Help me understand
 

There was an older lady at our quilting group yesterday. She said we should make our bordersall one really long piece, enough to do all four sides of quilt. Then sub cut this to fit our sides. She claims there is less waste

Some people have their own way of thinking. I measure the center of the quilt, cut the two short sides to that length, then re-measure the center with the borders, cut the two long sides to that length.

What don't you understand?

I do it the way Barb does it. Sometimes our tops get stretched a little and if we are not careful we will get wavy borders.

I believe Bonnie over at Quiltville explains how to do this.

I will check some websites and get back to you.

I do similar to pt quilts, except I do my sides first, then the top and bottom. I suppose you could piece one long piece and then cut off what you need, that is what it sounds like the lady at your quilting meeting meant.

I usually just cut strips and sew together some for the lengths, and some for the top and bottom. I do usually have some leftover, but I cut it up into squares for my scrapboxes, or piece it into the fabric for the back of the quilt.

Yes, this is the way I do it also. The light just came on.LOL. I think doing it her way I would just have one longer scrap left. Maybe?

Quiltville: http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/...der-hints.html

About dot com: http://quilting.about.com/od/straigh...ghtborders.htm

I hate working with really long strips of fabric. I've found some of the patterns on Moda Bakeshop giving instruction to sew all the long strips together then cutting them apart. Some might not mind, but that is definitely not for me! I generally buy enough yardage to cut the borders lengthwise. That's plenty long enough for me. There is no waste for me. I just use the leftovers on something else.
;)

I like to have one piece borders as well. I measure the center of the quilt the long way and cut the pieces on the lengthwise grain and sew them on. Then I measure the shot sides. I learned to do this many years ago -- the fabric does not have to be as long when you do it this way. I know the short sides may be a bit stretchier but if I starch enough it is not a problem and the stitching will hold it.

Even if I don't have enough fabric to do the full length of the border in one piece, I always cut my borders parallel to the selvage since that direction is the least stretchy.

I have been trying the frame border and binding and I really like it. I don't like bindings and this method eliminates the binding, sort of. It's really a wide binding that is the border too. Hard to explain as I modified the method to suit me. The method is in the book: Just Around the Corner by Kari Carr