Originally Posted by MTS
if you did, in fact, cut it the exact measurement - iow, the length of the sides of your quilt top plus 16 inches - you should have the exact amount you need, and not be short anything.
So I would question whether your border is correctly applied to the quilt, and that your miter is a PERFECT 45 degrees first before doing any more piecing.
Because you really shouldn't be short 2" if it was all done correctly. I'm not talking like the quilt police here, I'm just saying..... ;) ;)
The extra 2" is because if it's cut just actual border + 2* width of border you run out of seam allowance when you get to the corner.