A few words about binding

After some discussion with my hubbie, Tim, and a short discussion about a helix and how that is a model for DNA and how the pattern of the French braid twist looks like this, I came up with the name "Nature's Helix" for this particular design.  The other decision that needed to be made was how the binding was going to be attached.  Over the years, I have  become a whole lot less ridge about how binding gets attached to a quilt.  I found this wonderful YouTube video that gives step by step instructions in 6 minutes and 6 steps on how to make a continuous bias strip and how to attach it to your quilt  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWh90tXr7g4.  I have tried other methods of binding that does not use a continuous bias strip and the results are less than satisfactory.  If you have spent the time making a wall hanging or quilt, it deserves to be finished with a bias binding.  If you have made a home made piece of crap, no wonderful binding is going to change that..  In the video, she explained that once the binding it attached to the front, it gets folder over to the back and then whip stitched to the back by hand.  She also said that you could press it in place, and from the front, stitch in the ditch and it would sew it in place with mitered corners,  I did my binding a bit different.  Rather than attach it to the front, I attached it to the BACK!   I then folded it over to the front, making my mitered corners the same way they are made in the video.  NOW I am going to stitch in the ditch but I am going to use a hemming stitch.  One could also use a zig zag stitch.  Since my binding and border are not only the same fabric but also a dark fabric, it lends itself to this method.  I used my open toed pressure foot so I could see EXACTLY where I was at all times so I could indeed sew right along the edge of the binding.  Next I attached a hanging sleeve but since the quilt is VERY long and I want to hang it in a show, I will probably end up attaching another sleeve to the bottom so that there will be a bit of tension on the quilt when it is hung so that it will hang flush to the wall.  Finished size is 66" X 15-1/2" so it would also make a nice table runner for a long table.