Binding a Quilt

Here's my tutorial for how I make binding and bind a quilt.  It's really not as hard as everyone makes it out to be.  I learned from the back of a quilt magazine years ago (at least I think that's where I learned this method).
First I cut my strips at 2 1/4".  This gives me plenty of fabric to sew the binding on to the quilt front with a 1/4" seam, and have enough to cover my machine stitches on the back.  I measure around the edge of the quilt and add 20" or so to make sure I have enough strips cut.
Next I sew the strips together, right sides together, at a 45 degree angle, trim to 1/4" and press open.  Then press the whole strip in half, wrong sides together.  (I need a few more pictures here, but forgot to take them.)

Then I start sewing the binding, lining up the raw edge, to the front of the quilt with a 1/4" seam, leaving a tail about 10" long not stitched down.  I usually start in the middle on the ride side of the quilt.  Just personal preference.

I stop 1/4" from the edge.  You can just backtack, or turn the quilt and sew off the edge at a 45 degree or 90 degree angle, still making sure to backtack.  I think I've tried all three, and don't think I have a preference, yet.

Then remove the quilt from the machine.  Fold the binding up and away.  This should make a 45 degree angle in the corner.  Then fold the binding back down, lining up the raw edges again.

Keep attaching the binding, finishing the other three corners the same way, and then stop about 10" to 20" from where you started.  Now comes the tricky part.
Lay the binding strips down on the quilt.  You're going to mark/trim them so that they overlap each other by 2 1/4" (I need to redo my photos for this part--I had an extra 1/2" that I didn't trim).

Then you sew the strips together at a 45 degree angle where they overlap.

Refold your strips to test that you didn't twist them and that they lay down on the quilt correctly.  If all is well, trim to 1/4" and continue sewing the binding to the quilt where you left off, making sure to backtack at the start and finish.  (And, yes, the last quilt I bound I did it wrong and had to rip out my stitches.  Good thing I hadn't trimmed, yet!)

Now it's time to turn the binding to the back side.  I use Wonder Clips to hold things in place (I used pins below, just to snap a quick picture).  At the corners, I tend to fold in the opposite order from how they were stitched on the front, just to reduce bulk.

I use a blind-hem stitch and sew the back down by hand.  I just prefer it that way.  I tend to miss too much of the binding if I do it by machine.  Plus it's a good chance to catch up on podcasts or listen to eBooks.  I also make tiny stitches along the corners to keep them secure.

Someday I hope to take a few better pictures, but I took these mainly for my own reference, so that I wouldn't forget how I did it.  It had been a long time since I bound a quilt when I took these pictures, so it was part of my own relearning/remembering process.
Hope this little tutorial helps!
(Note: Here's the tutorial on APQ's site, but some of it is a little confusing.  Hopefully the two tutorials combined will make sense. http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/how-to-quilt/finishing/joining-binding-ends)