My friend, Lois Jean, showed me this technique a long time ago and I shared it in a Fat Stacks demo last week.  I promised to post it on my blog so here you go…let me know if you have questions!

So you have finished attaching the binding to your quilt and now you have two ends that need to be joined.  Hmmm…

Leave about 9″ between the two ends.

Be sure to backstitch at both stops.

Measure out about halfway from the left stop and pin the binding to the quilt.

Cut it.  (oh boy)

Bring the right side over to meet the left side.

Pin it just next to the left binding and then fold the excess over the top of the pin.

Measure over 2″ from the folded binding and draw a pencil line.  (I used a 2″ measurement because I cut my bindings 2.”  If you cut your binding strips at 2.25″ or 2.5″ then use those measurements.)

See the pencil line??

Now, cut right on that pencil line.

Your bindings should look like this.

OK, here’s the fun part.  Unfold the left binding.  It goes over the top of the unfolded right binding.  Draw a pencil line from the top left to the bottom right.  That will become your sewing line.

Take a time out here.  Pin along that pencil line and open your binding just to be sure it is not twisted.  That little step will keep you from making a big mistake later.

Leave the pins in the fabric and open it.  It should look like this.

OK, take out those two pins.  Now pin it along the seam line before you sew it.  (It’s all really bulky as you take it to your machine and it won’t slip if you pin.)

Sew and trim the seam to 1/4.”  (Yes, the trim is a little crooked.  I was excited.)  One more little hint from Sue…open it again before you trim it just to make sure everything is OK.  Once it has been trimmed, there’s no going back…

Press the seam open.

Fold it in half and press it.  It will be snug against your quilt.  Sweet!!

Add some pins to hold it in place.

Stitch it down.  Your bindings are joined with no “bump.”  Yay!!

I don’t have a full shot of the quilt; it’s hanging at The Little General.  I’ll use it for my next beginner class.  Thanks Ginabean for the fab quilting.

When I see an awesome quilt or idea, I ask, “OK to take a picture?”  These quilters said yes.

Ginny finished this great bubble quilt.  Yay!  She used Awaiting Ada’s awesome tutorial.

This quilt was made by Linda in my BEGINNER class.  I’m proud of you Linda!  Gina Allen quilted it for her and I just happened to be there when Linda opened the bag.  Remember when you got your first quilt back from your longarm quilter??

Ginny made this great churn dash from a pattern I wrote for Karen Gray Design back in the day.

Check out the mitered corner.  Oh yeah….

Tanna is now officially obsessed with hexies.  She was binding this little original design beauty.

Here’s Jennifer’s wonky log cabin.  She took my beginner class but finished this one first.  I’ll take credit for giving her the confidence to believe she can do it.  🙂

This nice lady made the Modern Baby Quilts fishy quilt.  I don’t know her name but I loved her quilt!  She machine quilted that herself.

This beautiful wool quilt from Primitive Gatherings belongs to Linda.  She’s adding a triple sash border.  I taught this as a block of the month at Knit One Smock Too.   You can finish it Linda!

Ginny’s baby-sized Science Fair.  I LOVE this.  Ginny took my class and just keeps making these.  Cotton + Steel never looked so good.

Diana likes making flying geese so she is making blocks for them.  This is going to be a beautiful quilt!

Gina’s Imari Plate.  This quilt is huge and beautiful and finished!  That aqua border is her original design.

Finally, here’s Carole’s sweet 2″ strip quilt top using Heather Bailey fabrics.  I love her transition.  We will see this again at Fat Stacks I hope!