Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Using the Binding Stitch on a Belt Canvas



I've finished all the basketweave on my belt canvas so now I need to finish the edge with binding stitch.  Not all belt finishers want a binding stitch, so check with your finisher or the shop that is arranging finishing for you first.  Some will want two extra rows of tent stitches instead.  I like the binding stitch, however, and the finisher I'm using does as well, so I have to master it before I can send my belt out.

I found several tutorials on doing the binding stitch on a belt.  Note that she counts holes, not threads, when figuring out where each part of the binding stitch goes.  You may prefer to count threads as I do, but it's easy to just count two threads instead of three holes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niT5P--H35U

Here's another video.  She folds the raw edge down, which might make it easier for you to count or stitch the binding stitch.  I find it a little too easy to get my thread twisted if I turn down the edge myself to work this way.  There's great information on starting/ending a thread here whether you use her turn over technique or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXFSMtRsAwU

M's Canvashouse also has a good video by Tink Boord-Dill.  I think this "back three, up one" technique is the fastest way to work binding stitch.  The video makes clear that you always work from the right towards the left and that you only bind the two long edges, not the ends of the belt canvas.  I used this technique to work my binding stitch.  But pick the technique that works best for you.  Like much in needlepoint, there isn't one right way to do binding stitch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6kenW41SbQ

If you prefer the written word in a tutorial, Serendipity has a nice write up.
https://www.serendipityneedleworks.com/needlepoint-binding-stitch/

Many thanks to Hingham Square Needlepoint, Serendipity Stitch, M's Canvashouse and Eye of the Needle for help with binding stitch.

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright October 10, 2019 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.