Originally Posted by AlwaysQuilting
I rarely miter the corners on my quilts.
I knew a Mennonite and she got me hooked on making quilts.
She didn't miter her corners. She said it's worldly and a waste of fabric, and they try not to waste anything. That made sense to me.
So to this day I don't miter unless someone requests it.
Am I the minority? Do you always miter your corners?
"Worldly"?!
Point of view is a strange thing, isn't it.
Mitered borders generally look more polished, skilled, "finished," professional, in my view.
If I'm applying more than one border, and I usually do, then I sew all the border strips together first and apply to the top as one unit, with mitered corners done in one step. If I'm using a large print, I can often plan the print placement in the corners with a miter, which creates a complete pattern -- such as a full flower not cut off in the middle of a bloom.
Use a long ruler with a 45 degree angle line on it. Pin. Mark your miter line. Pin. Sew the first couple corners with a larger basting stitch. Check it out; if it works, then resew and trim.
[Basting prevents the frustration of reverse sewing a long tightly sewn seam if you find you've mitered the wrong direction and have made a fitted sheet instead of a flat quilt!] I taught myself to miter; you can too. Go for it!
Jan in VA