Have made a quilt top and have sewn on two borders, about to sew on a third.... however I ironed the two borders on after they were sewn and it looks like I have stretched the edges... when ironing as they were definitely not stretched when I sewed them on.... I knew to be careful about that, just placed one lot of material on to the other, then did the sewing.... is there anything I can do about it before I sew on the other border? Or will the third border make it worse? I am so disappointed... it is a bargelo quilt... and my son is coming over from aussie next month... was hoping to have it finished by then as he will put it on the internet for me.... darn it !!! I would really appreciate any advice...

spray the stretched edges with water until they're as wet as they'd be coming out of the washer. toss it into the dryer on high heat. might "shrink" the fibers back to their natural shape.

Joy,
When you sewed the borders on did you match the middle of the border to the middle of the quilt body? i have learned, the hard way, that you can't just put the border onto the body of the quilt and sew it down. It's never going to be right.

I measure the borders so they are the same length as the quilt body is through the middle. Then divide the border into 4ths and the same with the quilt body. Match the divisions and then sew. Things will work out much better. There seems to be slight variations of the lengths and by pinning the quilt in fourths you can spread out the difference evenly.

I would recommend that you rip out the seams on the first two borders and start again. You'll be happier in the long run. Trust me, I know!

Yvonne Said:
I would recommend that you rip out the seams on the first two borders and start again. You'll be happier in the long run. Trust me, I know!

Just wanted to say,.....I prefer to use the terms re-design and re-align instead of ripping it out :lol: . It seems so "vulgar" for the beautiful results we end up with. Don't you think? :lol: :wink: I do however end up doing that upon occasion. :roll: and have found that, indeed, I am much happier with the results.

I prefer saying frog sewing. It's much nicer to say Ribbit Ribbit than rip it rip it. Besides...get's my 5 year old who loves frogs into the process.

I find the same frustrations with borders. I measure across the middle of the quilt and it still seems like I never get it on the first try. So I do some rather calculated frog sewing...and then I start again.

~M~

I am an expert at "reverse stitching"..... that is what I call unpicking....

Thank you everybody who replied.... I really do appreciate your comments and will spend some time on the quilt this afternoon... how unfortunate, just when everything was going well... still if I make the time it is worth it in the long run.... never again will I make a bargello quilt... it is looking nice though.... so far. . . .

Who said you need a border? I don't use a border very often. I prefer to carry the pattern right to the edge. