Quiltingboard Forums - Border issue

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When you measure for your borders, make sure you measure through the center of the quilt, not down the sides, to allow for any stretching that has occurs. You can then ease in any stretch as you add your borders. I always pin on my borders before sewing to make sure I work in any stretch evenly. Once the borders are added, before I square up, sandwich and quilt, I stitch around the outside edge of my quilt top with a straight stitch to prevent any stretching. I stitch just under 1/4 inch from the edge so that the stitching will either be cut off during the squaring process or hidden by the binding.

Uneven areas are what bring "character" and artistic expression to a quilting project. this looks adorable as is - I don't think I'd give it any thought really, it looks like it's a natural choice!

Just curious, do they straighten out and lay down after washing and drying?

Sew your borders together , press, and then attach and square.

Quote:

Originally Posted by illinois (Post 7757448)

Now wait a minute. You removed the borders and put your own on. How did you do that? The trees, birds and rhino overlap the borders. As to the corners--I suppose as someone else mentioned, cutting those strips on the length might be one good solution. I cut mine on the cross and they do the same as yours. I think, too, the quilting makes a difference. Don't fret over it, it's not noticeable unless it's going to be a wall hanging and time will take care of it. This is adorable!

I used fusible web and cut around the overlap pieces and then satin stitched them down on the new borders because I really hated the borders that came with it. I don't mind how this piece looks (it will be a wall hanging, actually, but I think the unevenness doesn't hurt the look); I just want to know how to avoid this problem in the future. I think there's a lot of good advice here on how to be more precise and it's all of these ideas taken together that lead to a good outcome. Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZ Jane (Post 7757590)

Just curious, do they straighten out and lay down after washing and drying?

Yes, the quilt is square--I keep squaring it up as I go. It's just the corners bend a bit.

I lay my quilt on the floor or flat surface and lay two border strips down the center. I then trim the 2 border pieces the same length as the quilt. I then pin from the center out, and ease in where necessary. It's quick and you don't need to measure the borders. Works for me.

Sometimes, when I am sewing a long seam, as I get to the end, I kinda coast to the finish and sometimes my 1/4 in seam drifts off a bit. That could cause it to be out of square just a tad.

Carol, thank you for explaining how you did the panel over that first border--I kept looking at that and trying to figure it out--how very creative of you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ana1191 (Post 7757864)

Thank you for this tip! I'm having trouble measuring long side borders and I can't wait to try this.