Infinity Edges in Quilts: The Delights of Faced Binding (Giveaway too!)

My freshly finished version of “My Fair Lady” from “Kaffe Fasset’s Quilt Road.”

Just when you thought you had all the elements of quilt making nailed down, there’s another very cool, fun, and mod finishing detail to explore:  ooh, the delights of faced bindings! Sure, there’s nothing actually all that new “under the sun” in quilt making other than technology, but there are techniques that ebb and flow with fashion. Right now, faced binding is trendy even though it’s been a standard sewing technique forever.

My blogging sister Darra pointed me toward faced bindings several years ago for a stylish finish to an Asian-inspired quilt that I was making. She suggested Kitty Pippen’s Quilting With Japanese Fabrics, a quilting classic published by Martingale & Company, for the instructions. (Giveaway details below!) Of course, I still use a traditional binding, but the faced method has been very suitable to the style of quilts I’ve been making recently. Sometimes, a quilt design is incompatible with the “hard” edge of a traditional binding and requires something expansive. I’d describe a faced binding as akin to an infinity-edged pool–it’s visually limitless.

So, shall we look more closely at the application of the technique with a couple of quilts?

Faced Binding With Prairie Point Accents:

Detail shot of the back side of a quilt with faced binding and prairie points.

Detail view of the front side of a quilt with faced binding and prairie points.

Here’s the completed quilt–you may remember my post about a group quilt that took a major effort to complete.

My version of “The Seasons” from Doughty/Fielke’s “Material Obsession 2.” I love, love, love the addition of the prairie points!

Invisible Faced Binding:

Here’s a clever binding approach from my friend Kim Butterworth.  She had enough backing fabric left over from trimming her quilt to create “invisible” faced binding. Look closely: she matched her quilt backing and faced binding perfectly.

Invisible faced binding on Kim Butterworth’s quilt.

Classic Faced Binding:

If you’ve been following my recent quilt-making adventures here and here, you’ll know I’ve been tackling a Kaffe Fassett quilt that’s been languishing in my UFO pile. I’m happy to tell you that I’m minutes away from finishing that quilt. It simply lacks a label, but I’m alternating working on that little detail and this blog post. Deb McPartland, one of my very fave long-armers, quilted the top in a classic “Orange Peel” design with variegated yellow thread. I don’t like high-contrast quilting on white fabric, and so the light, sunny colors of the thread were perfect for adding texture without diminishing the impact of the wildly colored hexagons. I wish my photos could capture Deb’s wonderful craftsmanship, but alas, I can only show you fragmented views for the details. Thank you Deb!

My quilt is destined for my dear Floridian friend from high school days (mentioned in a prior group post as needing a quilted hug), and thus my slightly eyeball-burning choices of backing and batting to suit sunshiny climes.

Backing fabric shown on left, faced binding is the umbrella fabric and the accent triangles in green/blue polka dot.

I’m not going to detail the faced binding technique in this post because, if you wait just a short time, the June issue of The Quilt Life will feature a excellent how-to from Ricky Tims along with an added embellishment of triangle corners, a technique I picked up from a friend who picked it up from another friend, etc. It’s a fabulous design twist, but I haven’t a clue where it started.

Here’s the finished binding:

Completed faced binding with accent triangle.

And here, a partial view of the front, back, and faced binding in one photo:

The many design elements of “My Fair Lady” in view: finished quilt with completed faced binding and machine-quilting in “Orange Peel” by Deb McPartland.

Here’s the quilt in its entirety (sadly, not a great photo, but you get the idea):

Time to add that last, critical detail, the label:

Giveaway Details Here!

Here’s something wonderful:  Martingale & Company is offering Kitty Pippen’s classic Quilting With Japanese Fabric as a giveaway. (Remember, she’s got a great technique for faced bindings described in the book.) The title is now being offered as an eBook so if you’ve got the technology, you’re in good shape. You know the giveaway drill:  comment by Thursday, April 18, for the drawing and I’ll announce a winner in my Friday post.  Here’s your question: Have you or will you finish a quilt with faced binding?

Later, gators! Jennifer

#RickyTims #prairiepoints #hexagonquilt #facedbinding #KaffeFassetsQuiltRoad #TheQuiltLife