I have developed quite a reputation as a batsh** crazy binding lady.  I suppose for a good reason, as my show quilts feature speciality details that can take upwards of 100 additional hours to complete.  However…on my yarn quilts…I want just a small pop of something special, without really working any harder.  All you need is a double or even a triple needle…which you can find at any sewing store that has notions.  They come in several widths.  I personally like the triple needle. I will sew with the triple needle, but only two colored threads.  The far right needle stays empty, and acts as a guide right in the ditch between my quilt and binding, creating a perfect 1/8″ spacing.  Otherwise, use a double needle and lay two colors of thread…one will be in the ditch, and the other however wide the needle is.  Simply thread both threads through your machine at the same time through the tension disks.  Separate them in the final thread guide before threading the needles…one on each side of the needle.  If you notice your thread being weird, re thread your entire machine at the end of each row of sewing to prevent any snarls.

Cut and create normal single fold binding…your choice of straight of grain or bias.  Cut strips at 2.5″.  This is my normal width, but some folks may be in the habit of a narrower one.  You want it wider, so you can cover the zig zag mess that quilting with a double needle creates when you sew down the binding to the back of the quilt.

Add the binding to the quilt, turning the corners and finishing the tails exactly as you normally would.  Next, crisply press the applied binding away from the quilt.

Use the double needle with your choice of pop colors and a double stitch on your sewing machine.  This is the stitch that moves up, back, up…so three layers of thread are sewn.  Begin right in the crease of a corner and hold long tails in your hand to start sewing.  At the end of each side, thread a needle with each decorative top thread and feed it to the back of the quilt.  Use the bobbin tail to tie all three of the threads together securely.

Hand sew the binding to the back of the quilt exactly as normal and….

VOILA!

~Bethanne