Tutorial: Invisible Ladder Stitch for Quilt Binding
Update: Apparently this stitch is called the Ladder Stitch. Personally, I prefer my title for it: Invisible Mamma-Jamma Stitch. While ladder stitch is common to embroidery, applique, and closing up stuffed plush dolls, apparently very few people have applied it to quilt binding. Let me know if you try it!
The photo above shows the back of my rough draft quilt.
Following the many tutorials and demonstrations online, I whip-stitched the binding to the back of the quilt.
But, as you can see in my photo and the ones above, whip-stitching can leave a very visible line of tiny stitches. In addition to being sort of unsightly, I worried a bit about the stitches getting caught and, God forbid, ripped.
Some people go to great (and creative!) lengths to machine stitch their binding, as seen above. I imagine that at least some of them are frustrated (as I was) with the result of the whip-stitching and looking for alternatives.
When it came time to bind my friend’s baby quilt, I whip stitched the entire thing and hated it. On the phone with my mom (sewing consultant extraordinaire), she said there was a better way and that if I would be willing to re-do it, she would teach me. It only took me 3 evenings to unpick all that stitching, and 3 weeks for her to arrive in town with thread and scissors in hand.
Mom proceeded to teach me the ladder stitch — a stitch that is easy, fast, and nearly invisible! She uses it for both quilt binding and hand applique. I think it would work for any application requiring joining of two fabrics where at least one of them involves a fold.
The basic idea is to think of the shape of a castle wall.
(I work mine from right to left, because I am right-handed. Lefties may wish to mirror-image the process.)
When you tighten up the thread of the castle wall, the bits that were visible disappear into the fabric like this:
So that all that’s left visible on the outside of the fabrics is a tiny dot of thread where the needle has passed from one side to the other. In my experience, you have to really hunt if you want to see that thread. Awesome.
After my brother’s wedding, I took some action shots of my mom teaching the stitch. Hopefully you’ll find it useful!
Start off with the Mamma Jamma knot I already taught you. Then, insert the needle on the back side of the binding to hide the knot. Only go through one layer of the binding, as the goal here is invisibility, man.
When the needle comes out, it should be between the two layers of binding fabric and smack dab in the middle of the crease of the binding’s fold. If you felt like popping the knot through the fabric to bury it, nestling it right into the inside of the binding’s fold, you can do that. My mom didn’t do that, though — you can see the knot poking out on the right if you look at the image below.
Make sure the exit point is directly parallel from where you want to insert your needle into the quilt. Check the diagram above — you shouldn’t have too much diagonal or angled anything while working this stitch. In this case, mom started about a quarter of an inch from the previous stitches, since that’s about how far she spaces this stitch. For my part, I space them a little closer.
Then stitch down straight across from that exit point. Make your stitch just above (on the quilt side, not the edge side) of your line of basting stitches.
Come back into the binding fabric directly across from the previous exit point. You want to stitch right in the fold of the binding, because the thread will ultimately nestle there, perfectly parallel to the fold.
Alternate stitches between the quilt and the binding, always inserting your needle directly across from your previous exit point. Again, refer to the diagram above if you have questions.
When you’ve done a few stitches, gently tighten up the thread. As you do, the stitches will disappear and the whole thing will be held together by thread which is tucked neatly out of sight, buried inside your work. Be careful, though, not to tighten too much — if the quilt stretches more than your stitches, your stitches will break and your binding will come undone.
And voila! The stitches are now only visible if you go looking for them.
Continue along this way until you reach the end of your thread.
To finish off, take a couple of stitches in the quilt, between the basting stitches and the raw edge.
Mom likes to finish hers off by bringing the end of the thread through the loop before tightening the last back stitch to secure it.
And there you have it! If you try this stitch, if something doesn’t make sense and you need more/better explanation, or if you dispute the name of this stitch, please leave it in the comments!
No related posts.
I use that stitch to close the hole that i left for stuffing animals and dolls! It never occurred to me to use it on quilt binding. That is great!
Comment by lee — 21 April 2009 @ 7:14 pm
Very good tutorial. I too have machine stitched my binding with a decorative stitch. Yours looks so much nicer. Thanks for sharing how to do this.
