Turning Perfect Corners with the New 38 mm Binder Attachment 88

BERNINA has a new Binder Attachment that I absolutely LOVE! The arm that the bias binding is loaded into swings away from the machine making it so much easier to load. But, the best part of that feature is that I can swing the arm out and easily miter the corner of the quilt. While I like the look of rounded corners, I much prefer to finish my quilts with mitered corners.

If you havent seen Binder Attachment 88 in action, it is a must to ask for a demo at your local BERNINA shop. There are three sizes to choose from: 28 mm; 32 mm; or 38 mm. I used the 38 mm binder, which produced a binding approximately 7/16 wide.

Heres how to stitch your own mitered corners:

Cut 1.5-wide bias strips for the 38 mm binder. (Note: The width will vary depending on the thickness of your fabric, but this width works well for cotton quilting fabrics.)

Attach the 38 mm Binding Attachment 88 and Foot 95/95C to your sewing machine.

Load the bias binding strip into the binding attachment with the wrong side of the fabric showing. Swing the binder away from the needle for easier access while loading. Ensure that the strip lays flat in the binder.

Select a straight stitch. Adjust the needle position so it catches both folded layers.

Set the Needle Stop Down function so the needle will be down in the fabric when you are not stitching, ensuring that the quilt and binding will not move.

Stitch the first 1 of the binding.

Insert the top left corner of the project into the fold of the binder attachment and up to the needle. Begin stitching and binding the first side of the project.

Sew slowly and stop when the needle is one stitch off of the edge of the project at the corner.

Sew a securing stitch by setting the stitch length to 0 mm and stitching in place. Raise the needle.

Gently remove the project from under the needle and clip the thread tails.

Swing the binder arm away from the needle and gently pull a few inches of the bias strip through the binder.

Allowing enough excess to create the miter, fold the bias intoa miter and pin it into position on the front and back of the project.

Place the mitered corner under the presser foot and line up the needle with the fold of the miter. Sink the needle into the project to hold it in place.

Swing the binder arm back in towards the needle while gently pulling the excess binding back through the attachment. Ensure that the bias strip remains flat in the binder and is not twisted.

Reinsert the project into the fabric-folding part of the binder.

With the stitch length still set at 0 mm, sew a few stitches to secure the stitching.

Reset the stitch length to the default setting.

Remove the pins and continue sewing to the next corner.

Repeat these steps for the next two corners.

At the starting corner, trim the beginning of the binding even with the edge of the project.

When stitching the last corner (which was the starting corner), continue stitching beyond the end of project until the tail of the bias strip is about 1/2 from the binder attachment.

Fold the tail in and insert it into the binder attachment. This will finish off the end of the binding.

Continue sewing until all of the binding has been sewn.

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Via: Turning Perfect Corners with the New 38 mm Binder Attachment 88