Ok.. you can only read this if you promise not to yell at me... :oops:

So... the quilts that I have made with borders.. I am guessing I have done them all wrong. I measure the width I want, and cut the length longer than what I need.. sew it on and trim it even. I normally put the sides on first, than the top and bottom. I am beginning to think (from reading the Board.. keep in mind, I am totally self taught) that this is BAD :thumbdown:

So... is the way I am doing it really THAT bad? Will it make it difficult to be quilted on a LA? I have read about the measuring down or across the center.. and then pinning at both ends and easing the fabric for a good fit? Is this a "do this or it will be REALLY wrong" thing?

Thanks for the comments in advance. :)

You are doing fine.

Okaaaay...good news is that what you have been doing is not 'terrible'. The reason that a person should measure the width or length thru the center of the quilt top, is that sometimes the edges can stretch, that's all. And if those edges have stretched, then the borders will actually be longer than the center of the quilt. When it has been quilted, bound and put on a bed, it could look like a skirt that has been 'sat out'.

So, long story short, measuring thru the center of the quilt top helps to keep the width and length even along the whole sides.

But if you measure and cut the border for the sides, then you can't do those easy corners with the miter, is that right?

If it makes you feel any better, that's how I attached the borders of the first quilt I made. Everything turned out fine, tho some "beginner's luck" may have been involved.

Shortly after finishing that quilt, I learned about the "measure through the middle" technique. I think GingerK is exactly right as to why this is a better method. Count your lucky stars, but live and learn. :-)

If there is only minimal differences in the measurements, I do exactly what you are doing. (unless you want to use corner stones or miter the corners.

You have probably been lucky! The problem is that you can stretch the quilt, and make the border bigger than it should be. This results in wavy borders that can't be 'quilted out'. It's more of a problem with larger quilts, so if you are doing smaller ones, it's less of an issue. the border should be pinned the entire length before you sew it.

As far as 4 Dog's question, I would measure the quilt, then transfer that measurement to the piece you cut for the border, leaving extra fabric at the start & end. You can then pin the correct length of border to the quilt, and still have extra for the miters.

You can definitely still do the miter - you're still measuring thru the centres, pinning to fit and also having the extra at each end to do the miters.

So if your quilt is 60" square and your borders 4", you're going to cut about 70".

On the quilt, fold it in half and mark the half way point.

Mark the centre point of the cut border (chalk, notch, pin), and measure out half of the quilt width/length (30") and mark that (chalk, notch, pin). Pin the border to the quilt, easing in if necessary.

To get even more precision, mark the border and the quilt in eighths - fold in half, mark the half-way point; fold in half again, mark that point; fold in half again and mark again. Match up each mark on the quilt and border, easing where necessary.

Be sure to have a bit more width than the width of the border, on each corner, for the miters. And remember to start and stop at the 1/4 inch measure away from the edge so you can get a nice miter.

There is no bad way as long as it works for you. I have never done all these "required" measurements and I think my quilts lay nice and flat. I do the sides first and then the top and bottom and I only measure the edge I am doing.

I figure it is just like making a block a little bigger than needed and trimming it to square after it is finished.

I cut the border about 6" longer than my measurement of one side and leave a 3" tail on each end. After it is sewn I trim the extra off each end to square it up and then repeat for the other side, then top and bottom.

If you need that extra assurance of a correct measurement then take as many as you want to be extra sure.

If there is a reason not to do it this way I would like to know 'cause I can't figure why not. I know this is not the most accurate way but it works for me. If there is a better way I would like to know.

Now I'm totally confused! What measurement should you be aiming for? the center or the edge?

Milliequilter didn't say anything about wanting to miter the corners so what is all the reference to miters?

I'm really confused? Old dog new trick thing!

The miter question came from 4dogs ...

okay! I'm to busy writing to see all the posts. I'm still confused ! Thanks

STOP!! We have been presented with two different situations.

First (and easiest one) we want to put a border on a quilt. Measure the distance (width or length) thru the center of the top (if you are REALLY anal, measure a couple of other points too and take an approximation) Cut the borders for the sides you have measured and attach them (I usually halve and quarter the border and quilt side to make sure everything is attached evenly. Now do the same for the other two sides--yes measure again because you have just added a couple of borders. Cut and attach these borders the same way.

IF YOU WANT A MITERED BORDER: You will still measure the same way and divide the border and sew the same way so that any 'extra' will be eased in as to be un-noticeable. BUT before you start all that, you will have to cut your border pieces longer--the amount will be the width of your border times 2 plus a bit.

Reasoning: to miter the border: it must be as long as the quilt top plus the width of the border times two plus a touch (just for good luck). You should at least measure the half of the quilt and border and match, before sewing and stop a quarter inch from the end. You will then sew the neighbouring side to the quilt and stop a quarter inch from the end. Then you will fold the quilt and border in half and find the 45 degree angle, mark it using a straight edge and sew along that. Check if it sits flat before trimming.

Read this to my DH who is a woodworker--twice and he said he 'thought' he understood what I meant. Hope you all do!

You should do whatever is best for you. BUT, the reason I measure down the middle and make each side/bottom border the exact same length is so that my quilt will be square (or rectangle).

My quilts never, ever, come out the exact same measurements so it's really necessary for me to straighten things up when I add the border. If you don't need to do that -- good for you!!

If your borders lay flat and you are happy with them, then you are doing just fine! I used to use this method and found that my borders were a bit "rippled" and they didn't lay flat. I now measure the width/length across the middle and ease my quilt into that measurement and that works for me. No quilt police!! Whatever works for you is fine!

Thanks for this clear explanation! I've never had a problem, but then, I usually make small quilts. But, now that I understand the reason, I'll measure and see if it makes a difference.