Friday Finishes - Shapes II Corded Binding Finish

Shapes II is quilted and it's time to put the binding on.  But what to do?  As I was considering this question, I happened to notice a braided cord I had bought to put on the quilt but discarded it after realizing it was too large.  But how about as a binding pulling all of the metallic gold thread together?  Recently having read about a corded binding technique for art quilts I decided to give it a try.

Following Carol Ann Waugh's Rattail Binding technique video, I began by zigzag stitching around the outside edge of the quilt, changing thread colors to match the fabric.

Using the gold metallic thread, I then zigzag stitched the gold cording to the edge.

Unfortunately, I did not take any close ups.  But the result looks good, don't you think?

When you look at Carol Ann Waugh's technique, I suggest you pay particular attention to the cord junction.  I did have some difficulty making them come together smoothly.  I know it's hard to see but if you look closely you can see the junction on the right side.  Using a large cording had something to do with it.  Also, I didn't go around the quilt with another row of zigzag stitching because the thread would have muddied up the look of the cording.


This is a nice finish for an art quilt.  Carol Ann Waugh's instructions were complete and I found the binding easy to do (exception in joining but not technique problem, mine).  I will use this again keeping in mind that it works best with a low loft batting so the initial zigzag stitching completely closes the layers.  The binding style needs to be used on wall quilts only as I would not recommend it on a quilt to be washed.


Happy Friday,