Give the customer several options...let her decide. Whatever happens, remember this is a lot of extra work, don't cheat yourself by doing it on the cheap. I would suggest a bordering fabric...a contrasting thin flange or band of solid color...as the person who put up the pic of the black/red/white quilt did. This is the easiest thing to do.
Remember when measuring for adding to an existing quilt...make the top borders the width of the quilt plus 1". For the side borders...they will be the length of the quilt, + the width of both top and bottom borders.
That said:
If you need to add 6" to each edge (making the quilt 12" wider and longer), cut your strips 13"... cut the batting 12-1/4", and whatever length is needed. Fold the border strips in half lengthwise, right sides together. Stitch a 1/4" seam to close the long edge...turn and press flat. Gently insert your batting into the tube & pin along the folded edge. You will then stitch along the fold, about 1/4 to 1/2" in from the fold... this will secure the batting and keep the batting from being caught in the sewn seam. When you have all four tubes done (short ends are not sewn yet), sew on the top and bottom border, matching centers...sew from the center out on each side. I would use invisible thread, and stitch the seam edge of the border to the inside edge of the binding on the back (this makes the binding a flange). You may need a 2nd row of stitching right at the very edge of the seam edge of the border, or you can leave it as a flange. It will be crucial that you keep your stitching straight, so it stays in the ditch of the binding on the front when done. Repeat for both sides. Now tuck in the edges of the top & bottom border...and hand or machine stitch closed. This let's you tuck in whatever amount you need to fit the top & bottom short edges to the side borders. Remember to leave enough room to tuck in and machine stitch the short ends of the side borders...matching the stitching you did on the folds. You can then take this to the longarm, pin it to the leaders and quilt the area. Or just quilt straight lines from the quilt side to the edge (piano key style) to quilt the border.
Originally Posted by
Buckeye Rose
I just finished a quilt for a customer, adding an additional border to meet her size requirements (she measured). She loves the quilt, which is a huge relief, but when laying out on her bed, she discovered it doesn't drop enough to cover the mattress....a few inches short on each side. I am just not sure what I can do to fix the problem. I thought about making a ruffle and adding on three sides, thinking that might be the easiest. But am just not sure. Has this ever happened to you? and what did you do to make it right? Thanks in advance for any help.