Are you doing a whole border with mitered corners or four strips? If you are doing four strips then sew the top border then the bottom border then each side or vice versa. If you are doing one border all around the quilt with mitered corners start sewing it on in the lower half of one side, not at a corner. Sew the border on then layer the quilt, baste, and quilt. The binding will be sewn to the quilt after the quilting is done. I hope this helps. I'm thinking a border cut 2 1/2 will be a 2 inch border-- 1/4 for the seam on the quilt and 1/4 for the seam on the binding.