One long piece, long enough to do all 4 sides, would be a very long piece of fabric indeed when you're talking about a bed quilt. For a 100" square quilt, this would be about 12 yards of fabric! And if your border is only 5" wide, what would you do with the remaining 12 yards by 35"? I think she was not explaining herself very well, because this is not a way to save fabric!