Pretty Points

When I recently bound the gift box potholders some of my corners were neater than the others. I chalked it up to my head cold and a lack of concentration but then I remembered a technique that takes all of the guesswork out of getting nice, crisp corners (I'm blaming the memory loss on the cold as well!) so I used it when finishing up a second batch.

Some leftover binding which had been cut on the grain came in handy to make my blocks as well as to bind them. Those polka dots are really sweet and there's lots of binding left so I'm thinking that there will be more made with dots.

Its a very simple technique - just adding a few stitches at the corners helps keep everything aligned giving you pretty points when you hand stitch it down.

When sewing the raw edges of your binding to the top side of the quilt, as you approach the first corner, stop 1/4" from the end of the quilt, keeping your needle down. Pivot the quilt 45⁰ and then sew about three stitches to the corner; reverse your stitches and cut your thread.

Fold the binding back 45⁰ onto itself along your last stitching line - there's no need for pinning or guessing where that fold line should be.

Then fold the binding down onto the quilt, ensuring that the top fold and the edge of the binding aligning with the top edge of the quilt and the next side, the way you normally do (sorry, I forgot to get a pic).

Starting at the top edge, begin sewing your 1/4" seam (I start in a few stitches from the top edge, reverse my stitches and then continue to avoid bunching up the thread). I will try and get a pic of this step too.

And that's it. Just those few extra stitches take all of the guesswork out of whether or not you will have nice corners on your binding.

I love these little blocks.

The combinations are endless and tons of fun to consider - hopefully I don't get stuck in gift box pot holder land all year....M