Borders
 

I am really new at quilting so excuse the ignorance-Is it ever ok to piece a border or is it better to be a solid piece of fabric. I find my self short on a quilt border and don't know what to do? You are all so experienced I know someone will have an answer! Thanks

You can piece the border. No one will notice after it is quilted. If there is a noticeable pattern, be sure to match it at the seam. And seams in the diagonal (like when you join pieces of binding together) seem to me less obvious.

I always piece my borders. I use a 45* angle to join them, I think it helps hide the seam better.

I've done pieced borders and I've done single fabric borders. I've done no borders and I've done multiple fabric borders and I've loved them all!! Necessity is the mother of invention and if you've run out of a fabric you're going to have to do something. You've only got to please yourself and enjoy. Obviously, no quilt police for me!!! Ignorance is sometimes good 'cause you don't know you can't do something.

Thank you so much, I think the 45 degree angle might be best since its a solid color. I just wasn't sure what to do!

Of course you can piece borders! What I've done when I've run short of the border fabric is to add a square block the width of the border at each corner. Or if the design allows, put a completely different square at the ends. Or make a film-strip border using the preferred border fabric with the addition of another (or several) other fabrics. Your imagination is the only limitation. Have fun!

I almost always piece my borders. In fact they're often pieced from lots of different fabrics.

i seldom have single piece borders... so enjoy the process. piece two of the same color together, or put a block in the center of the side, or do cornerstones, or....

I prefer not to piece my borders, but if I did not buy enough fabric or if the pattern is going the wrong way, I piece. I I have put a different piece of fabric in the middle of the sides and for the cornerstones, I have made piano keys borders where I sew a bunch of strips together and cut them to the desired length, I have pieced strips of different fabrics together. If it is going into a quilt show I try to either do one piece borders or borders that are intentionally pieced. I once entered a quilt in a show and I had used a striped fabric in the border ( and to get the affect I had to cut it crosswise). I oh so carefully matched the joinings -- they were as good as they could be. The judge said that one should never piece a border unless it is meant to be seen as a pieced borders -- if all the same fabric is used it should be a whole strip. (She was a lot less polite -- said something about lowering the quality of the show,, too). Got to love the quilt police.

Pieced border's are fine. And I use all the extra fabric for backing, AFTER I make my bindings, so all fabric is used if possible. And welcome to Quilter's Anonymous "Hi, my name is Jackie and I'm a Fabriholic".. Oh yes.. we all become one.

I almost always piece my borders. I never use a 45° seam. It creates a long stretchy seam in the border and doesn't really hide the seam any better than a matched straight seam. Plus it uses up a whole lot more fabric to do a bias seam. If your border is 6 inches wide you lose 6 inches in length for every bias seam you do.

That's what I had read. But-I don't have a choice at this point, I will just call it an intentional pieced border. No quilt police here, I just have to please myself and I am not that picky!

I'm with the Scissor Queen. I just sew them together. No diagonal seam for me. I've never even thought about why not. That's the beauty of not knowing what you are doing. You just do things and if it works, you assume it is OK. :)

IMHO if it works, it is OK. :)