kiffie2413

:thumbup: :thumbup: One of my quilt "sisters" has such a knack for doing this...she has made several lovely quilts from her leftovers. She is somehow able to "eyeball" the scraps, come up with the pattern, and away she goes!...I only wish I were as talented...
Kif

Scissor Queen

Okay, you turn 6 inches of fabric into scraps for every diagonal seam you do on a 6 inch border. Just because you can use it in a scrap project later isn't very helpful if you only have so much of a fabric or have to keep going back and buying more.

There just isn't a really good reason to turn that much fabric into scrap if you don't have to.

M.I.Late

Piecing on the diagonal is the traditional, tried and true method of joining strips together. I do agree that it is less visible. You can use a blunt seam if you prefer however. Now on a 6" wide strip - I may choose to do blunt because it is so wide. But my personal preference is a seam on the diagonal.

Scissor Queen

For binding. Not neccessarily for borders.

SittingPretty

I just made a quilt for my daughter. I pieced the borders diagonally on 3 sides, but I ran out of fabric on the fourth border. I had to piece it with a blunt, straight seam. After it was quilted, you really could not tell the difference. Also, since I didn't miter the corners of the border, it all seems to become a moot point, or really not any point at all.

ckcowl

it distributes the seam with less bulk- the bias is stronger- just like doing the binding- and there is less chance of the seam coming un-sewn....and it is simply a traditional way of doing it.
you can do it any way you want-
there is something to be said for (traditional- tried and true) though :)

Scissor Queen

There isn't any more bulk in the borders than there is in the blocks.

Bobbielinks

Have we missed the boat completely? Are you speaking of piecing the backing or borders?

PaperPrincess

That's exactly what I was wondering. If you piece the back on the diagonal it is supposed to take less fabric, and if you long arm it, the seam is distributed across the quilt.
It is the Flynn method. You will need to scroll down a bit
http://www.flynnquilt.com/workshop/FreeLessons/

QuiltswithConvicts

I remember one time, way back when, that our Guild President, Carol Doak (yes THE Carol Doak) said she never pieced her borders. If she didn't buy the yardage to allow for the fulll length of the border, instead of piecing, she would place something such as a pieced block or something else where the join would be. It made her borders so unique & interesting. I have done it several times, but I'm not against piecing my borders, either. However, using the lengthwise grain of the fabric for your borders helps eliminate wavy borders as there is so much less stretch to the lengthwise grain. Just a thought.