Instructions for binding a square or rectangle rug:

After you have completed hemming your latch hook rug, Iron-On Binding can be applied.

I’ve used Iron-On Binding from M.C.G. Textiles and had good luck with it, but don’t rule out other brands that your favorite sewing or craft store has available.

Iron-On Binding comes in different widths and lengths. Since I typically have a hem of four rows on my latch hook rugs, I like to use 1 ¼ inch wide binding, because it’s just slightly wider than the hem and completely covers the rough edges of the canvas. If you have more than four rows of holes for the hem, a wider binding will be needed.

The binding should not show from the front of the rug. It should lay about 1/16th of an inch from the edge of the rug. To cut the binding, lay your rug face down on the table. Measure the length and the width from edge to edge. Cut two strips for the width of the rug and two strips for the length.

I usually miter the corners – think of how the wood in the corner of a picture frame meets. To do this, lay one of the side pieces and a top or bottom piece face-up on a table in an “L” shape with the corners overlapping. From the outside corner, cut straight through both layers of binding, to the inside corner. The result will be two pieces that fit together to form a mitered corner. Repeat this process for all four corners.

Lay your first strip of binding in place. Following package instructions iron the binding in place, one strip at a time. The binding that I’ve used requires that the iron is preheated at the wool setting and than the binding is firmly ironed in place for 7-10 seconds. If you have any loose edges, iron over the loose edges again.

As you are ironing, keep in mind that some yarns are more sensitive to heat than others. Try to keep the iron mainly on the binding and don’t hold it to long on top of the yarn.