Comment by Jocelyn — 21 April 2009 @ 8:47 pm
wow! great tutorial! i’m definitely going to try that on the binding of a lap quilt i’ve been putting off binding.
can you do crocheting next?
Comment by julochka — 22 April 2009 @ 2:06 am
I’m gonna try that tonight!
(Everyone who has seen my pile of quilts that need the hand sewing part of the binding done can quit laughing now & get up off the floor…)
Comment by Amy — 22 April 2009 @ 5:29 am
When I looked at your first quilt with the whipped stitch, I thought, oh, she needs to learn how to do a blind stitch. And there you go. Great tutorial!
Comment by Sandy from Louisville — 22 April 2009 @ 5:55 am
that’s how I close up stuffies or pillows, thanks for sharing this, now I’ll know how to bind up my quilt when it’s finished
Comment by Casey — 22 April 2009 @ 7:28 am
It is a great way to sew down a binding. Heather Mulder has a tutorial that you might find interesting http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/binding-tips-2/ – well, I found it interesting because of the genius (IMHO) of using quilting thread for the binding thread. I must admit, though, I hate for any of my binding stiches to show. That dreaded perfectionist inside of me is a tough taskmaster. LOL
Comment by MichelleB — 22 April 2009 @ 8:33 am
Thanks Mal for showing. I’m gonna keep this tutorial because I’m pretty sure that I will need it in the near future.
Comment by Elizabeth — 22 April 2009 @ 8:39 am
You can see a diagram of the Ladder Stitch at http://embroiderersguild.com/stitch/stitches/ladder.html
I’ve known how to do Ladder Stitch for years, but never thought to use it on bindings! (Thwack hand onto forehead)
Great breakthrough! Thank you ….
Comment by Cynthia H. — 22 April 2009 @ 8:50 am
Many years ago I took a class with Ami Simms on her applique technique and she uses that same stitch for her truely invisible hand applique. I had forgotten all about the process until I found the sample I did in my UFO bin last week. Funny how I found your blog and you were talking about using the stitch for bindings! Never thought of it beyond applique. Sometimes we just have a problem looking out of that box!
Thanks!
~S
Comment by Sandy (Strlady) — 22 April 2009 @ 9:37 am
The ladder stitch is an excellent idea for binding, and your tutorial demonstrated it well (and your mother’s nailpolish coordinated so beautifully with the fabric…). Great pics!
Comment by Robin — 23 April 2009 @ 2:19 am
@Robin: That’s hilarious. My mother would insist that I tell you all the following: She doesn’t usually wear nail polish! But, as it was the day after my brother’s wedding, I guess she was feeling festive.
Also, the matching of the fabric to the nail polish was purely unintentional! For my part, I was a little disappointed that she was “painted,” since I don’t feel they look like my mother’s hands and I thought it would be nice in future years to have photos of her hands doing work. Guess we’ll have to do more tutorials with her in her natural state!
Comment by Mal — 23 April 2009 @ 7:16 am
i haven’t tried your tutorial, however, it looks like how i stitch down my bindings anyway. i didn’t realize that this was not the common way to do it. i taught myself how to quilt, so i always figure if i figured it out that must be a better way.
Comment by nichole — 26 April 2009 @ 5:39 am
Hi Mal, that’s an awesome stitch. I’m going to try it on my next quilt
Have a lot to catch up on your blog it seems, after a week without internet…
Cheers,
Christine
Comment by christine — 26 April 2009 @ 4:14 pm
I always use the ladder stitch to bind quilts (when I’m not being lazy and using my machine), and to close any holes in turned things like stuffed animals. I have no idea where I learned it… and I didn’t know it was called the ladder stitch!
Comment by Katherine — 27 April 2009 @ 4:12 pm
[...] See original here: Tutorial: Invisible Ladder Stitch for Quilt Binding | turning*turning [...]
