I am a newbie so this may seem like a pointless question: Do you quilt the sandwich before or after adding binding or borders? Some of the pictures in books show it being done before. This is such a wonderful and helpful site for all of us that are just beginning to discover this addictive hobby. Thank you so much for your help.

although i expect you'll get a variety of answers, it is definitely NOT a pointless question. it's a very important one. it was wise of you to ask ahead. :thumbup:

i add all but my last border before quilting. the last border goes on next. if my last border doesn't do double duty as the binding, too, i quilt that and then add the binding.

whether it's a border/binding, or just a binding, i always that last, after squaring up the quilted project.

thank you. I know I can always count on all of you to lead me in the right direction.

Why do you wait to put on the last border?

it gives me my first opportunity to square up; i can adjust the final border to disguise any distortion from quilting; it ensures my last border will lay flat.

i rarely use binding. i nearly always sew my last border to the back and flip it over to create a combination border/binding. by waiting to add that last border, i can change my mind without having to unstitch anything.

I have never heard of doing it this way. will have to try it.

Thanks for your answer Patrice. Sounds like something I should try.

That's interesting Patrice. I haven't ever done that but I'm going to try it.

I always put my borders on then sandwich, quilt and bind. I took a class from a hand quilter Jean Brown at the Road2Ca conference. She actuallly puts everthing on and then sandwiches the quilt. If you are a hand quilter she says if you are using a hoop, keeps the borders nicer, because you are constantly changing and moving the quilt in the hoop. She has been doing it for years. I don't know if I will ever try to do it that way, but it works for her. I think it is another thing that is preference. I had never seen anyone attach their binding before quilting, note it is not sewn to the back until she finishes quilting, it is attached more like a border. It definitely is an interesting idea. I'm an old dog, don't know if I can be taught this new trick. :shock:

patrice,

does that limit the width of that last border? if the final border is, say, 4" or 6", can it work before you add the binding? i can't envision it.

choice #1. you make the sandwich. you leave extra batting and backing all around. you quilt the center. THEN you add a wide border? if you add the border by machine, don't the stitches show on the back? does it matter? do you work it as part of the quilting design?
at the very end you put on the binding as usual.

choice #2. you make the sandwich. you leave extra batting and backing all around. you quilt the center. you add a border, stitching from the back and flipping to the front, as is sometimes done with binding or a wrap-around binding. what is the optimum width for a border using this method? if you then quilt the border, do you quilt through all the layers?

does this method work for smaller quilts only or for all sizes? in the past, i've had to enlarge quilts by adding backing, batting and borders to the original. i used the flip'n'sew method (sort of). the last one was 2-1/2 years ago and i'm still resting up.