Product Review: CutRite Bind Up

Well now here's a product that I will use on every quilt I make from here on, and it's inexpensive to boot!  The CutRite Bind Up tool is a sort of ruler/template that will enable you to finish your bindings perfectly every time.

Bindings are my bug-a-boo in quilting.  Since I'm mainly self-taught, I've relied on others to sew the binding onto my quilts (think longarmers), or I've done it myself using my scotch tape dispenser to hold open the pages of the book I'm using to guide me through the process.  I've also set up my laptop near my sewing machine and watched tutorials to guide me through the process.  Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't.  But if you've ever cut the tails off the end of your binding only to find it's too short or too long, then you know how distressing it can be.

So, understandably, I was quite excited to find this tool.  You'll want to watch the video tutorial that shows how to use the product.  After watching the video I was fairly convinced that this might be the answer to my prayers.  I used it for the first time yesterday evening, and it WORKED!!  That made me soooooo happy.  I will admit that it was my second try.  I messed up the first one by not leaving myself enough space to work.  I had only left tails on the binding about five inches long, and you really need to give yourself plenty of space. The area that you mark needs to be able to lie flat on the work surface.  I was trying different ways, but without enough length, I couldn't get the binding strip to lie flat, and my results showed it.  On my next try I gave myself about ten inches, and it went together easy as pie.

Here's what it looks like:

I purchased mine from the store in Escondido, CA, called Quilter's Paradise.  You can find it under "acrylic rulers and templates," and it sells for $9.95. 

I hope to get a chance to visit their store some day.  I used to live in nearby Oceanside, and I worked at a furniture store in Escondido while I was attending Palomar College in San Marcos, Californa.  These cities are all about 30 minutes north of San Diego.