edging

now that everything on the face of the quilt is done it's time to finish up the edges.  i've done quilt binding before and it's a total bitch to get both sides looking good, so now i just fold over the bottom layer of the quilt to edge it.  i cut the batting roughly 1 inch larger than the quilt top and the backing fabric about 2 inches larger than that.  the quilts are supposed to be pretty wonky and i definitely help the wonkiness along by exaggerating the curves when cutting the batting for the edges.

here's a detail shot of how the edges are finished off.  the backing fabric is folded over the batting and then folded over one more time and then pinned on the front of the quilt.  this is an insanely easy way to finish off the quilt and i would imagine if i made all the edges straight the finished product would be pretty neat and tidy looking.

for the corners i pull up all the extra fabric and snip off a little bit (too much fabric makes the corners bulky and it's hard to fold everything in).  i take one side and basically fold it under the other side and try to match up the new folded "seam" with the corner of the quilt.

here's a better image after the extra fabric has been folded under and pinned.

i like to run three rows of stitches on the edging.  the closest stitching to the inside secures it to the quilt top, the other two rows are basically decorative, although i like the stitching on the outer edge because after it's washed the interior batting doesn't bunch up.  i also think the three rows of stitching give the quilt a nice "framed" look.

and of course last, but not least, you gotta put a tag on it!  then it's off to the laundromat!