Pocket Binding/Binding Pocket ...a life changing tutorial.

This is a binding pocket on a washed & loved quilt.

You may laugh at the "life changing" part, but learning about binding pockets certainly changed my quilting life for the better.  My best friend Amie at The Fabric Warrior learned pocket binding from this video and then taught me in real life:

I have been using this method for a while now and I absolutely love it.  I'm doing a tutorial in still pictures so you can have a printable reference if you'd like to give it a go. 

 Take your binding fabric and cut your starting end at a 45 degree angle.  Fold over 1/4"-1/2".  I used pinking shears to cut down on fraying.  You could also use fray check if you like.   Make sure to cut any of the flap that overhangs the edge of the binding (you can use regular scissors here because it will be sewn eventually.

 I'm using a small coaster here to demonstrate.  Take the bottom edge of your binding and sew with 1/4" seam about 3" and stop.

 Now fold your binding over. Start sewing an inch or two  below the fold.  That is your binding pocket.  I usually leave more space but this was a small piece so I didn't have as much room to work with.

 Attach your binding like your normally would (this would also work for bias binding and rounded edges).  Stop sewing an inch or two before your binding pocket.

 Now cut your binding strip at a 45" angle making sure to leave about 1/4" or 1/2" longer than your fold in your binding pocket.  If in doubt, cut longer...you can always cut more but it is a pain to add more.

 Tuck your binding strip into your pocket like above.

 Sew your binding strip down once you have it in the pocket nicely.

Here is how it will look.  I like to tuck my binding in then sew the bottom part of the binding down and THEN go back and sew the top edge over.  It makes my pockets as tight as possible...you will appreciate this when you turn your binding over to finish it.

 Here is how it looks on the other side.  I actually machine stitched binding.  This is going to be a ridiculous excuse to cover my home in American Jane fabric an iron rest for me so I will never have to see the un-pretty bottom.

Thanks Amie for showing me this method.  It has definitely ended a lot of my binding frustration & procrastination.  I hope it does the same for y'all!  How do you attach YOUR binding ends?