Originally Posted by
sewnclog
I also just saw on a Missouri Star tutorial to always sew with the border on top; she too said you can get a wavy border if you put the border on the bottom; even she wasn't sure why this happens. I hope you're able to salvage the placemats.
Prism99, you presented a great explanation/tutorial for us. Thanks.
sewnclog......
I have made garments for many years. If I ever wanted to work a bit of fullness in (especially helpful on set-in sleeves), I always put the larger fabric on the bottom so that the feed dogs would help me work in the extra. This works great with clothing, but with a quilt, it tends to make the bottom piece pull a bit more through the feed dogs and the extra could make the border wavy if it was on the bottom.
I don't have a lot of problems with wavy borders. I always measure my border length, but don't cut. I put a pin in at the end point. Then I pin at the 1/4 point, the half way and the 3/4 point and each end. When I sew I try to keep both the top and the bottom taut while sewing. The pinning really helps keep me or the sewing machine from pulling either side in more than the other. I cut after I finish the sewing and find out if it looks good.