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Edge and finishing stitches · Intermediate

Binding stitch

A braided edge stitch over a folded canvas edge, forward three holes and back two. The braid shows best on the side it is worked from.

Binding stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, nineteen stitches braided over a fold opened out flat, with tent stitch above and bare margin below
The finished edge on canvas. The fold lies open along the dashed line: gray tent stitch above, margin below. Brown stitches go back; the rest are green. In the steps, new stitches are red, and the numbers give the order: up at an odd number, down at the next even one.

How to work it

  1. Come up at the corner

    Binding stitch, step 1: no stitch is finished yet; a dot marks the hole where the needle has come up. Numeral 1 marks that hole. A dashed line below the dot marks the fold.

    Trim the margin of bare canvas to between 3/8 and 3/4 inch (1 to 2 cm). Fasten the thread under a few stitches on the back of the canvas. With the piece face up and the edge to be bound nearest you, bring the needle up in the last stitched row, at the right-hand corner.

  2. Fold the edge

    Binding stitch, step 2: no stitch is finished yet; a dot marks the hole where the needle has come up. Numeral 1 marks that hole. The working thread lies across the fold line.

    Fold the margin to the back along the first row of empty holes. Turn the piece so the fold is at the top and the back of the canvas faces you, with the thread at the right. The next row of margin holes lies in front of the last stitched row. Bring the thread over the fold toward you.

  3. Wrap the edge twice

    Binding stitch, step 3: the first two stitches on the canvas. Numerals 1 to 4 mark the ends of the new stitches, in working order.

    Push the needle straight through both layers: in at the margin, one hole to the left of the corner, and out through the stitched row. Make a second wrap one hole farther left. Every stitch goes through the canvas this way.

  4. Back two, forward three

    Binding stitch, step 4: four stitches on the canvas, the two this step adds in red. Numerals 5 to 8 mark the ends of the new stitches, in working order.

    Take the thread over the fold to the right and put the needle into the margin two holes back, in front of the corner hole. Then go left, into the first empty hole, three holes on from the one the thread has just left.

  5. Keep the count

    Binding stitch, step 5: 14 stitches on the canvas, the ten this step adds in red, and a dot in the hole where the needle comes up next.

    Continue the same way: back two holes from the one the thread has just left, then forward into the first empty hole. Stop when a stitch forward comes out of the last hole of the stitched row.

  6. Close the end

    Binding stitch, step 6: 19 stitches on the canvas, the five this step adds in red.

    Go back two holes, then forward only two, into the last hole again. Go back one, forward one, then straight over the fold into the last hole once more. To fasten off, take the thread over the fold and slide the needle under stitches on the back, not through the canvas.

At a glance

Used for
belt and strap edges; key fobs; coasters; bookmarks; pet collars
Coverage
Wraps the folded edge
Direction
Slanted both ways and upright, over the fold
Stitch length
Over 2 canvas threads

The back is the usual side to work from, and the easier one. For the braid's best side on the front, hold the front toward you with the margin folded behind and make the same moves, counting the margin holes on the back to guide the needle.

The binding gives a sturdy edge to things that are handled. A framed piece does not need it, and not every finisher wants it, so ask before binding a piece someone else will finish.

At a corner, miter the margin: turn its corner in on the diagonal first, then fold in the edge on each side. Close the end as in the last step but do not fasten off, and begin the next edge with two wraps from the corner hole, where the thread already is.

The binding is stitched last, through the holes of the outermost row of basketweave or continental stitch.

Tips

  • Bind with the background thread or another strong one. Pull each stitch snug: loose stitches do not hold the two layers together, and tight ones pucker the edge.
  • To change threads, fasten off on a stitch back and bring the new thread out of the hole the old one was headed for.

When it goes wrong

The braid changes pattern, or a gap opens on the fold.
The count has slipped. Unthread the needle and pick the stitches out one at a time, back to the last good one.
The tent stitches beside the edge look split.
The needle has pierced a stitch. Slide it into the hole between the tent stitches that share it.
Canvas shows at the end of the edge.
Add a stitch or two through the last holes until it is covered.

Left-handed

Work the mirror image: begin at the left-hand corner and read left for right in the steps.

Questions

Does a bound belt still need extra rows of tent stitch?
No. The two extra rows along each long edge of a belt are there to be turned under, and a binding along each edge takes their place.
Is "back three, up one" the same stitch?
Yes. The three count the hole the thread is in, and up one is the first empty hole.

Where to go next

Stitches

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