Help with wavy border
 

So, I have a quilt that I'm getting ready to sandwich. I made it a couple of years ago, before I understood why you MEASURE and CUT your borders to the size of your quilt. Needless to say, it's making me seasick it's so wavy! Short of tearing out the borders and starting over (lazy much?), do you have any tips on just making this work so that I can move on?

Um, a tight stippling ?

Really depends on how wavy?? Best fix would be to remove borders and redo correctly. Other fix is to do piano keys in the border and put tucks in where needed. Good luck.

If it's really wavy, taking the borders off and fixing them will be far less work than trying to work with the excess.

I don't do show quilting (yet!) but I have certainly had to deal with the wavy borders before. You could try spray starch and a hot iron, or just lots of steam. I just did one like that last week (and I measured! still came out wavy). I used a stencil in a "C" or wave shape (from Joann's) and nothing more. I think the light quilting makes it easier to ease in the wavy parts. Best of luck with it - send pictures!

I agree. There is NO quick fix. If it is really wavy, then you will need to remove it, starch it, measure it and put it back on. I usually use pins or a mark on the measurement and then have a little extra on the ends (at least I do), find your center and pin center of quilt to the center of the border and then pin from the center out. That way I know there will be any waves. We have ALL made this mistake at least once.

Personally, I'd take them off & re do them, but it depends on how much extra fabric is there. You can add an additional strip of batting just under the border & then quilt piano keys (straight lines from the quilt out to the edge). You can ease quite a bit of additional fabric.

I vote for the redo - unless you can take tucks in it at the corners if the corners are mitered?
I was taught to measure for the first pair of borders at top, midpoint and bottom width of quilt, and AVERAGE - do not take the highest number! Once that pair of borders had been cajoled into position, then do the same thing for the next set. My quilts tend to be a little - maybe 1/4" - 3/8" or so less in the middle so the difference is fudged. It works.

The time I didn't do it, back when I was wildly experimental, I had mitered borders and had to do some ugly tucking-in. What works in other areas of sewing is sometimes just not enough to make the grade for quilting.

I would remove the borders & measure carefully before reapplying. You will be much happier with the end results. Ask me how I know.

I agree, seems like alot of bother, but not in the long run.