This is the first is a series of posts encouraging you to be different, quilt different, quilt bravely. To bend or even break some rules while pumping up your creative voice. You have the creative confidence, I’m just here to remind you of it.
So you need to bind a quilt? You might be one of those quilters who not only selected their binding fabric with the rest of the fabrics but also made your binding before needing it. That would be awesome! This post is for those of us looking to jazz up our quilts with binding, not just treating it as an afterthought.
Binding selection generally comes as the quilting winds down. Maybe even as the quilted quilt sits and marinates or you muster the energy to do it at all. You might have a default binding - black and white stripes, anyone? You might search for just the right shade of blue that coordinates with everything in the quilt and the quilt back. You might pick the stripe from the fabric collection that the quilt top is made from.
My challenge to you is to embrace a contrasting binding. Whether in colour, style, value, or design a contrasting binding might be exactly what your quilt needs for a stellar finish. If not contrasting, think creatively about what choice you can make. The unexpected one is often the exact right one. Here are some great ways to play with your binding selections.
Highlight a Little Used Colour/Fabric
If you have just a little bit of a colour in the quilt top use the same colour binding fabric to wrap it all together. The examples above show me pulling out the green in the background print, even though there is no other green in the quilt top and using the same coral fabric that is only used sparingly in a quilt with 100 blocks.
Look to the Back
You may have picked a fabric that coordinates with the front but doesn’t necessarily use all the colours of the quilt top, go ahead and pick your binding from that fabric.
Think White or Pale
Most of us shy away from a white binding, fearing a show of dirt. Let me tell you, that isn’t a fear worth having. It looks absolutely amazing on a quilt. Whether a print or a solid a light binding is an exciting frame to your work.
Insert Highlights in Bindings
Add a pop of a different colour randomly or make intentional inserts to extend the design of your quilt top. This is the moment to really think of your binding as part of the quilt and not necessarily just the frame.
Pieced Bindings
Okay, so all bindings on a not-mini quilt are technically pieced. Use different fabrics to accentuate the design of your quilt top. For example, I made a rainbow of binding to wrap around my Pride quilt. I’ve used leftover strips to create a scrappy binding. Play with it.
Scrap Quilts Call for Anything and Everything
Probably the most commonly used binding for a scrap quilt is some form of black and white stripe. It’s nearly a cliche. Sure, it looks good, but think outside the box. Grey is a good option. As is using the scraps of binding you have stashed all pieced together. Multicolour prints also look great. Or pick one colour you feel is underrepresented in your quilt top and use that.
Embrace the Uneveness
One of the reasons people love a stripe on the bias is that there is no concern about it looking ‘off’. And when was the last time you used a plaid or check on a binding? Just run with it and let your eye move around and even be fooled. It’s quite a fun effect actually. Essentially, you are ignoring the pattern to embrace what the fabric can do on the small scale of a binding.