"Jailhouse Rock" quilt and a binding tutorial

I called this one my "jailhouse rock" quilt....not sure why.  Using all my red and black scraps thrown in with bleached-to-white-muslin just made me rock.  But, after all was said and done, with all this busy-ness, I could not find a binding that wanted to finish this quilt for me.  Hmmmmmm..........

Several years ago, on a Nancy's Notions TV show, I saw Nancy sew strips of different fabrics together to make yardage for a bias binding.  Since then I have used this technique over and over again to make bias binding. 

So easy....here's how.  I gather fabric strips from 2 1/2" to 12" wide and 15"-24" long.



Then, using my ruler as my guide, I lay the strips out, staggering along the 45 degree angle.  By staggering, fabric is not wasted....you are going to cut off any fabric that is above the 45 degree angle.








I usually cut my bindings 2 1/4" wide. A piece that is 12" x 24" will yield approximately 90" of binding!




Now, sew all the strips back together end-to-end for one continuous length of bias binding. 




Since there are so many "loose ends" it is truly advisable to fold in half at this point and go ahead and baste 1/8" from raw edge before attaching to quilt top.  This extra step will save a lot of stretched-binding heart break!