Pingback by Tutorial: Invisible Ladder Stitch for Quilt Binding | turning*turning | StitchArea.Com — 3 May 2009 @ 12:05 am
i have been binding my quilts like this and calling it blind stitch, even though other people teased me for not using whip stitch, claiming my method took too long. now i don’t feel so weird. and it does look so much better and isn’t actually that slow when you get the hang of it. i will have to show those nay-sayers this wonderful post!
Comment by jo — 4 May 2009 @ 2:39 pm
Thankyou so much for sharing! I’m a self taught quilter and have never been pleased with the result of whip stitching, so am thrilled to have found your tidy tutorial and your georgous website. I’ll be back! Keep up the good work
Comment by Rachael — 15 May 2009 @ 3:06 am
My mom does the whip stitch, I do the blind stitch. Nice tutorial for those who don’t know the stitches.
Comment by Carolyn — 13 June 2009 @ 7:22 pm
Oh my gosh!!!I am a beginner and this was the best explanation of this stitch!Very easy to understand!thank you !!!
Comment by rebecca — 19 June 2009 @ 9:36 am
I used this ladder stitch on my last quilt binding, and although it took a little longer than usual, I loved the way it looked–or DIDN’T look!! I learned it from Ami Simms’ book on applique, and have used it so many times for repairs of stuffed animals, repairs of quilts, as well as the binding. Great tutorial! This is my first visit to your site, and I will be back! Thanks.
Joy
Comment by Joy — 27 June 2009 @ 6:17 am
Someone put this link in the Flickr group for the Old Red Barn Co quilt-along, and it’s great! I knew there had to be a more invisible way of tacking down that binding, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Can’t wait to try it!
Comment by Liz — 1 July 2009 @ 3:57 pm
Hi Mal – I’m doing the Old Red Barn quilt-along too and used your tutorial here for my binding. You’ve presented it so well! Many thanks to you and your Mom for sharing the killer knot and the easy-to-understand stitch instructions!
Comment by Sally — 2 July 2009 @ 5:29 am
Hi Mal….I am going to try this out. I for some reason cannot do the blind stich….I do alot of app. work and I haven’t seen this stitch (or used it) I can’t wait to give this a try. Thanks
Comment by Cindy — 5 July 2009 @ 5:55 am
I HATE sewing binding to quilts. It never looks great no matter how hard I try. I am going to try this right this minute. Thanks for the great tutorial. It was plain, simple, easy-to-understand language. My kind of quilting. Thanks again. I’m hoping this will help complete the 3 quilts I have stacked up to finish! Thanks again.
Comment by Gloria — 12 July 2009 @ 2:15 pm
Thank you SO much for this tutorial! I just started binding my very first quilt and it looks AWESOME thanks to your instructions. I actually find it very relaxing to do, too!
Comment by Jennifer — 15 July 2009 @ 7:56 am
I have used this method for binding my last few quilts (there is a close up of the results, the first time I tried it out, here: http://jediknits.blogspot.com/2008/07/requiem-to-requiem.html ) Like others have mentioned, I find it very satisfying and relaxing, and am so pleased with how much nicer it is than a simple whipstitch, yet just as fast and easy!
Comment by Rhonda — 15 July 2009 @ 11:44 am
I don’t know if my internet is wonky or what, but I can’t see any of the pictures. I’m sending the link to my sister anyway. She lives in Hawaii and I live in California and it’s next to impossable to explain to her how to finish the baby blanket she’s making (it’s her first quilt). I’m really hoping she can see the pictures here since it’s the best explination I’ve found yet! I know the stitch, but can’t explain it to her the way you have. Thanks for the awesome instructions!
Comment by Willow — 22 July 2009 @ 9:39 am
Thanks so much for a great tutorial! I’ve been searching high and low around the internet tonight trying to find clear and concise directions for this stitch. Yours is by far the best!
Comment by Carmen — 23 July 2009 @ 8:39 pm
Wow! Thanks for this tutorial! My first time doing hand binding and I wanted an invisible stitch after searching for awhile your’s was the best one I found. Very easy to understand! I’ll be following on your blog from now on.
Comment by Jennwith4 — 25 August 2009 @ 10:57 pm
Thanks so much for this! I’m sewing my first binding today, and this is exactly what I needed.
