Originally Posted by
janekonowitz
I always measure across the center of the quilt. Vertical, and horizontal, and use those measurements to cut my border.
Works everytime.
The reason this works:
When you measure the at edge of the quilt, there will ALWAYS be a bit of stretching, sometimes more than at other times, depending on the grain of fabric. Measuring through the center of the quilt works because the quilt is more stable here than at the edges. When you just sew a long strip onto the edge of the quilt without measuring, both the edge of the quilt AND the border stretch, causing a noticable "ripple" effect.
Therefore, when you cut a border strip the measurement you take through the center of the quilt, the border will be the same length as the quilt itself. Usually, you will have to do a minimal amount of easing of the quilt edge to the border. I always put the border strip on top of the quilt as I'm sewing the two together. The feed dogs will assist the easing process.