I am in a round robin quilt group. I just added some strips with corner squares to the top and bottom of the quilt that I am currently working on. I was going to add to the sides also when I discovered that the top and bottom of the quilt are 1.75" different in size. I measured the additions that each person made prior to my turn and found that at the middle is 4 blocks of a panel type fabric and this is apparently where things started going bad. These 4 blocks are off by about 3/8" and I suspect that as more was added the difference kept getting bigger and bigger until it reached the 1.75" that I now have. Any suggestions on what to do now, short of tearing out my hair and the exisiting work back to the middle?

Wish I could help.... is there anyway to modify your borders to "gather" in the difference , so to speak ? Does that make sense :?

I've thought of that but there are still 3 more people that will be adding to this quilt so I hate to pass it on with problems that they will have to continue to deal with.

I have a couple of thoughts...

If you tear it out back to where the problem started, will it change it enough that the following borders will still fit? Could the blocks in them have been "tweaked" to make them fit?

Without seeing the quilt, can you make a row of "wonky" style blocks or an applique of some kind, in the border that would camoflauge you straightening it up on your round?

Can you post a picture here so we can be of more help?

Can you make your border 7/8" wider on each side of that short end? I have fudged that way before. Likely it won't stand out and it will even out the squaring up.

If you can't go back and actually correct it, then you may try the starch method. Better done on a block by block basis, but you can do the entire quilt as well.

You'll need a large piece of batting covered styrofoam, not the white kind but that dense pink stuff. Pin the quilt to it making sure it is square, then startch it heavily. Ease the blocks "Square" and rinse/repeat as needed.

A picture of what you're working on may help us come up with solutions.

There is also a trick very similar to the above method that longarmers use when a quilt has a problem. We starch the area heavily, and then steam the area that's off with the iron. Sometimes you may need to repeat. This will pull in any areas that are out of whack (like the border areas that are too large). Once I got it back into square, then I'd add my borders on, keeping the squareness. It's called the Starch and Steam Method and works like a charm.

We can take a quilt that is out of square, or has 'D' cups in the middle, and pull it back in to make it lie flat for quilting. It takes a bit of time, and sometimes you will have to repeat it, but it's easier than taking it apart. If you decide to try it, and have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for all of you suggestions. I have decided that I am going to do the border and adjust for the 7/8" on each side with a different block near the ends so it will be less noticeable. This all seems easier in the light of day than it did at 10:00 last night. The next person who is getting this quilt is a very talented and creative quilter and I am sure that she can make the difference disappear even more. I'll try to post a pic after I add my "wedgie" border.

i would not tear out other people's work on this a couple of the suggestions above seem do-able...they are always learning experiences...i am involved in my 9th round robin right now and i gotta tell you this time around...boy it seems like almost every new arrival has been a whole new pile of stress...i don't know why this time has been different buy i have had to go to the experts (lqs owners) for help on just about everyone this time...i will be glad when it's over (2 rounds to go) some of us just started a new one too...first rounds are done...so far...this one is going much better