Okay we have a 6 1/2" quilt block now.
I usually aim for an 8 1/2" unfinished quilt block top for my hotpads. You can of course use any size you like.
To get to the size I like I use borders.
These borders can be anything you can come up with. To reach an 8 1/2" size I add borders to the sides and then trim down to the size I want.
I don't measure my strips other than to make sure they are a bit longer than my sides and a bit wider than I expect to use. For this size I will need at least 1 1/2" width on each side.
I add the short sides first and then trim the ends and sew on the long sides. Then I trim the whole thing to 8 1/2".
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Here are some other ideas you might want to consider. These might make for a larger hotpad.
To get this one I sew two strips together and then trim down the red strip in the center. then add the other dark strip to the red center strip. I trim it to the size I want it and then add that to the quilt block. Repeat for the other side and then add the red squares to the other prepared strips. Then sew the strips with squares onto the quilt block. If this is confusing just ask and I will be happy to show this in more detail.
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Another way to add a border is with a piano border or I call it a strip border
These strips are some I had ready so they dont' go color wise but you get the idea
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Here you can see I added borders that overlap.
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And here I turned the quilt block on point and added corner triangles
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These borders aren't sewn on as I was just showing you possibilities.