Quilt proportions
I'm an inexperienced quilter. I'm working on a quilt top and some pieces I bought at an estate sale. I was unsure of what to do with it, but, with the help of the board, I've worked that out. It's not "square" enough to cut into squares and sash, which was my first choice. (I just finished a sashed top that was difficult to get the sashing to meet correctly and am not ready for another one.) So, I'm going to add the extra pieces to the bottom to make a lap quilt.
Now, the proportions question. The pieced width will be 43 inches wide when trimmed. 43 inches X 1.618 is 70 inches. So, is that what should be the best length? I plan to add three borders - red, white and blue. In which order would you do the colors? Most websites I've found base the border size(s) on the block size. I don't have a block, so how do you choose the best width for the border?
If I go with about 70", I'll need to add the left overs plus one more row. I have lots of reds in my stash that will mix in very well and one navy blue check. There's a lot of blue in the left hand end and in the left over over pieces. If I unsew the the large piece about 2/3 of the way toward the right (where it seems to be mostly red) and add in the extra rows there, would that be enough to balance the red/blue out some? Would you do it some other way (that doesn't involve too much more unsewing)?
bkay