Comment by Katie B — 15 November 2009 @ 8:03 am
That looks similar to how I taught myself to sew down bindings, but I think I work it a little more like a whipstitch hybrid. I sew like I’m doing a whipstitch, but instead of going through both layers of the binding, I bring the needle out of the fold and sew it down.
I don’t like the look of a “normal” whipstitch binding because the stitches show too much, but if it’s done evenly and neatly, however you sew down a binding is fine.
Oh, and I use hand quilting, just because it doesn’t fray as easily as some sewing cottons and doesn’t groove my skin like the poly blends.
Comment by Sarah — 16 November 2009 @ 1:40 am
Thank you!
This was very helpful and looks great on my quilt!
Comment by Rebecca — 28 November 2009 @ 5:17 pm
[...] sew the fabric of the face to the fabric of the base. Don’t try to sew through the cardboard. This link is the nicest tutorial I found BUT I make sure to back-stitch just slightly for my next stitch [...]
Pingback by Notes from Haley Studio » Blog Archive » Tutorial: Three-dimensional Letters — 30 November 2009 @ 1:06 pm
This was a fantastic tutorial!! I just started the binding on my quilt and I just sat my laptop next to me and would occasionally refer to the pictures. Thank you very much!! Now if I can just figure out that quilter’s knot….
Comment by Ellen — 20 December 2009 @ 9:53 pm
Nice job on the tutorial – I thought everyone knew how to do this. I taught myself quilting 18 years ago after sewing garments and home dec for 40 years. I recently took up needleturn applique and use the same stitch for that.
Comment by Fran — 28 February 2010 @ 6:03 am
[...] really wanted this quilt to be made entirely by me, so I chose the latter option. Here’s the tutorial I used for sewing the binding by hand. After I finished, I kept the quilt on the end of the couch [...]
Pingback by Chloe’s Baby Quilt « Vet Students by the Sea — 16 April 2010 @ 6:52 pm
HI,AND THANK YOU IM NEW TO QUILTING AND MADE MY NEW LITTLE GRANDDAUGHTER A MEMORY QUILT AND THE LADY TEACHING ME TOLD ME TO FINSH OFF MY BINDING WITH A WHIP STITCH, BUT I DIDNT WANT THE THREAD TO SHOW AS I WENT TO A LOT OF WORK ON THIS QUILT,AND YOUR SITE WAS THE FIRST ONE I WENT TO AND ITS GREAT PICTURES ARE GREAT AND I LOVE THE STITCH .THANK YOU YOUR MOM DID A GREAT JOB.THANK YOU AGAIN TAMI
Comment by Tami Harris — 21 April 2010 @ 2:56 pm
This is awesome! I have only made one quilt and one table runner and my quilting classes never got to show us a great finishing stitch like this – my 3rd quilt is going to look awesome with this great way to hand sew my binding! Thanks!
Comment by Cathy Carlson — 9 May 2010 @ 12:56 pm
[...] instructions you’re going to give me?! So off to google (yet again) and I came up with this gem of a tutorial on ladder stitching quilt binding. Perfect! Her tutorial on making a quilter’s knot also pretty much changed my life – I [...]
Pingback by amelia’s baby clothes quilt {sewing projects} « life — 11 June 2010 @ 2:03 pm
[...] to sew it down on the back side. Hem stitch takes a little longer but looks a little neater. Other people are way more creative. (That link has some neat alternatives and also a little tutorial on how to make an [...]
Pingback by The Cappuccino Life » Blog Archive » Easy Scrap Quilt — 13 June 2010 @ 1:33 pm
Thanks for this tutorial. This looks like the stitch my mother-in-law showed me a few years ago when we were visiting them on vacation. I haven’t used it in quite some time and needed a refresher course. Since we only see my in-laws once a year at the most, it might be awhile before she can help me again.
Comment by Sheri — 24 June 2010 @ 7:47 pm
Hi,
Great tutorial. Thank you for posting this.
I have used this stitch before (self taught while figuring out how to bind & applique). I thought it wasn’t conventional or right enough.. now I know it is ok..
Comment by anic — 30 August 2010 @ 2:36 am