I’ve rounded third base and am headed for home on the binding of my Vintage Vignettes quilt:
A few minutes here, a few minutes there. It adds up. You may be able to tell from the photo that my binding is wider than usual. I typically make my binding to finish at 1/4″ but I went for 1/2″ finished on this one.
Check out this sweet treat, a little macaron holding my needle in its magnetic grip:
I have a terrible time keeping track of my needle between binding sprints as I tend to set it down on a flat surface or insert it in the border of the quilt and then lose it somehow. The macaron is so cute it makes me want to reach for it instead.
Made by Clover, the macaron is a needle sharpener as well as a magnet. The “filling” is some substance that sharpens the tip of the needle when it’s inserted between the top and bottom of the macaron. I never knew hand-sewing needles needed to be sharpened; did you?
I found this little gem at my local quilt shop but if yours doesn’t carry it you can google “clover sweet n sharp macaron” and be able to find it online. It comes in two flavors: raspberry, which is what I have, and pistachio, which is more aqua than green. Get one for yourself and one for a friend or family member who sews. That’s what I did. Sweet treats are meant to be shared.
Love your cookie! Can you share why you wanted to have a wider binding and give the particulars for that width of binding? Such as size of the cut strips and seam width and stopping distance from the corner…
Hi Vickie! I wanted a wider binding because my borders are really wide — 8-1/2″ — and the print is quite small. I figured a slightly wider binding would frame the quilt nicely and offer some contrast with the small print. I cut my strips 3-1/2″ wide, using the formula 6 x width of finished binding + 1/2″. And I stopped stitching 1/2″ from the corner to make my miter the right size.
I am on a shop hop next week and will look for a macaron 😉 Interesting that you are making a more narrow binding. I finished off the binding for the teacher’s present yesterday, added the label and the kids are gifting it today! I usually cut a wider binding too but this time I went a bit smaller…and I am liking the look.
I love this “vintage” quilt that is almost finished. Yay! I was wondering what size needle you use for binding your quilt. I use a thinner, shorter needle for hand sewing but maybe the size you use is easier to use. Thanks!
Hi Kristie! The needle I’m using is 1-3/8″ long. I’m not sure of the size. I find that if I use a smaller thinner needle, I tend to take tiny binding stitches. With this needle my stitches are a scant 3/8″ apart, which works for me.
Beautiful cornflower blue, and the Macaron is very close to matching the raspberry color in the quilt, too! Yum. I need to get one of those. Perfect for gifts.
Your binding is extremely neat! I’m always losing track of my needles too. Thanks for the tip.
Hey, maybe they sell a giant macaron to help you keep track of all your pins you gleefully toss about while sewing and ironing! Just sayin’. . .
Ah, you know me so well . . .