Thread: Help! Is border too big for size of the quilt?

Each row of 'cowboys' on the fence is four and one half inches tall at the top and bottom of the Pony Club Quilt making it another nine inches top and nine inches on the bottom...and eight and half inches more on each side. Finished size of each of the PC quilt blocks are eight inches.Viewing the top to the bottom. Then in the corner of the quilt: I would really like trimming the border in half...but would it look right? Thanks for your timely advice in advance.Right now the quilt is 100 inches by 108 inches.

I see I am the first to respond . . . but I do believe the cowboy border is a bit overpowering. You have many smaller pieces in the squares in the body of the quilt and the border has a pretty close repeat so it becomes very prominent. It also has a limited and vibrant color - black/brown with the graduation of orange to yellow. Just my opinion. I really like the body of the quilt - lots of interesting patterns and colors. Please share when you make your decision!

If you need it for size, then it's fine. If you don't need the size, I would fold under the extra row and take another picture and post again. Veiwing it from a distance on the computer helps.

I think your instinct is correct that the border is too wide. I think a 3-4" inner border of a solid color (maybe the gold of the sashing) and then the single row cowboys would be better. I'd also run the border the long way on all sides of the quilt, provided you have enough fabric. Very interesting to have all those traditional blocks done in a Western motif. What a labor of love. It must be for someone special.

Originally Posted by loisf

I think your instinct is correct that the border is too wide. I think a 3-4" inner border of a solid color (maybe the gold of the sashing) and then the single row cowboys would be better. I'd also run the border the long way on all sides of the quilt, provided you have enough fabric. Very interesting to have all those traditional blocks done in a Western motif. What a labor of love. It must be for someone special.

What she said!

border a little too wide, unless you need the quilt to be a certain size.

Thanks, folks, that is what I was thinking about it on the wall...trim down on the cowboys....its one of Laura Aaron Hird's books, the middle one now, called the Farmers Wife Pony Club patterns based on the letters of 99 children who wrote the magazine a 'thank you' note for their pony plus cart, harness, saddles, and bridles won in the contests. I made it special for DD and DGS, including pictures of our girls first horse ride, GFIL with his horses, etc., including my drawing of a horse, relating stories about each block in the blank places in the book. I do have the first Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt quilted and hanging on my wall in our home. The third book, Farmer's Wife 1930, was just published and Honchey is leading us again in; the Books of the Month and Weeks section starting Tuesday, August 4th, 2015, doing two paper piecing blocks a week.


Apparently, there is a thing about too many cowboys on a fence...at least, in quilt borders! LOL. It brought back memories of childhood riding ponies and later, horses until our family was growing and demanding my time and energies. I spent a lot of hours doing this quilt and enjoyed every minute....almost! Not the ripping out so much on the blocks!

What an amazing quilt! Wow!