How to Match Stripes for Quilt Binding

When working with striped binding, it can be tricky to line up the stripes. In this blog post I will break down the process to make this easier for you. With a little practice and patience, you will see how easy it is to make your stripes match.

The goal is to line up your fabrics so that it looks like one continuous strip and you can't tell where they are joined together on the diagonal. You want those seams to disappear. 

Follow these steps to get those stripes to line up.

Take two strips of binding. Lay the first one down right side up. Grab you second strip from the opposite end of the selvage (fabrics are printed from one selvage to the other - by butting opposite ends together you will keep the pattern going in the same direction). Using a hot iron with steam, press a  the second strip, start at the opposite selvage edge, starting about 3/4" to 1" away from the selvage, fold your top strip on a 45* and press with a hot steam iron. 

Lay the piece with the pressed 45* angle right sides together with the first piece, matching the stripes.

Open the top strip, being careful not to move it. Pin in place on the crease you pressed and double check the fabrics haven't shifted while pinning. I recommend using the Clover Patchwork Pins - 2507cv that are thin and sharp when piecing. 

Take the pinned strips to your sewing machine and sew on the diagonal crease you created when pressing the 45* angle. If you are not comfortable using the crease as a guide, go ahead and mark the crease with a light pencil line using the Ultimate Marking Pencil before pinning. 

If you are new to this method, you might want to increase your stitch length and use a basting stitch. Once you know it is correct, go back to a regular stitch length on your machine and sew the seam a second time. 

Once sewn, check that the pieces did not move while sewing. If they did move, take out the seam and do it again if it is really off. 

 Trim away the extra leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.

Press the seam open, you will notice the stripes in the fabric line up on the back side.

Continue this process until you have all your binding strips sewn together on the diagonal to make one long strip. Then fold in half on the short edges, press and set it aside until your quilt is finished and quilted and you are ready to add the binding. I like to use a Quilt Binding Spool to hold my finished binding until my quilt is ready for it. This keeps it from getting wrinkled and messy. 

That is all there is to it. Now that you know how it is done, you no longer have to fear working with stripes when making binding. Remember that practice makes perfect. Enjoy the process.