Choosing border and binding
 

I just finished a scrap quilt. There are so many different colors, how do you decide what color to use for the border and the binding?

i would use a narrow black or white, then choose a predominant color that you like for the outer/larger border. of course the piano key or braid from the same scraps looks really nice as a border too. have fun.

There's no way for us to really know what is a good idea, colour wise, or style wise for your border and binding ... being that we have not seen your quilt. Plus, what one likes, another will not. It's your quilt ... and you will know what you like or don't like!

The best way is to "audition" possibilities against your finished quilt top.

If you need inspiration, start with the pics in the Gallery photos here on the QB. There are so many possiblities beyond basic black and white ... and flat plain border strips.

And too, not all quilts "demand" borders. The quilt may be enough, and then just a binding along the outer edge.

Personal choice. You can use a colorful border print or even make a pieced border. It all depends on how YOU think it will work.
Bindings can be of the prominent color or not ... or even pieced.
Play around and see what it is you like.

I usually use a narrow inner border of the predominent or background color to stop the eye. Then, I love to make a piano key border from the scraps left over from making the blocks. If it is already scrapy, so much the better! Of course, if you have yardage of one of the fabrics in the quilt, or a second solid color, it makes a fine border too.

No one way to decide, sometimes it is determined by what fabric I have on hand. Many times I make scrap quilts without borders, just need to pick a binding. I usually like a darker color binding. If I do add a border, for a scrappy quilt, a scrappy binding can be a good choice.

What is a "braid" border ?

I do the same thing as Skyangel - if the center of my quilt is really busy, I add a very narrow (1/4" or 1/2") "stop border" usually in a solid and then I'm free to add a pieced border (braid), piano keys, film strip or just a printed fabric that will complement the quilt.

I often prefer to skip the border. Do u need to add one?

For the scrappy top I'm working on I did a first border of a solid in a color that blended nicely with the fabrics in the quilt. Then I added a piano key border using many of the fabrics in the top plus others that I had. I'm now wanting to find a print that will coordinate with the calico print I used for the stars that kind of tie it all together to use for a final border. Haven't yet decided on what I will do for binding. I might mention that so far I have rarely used borders so this is new to me too.

On my scrappy quilts, I too use a first narrow border to stop and rest the eye. Then either a pieced border or my go-to colour of very dark blue. Dark blue, to my mind, is less aggressive than black, and works well in a lot of situations. I use Hoffman's Tahiti watercolor very frequently as it is dark royal without being too full of black. It allows the quilt itself to be more 'luminous'. Then I bind in the same colour, since I don't want another distraction to the eye, just a quiet finish.

I tend to lean towards my favorite colors when I border a scrappy, where there are a lot of colors. That means blue usually. On the one I just made, I made a small border of a light blue and then a larger border of a darker blue. But, it all depends on what works when I lay them on my design wall. I enjoy selecting the borders. Hope you enjoy the process too.

Dina

How about making the binding scrappy like the quilt. I have done this with varied lengths of 2 1/4" wide scraps from the quilt top and it looked real cool. as far as a border goes you have to audition different fabric till you find one you like. If the quilt is 'busy' I use a tone on tone to calm the quilt down a bit. Can you post a PIC?
peace

Normally I do a solid border to kinda frame the quilt itself, but more recently I did blocks in the corners and then a solid border in between. It carried the theme of the quilt through nicely!