marciacp

There is a trick to both cutting out your borders and applying them that will keep them from being wavy. The important thing in cutting them is to never double fold your fabric. That means don't take the fold and fold it again width wise. Even though it looks like you are cutting them even, they will be a little off if the fabric is double folded. So, start with a single fold. Then, after cutting no more than two of the border strips, line up your fabric on both the fold line on your mat, and the cut edge on your mat. Usually, you will find that even though your fabric seemed to be cut straight, there will be a sliver over the line on the cut edge. Take your ruler, line it up on the line of your mat and cut off the sliver. If you will do that after cutting no more than two border sections, you will end up with straight borders. (when I say no more than two border sections, I'm assuming you are cutting across the width of the fabric, and will need maybe 5 to 10 border strips, depending on the size of your quilt, which will require piecing together before they are sewn on).

Next, measure the middle of your quilt, the top of your quilt, and the bottom of your quilt. Then, take the average of the three measurements, and cut your pieced border strips to match the average of your measurements. For instance, if the middle measures 42, the top measures 41 1/2 and the bottom measures
42 1/2, then cut all your pieced border strips 42 inches. On the top, your will pin it and ease in the 1/2" fullness and on the bottom, you will pin it and stretch out the 1/2" lack. I promise you, if you will do these two simple things, your borders will be straight every time. )
Marcia