Blueridgebeverly

I’m making my daughter a quilt. I had her pick out fabric for the quilt. The quilt pattern is broken herringbone which I’m making in a Joann quilt class. The class calls for a 4” border using the background fabric. In this case it is light grey/silver. The quilt is supposed to finish at 48x58. But my daughter is tall. So I’m thinking of adding a second border. I don’t want to draw attention from the herringbone pattern. I had fabric in my stash that I thought would play nicely with the other fabrics. How wide should I make the 2nd border? Would a 2.5” outside border look ok? Or should it be wider than the inside border? I’ve included a picture. Thanks in advance for your advice.
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Gay

Can you not make the herringbone section longer?

NJ Quilter

I agree with Gay asking if you can make the herringbone portion longer. But to answer your question, I would typically do a narrower inner border and then a wider outer border. Do you have enough of your stash fabric to make a wider border?

Blueridgebeverly

Unfortunately, I don’t have enough fabric of the two inside columns to add a row. I have a yard of the stash fabric. So I think that would be just enough fabric to do a 5.5” border.....assuming I’ve done my math correctly. I could cut 6” by wof and get about 240”.

platyhiker

Do you like how the patterned green fabric border looks with the rest of the quilt? For my tastes, it looks a bit busy and it introduces a color (orange, I think), not in the rest of the quilt. If it was my quilt, I would pick a quieter solid or almost-solid fabric for the outer border, probably in gray or darkish turquoise. (If you *do* like how the patterned green fabric looks with the quilt, then ignore all this - it's your quilt and you should do what makes you happy.)

When putting multiple borders on a quilt, the usual approach to have the inner one be narrower and the outer one be wider. Usually this difference is more than 4" and 5.5" borders you are proposing. However, there are no hard fast rules here, and it's your quilt to make the way you choose. Laying things out and then stepping back can help you see what things will look like. Taking a picture while standing up on a chair or step-stool can help you get a more head-on angle to see things better.

Blueridgebeverly

Here is another picture closer to the fabrics. I didn’t notice the orangey tint. But I think you’re right, platyhiker. It doesn’t work. I appreciate the feedback.
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Prism99

How about purchasing an additional fabric that coordinates with the fabrics in the herringbone, plus additional white fabric, and create a single or double row of herringbone in that color all around the quilt? You could do the 4" border first and use this additional herringbone as a second border, or you could do the new herringbone as the initial border and end with the 4" border (or leave off the 4" border completely, depending on what size you get).

I think your stash fabric has too much green in it and the pattern is too regimented compared to the fabrics already in the quilt. I would choose a fabric that has more blue in it, and perhaps a "splashy" design, to coordinate with the existing fabrics.

Edit: What is the purpose of the quilt? If you leave it as is, it would be a good size for placing over the lap and legs for watching tv. If it is to be used to cover up on the couch for a nap, then it would need to be bigger.

Blueridgebeverly

The guilt is more for napping on her couch. I think you’re right, Prism99, I need to look for fabric to add second border.

Jennifer23

How tall is your daughter? I'm 5'7", so not super tall, but I find my 72" throw slightly too short for couch napping. When I make myself a couch quilt, it will be at least 76". Based on this, I think you need to find more fabric for another border.

Totally unrelated, but I also encourage you to put a pocket on it, like a quillow, for tucking one's feet into.

Your quilt is really pretty - I'm sure that whatever you decide, your daughter will love it!

luvstoquilt

I agree with Prism99.