner at an angle, slide the other end into that fold, and pin. Trim the second end only enough that it fully overlaps the fold.^⁠[1]
Or close the gap with the method Diary of a Quilter describes: fold each end so the strips meet, press to crease both folds, trim to about 1/4 inch from each fold, pin, and sew on the press marks before pressing the seam open.^⁠[3]
Wrap the folded edge over the raw edge to the other side. String and Story says the fold should land just beyond the first stitching line, so sew 1/16 to 1/8 inch in from the edge of the binding, backstitching to secure the start.^⁠[1]
Press the binding open after the first seam, then add a line of washable glue stick along the seam allowance on the quilt back, clip, and press the final fold. WeAllSew places clips with the round side down on the back, because the grips on the flat side can pull the binding out of line as they come off.^⁠[4]
Pivot at each corner while stitching from the front, and backstitch at the start and finish. Diary of a Quilter suggests matching or invisible thread if you want less stitching visible on the back.^⁠[3]

Common mistakes

Starting at a corner. WeAllSew says not to start at a corner, and Diary of a Quilter notes that ends joined near a corner make the work much trickier.^⁠[3][4]

Seams landing at the corners. Melanie Ham clips the strip to the back so that no seams land at the corners.^⁠[5]

Binding that will not lie flat. Bryan House Quilts suggests opening the binding and sewing a ⅛ seam just barely inside the original stitch line to take up the extra fabric, then refolding and repeating until the binding lies flat.^⁠[2]

Binding that pulls. String and Story says the binding should fit snugly without pulling too much on either the front or the back.^⁠[1]

Stitch length that does not match. Bryan House Quilts sets the stitch length to match the quilting, usually around 3.5 mm, because binding stitches near the fold look better when they resemble the quilting stitches. It also notes that the length may need adjusting between 1.5 mm and 3.5 mm, depending on the thickness of the binding and the quilt top.^⁠[2]

Questions readers ask

Should I cut the binding on the bias?

For square or rectangular quilts with 90-degree corners, WeAllSew says straight-of-grain strips are fine. WeAllSew and Polka Dot Chair both say bias suits curves, because the stretch lets curved edges finish without puckering. Some quilters prefer bias for everything. String and Story says bias allows longer strips to be cut and may be less likely to wear and fray, though WeAllSew notes it is more complicated to cut.^⁠[1][4][6]

What thread should I use?

Bryan House Quilts matches the binding thread to the quilting thread. Polka Dot Chair suggests matching the thread to the binding or the quilt back, and says the binding stitches are hard to notice on the back when the quilt is densely quilted. Diary of a Quilter suggests matching or invisible thread if you want less stitching visible on the back.^⁠[2][3][6]

Do I need a walking foot?

Bryan House Quilts uses a walking foot often and recommends changing to one if you have it. Diary of a Quilter recommends it for the first stitching. Polka Dot Chair lists a walking foot with an edge-stitching sole plate among the tools needed, and notes that walking feet are specific to each machine, so check with your sewing machine manufacturer for the right one.^⁠[2][3][6]

Does machine binding hold up to washing?

Polka Dot Chair says machine binding holds up better with frequent washings, and Bryan House Quilts says machine binding should stand the test of use and washing. These are the authors' own views on their quilts.^⁠[2][6]

What we could not confirm

The divisor for the strip count differs: 42 inches in WeAllSew and Diary of a Quilter, and 38 or 40 in Melanie Ham's tutorial. Measure your fabric's usable width and check the count before cutting.
The seam allowance for attaching the binding differs: 3/8 inch in WeAllSew, and a quarter inch in Bryan House Quilts and Diary of a Quilter. Test on a scrap with your own batting and backing first.
Tail and closing lengths differ between tutorials: at least 8 inches in WeAllSew, and 6 to 8 inches in String and Story, with a 5-inch overlap at the close.
The BERNINA Edgestitch foot 10D and Dual Feed belong to the machine in WeAllSew's article. The sources do not say what a domestic machine without them should use for the final stitching.
The sources do not rank the two stitching orders. Choose by the look you want and the tools you have.
The durability claims are opinions from blog authors, not measured results, and none of the sources compares machine binding with hand binding through washing tests.

Sources

Quilting Basics: How to do Machine Quilt Binding — String & Story — checked 2026-10-27
My Favorite Machine Quilt Binding (Tutorial) - Bryan House Quilts — checked 2026-10-27
Fast Machine Quilt Binding 101 - Diary of a Quilter - a quilt blog — checked 2026-10-27
Master Machine Binding - WeAllSew — checked 2026-10-27
The Best Machine Binding Method - How to bind a quilt - Melanie Ham — checked 2026-10-27
How to Machine Bind a Quilt; A Step-by-Step Guide - The Polka Dot Chair — checked 2026-10-27

How to bind a quilt by machine, step by step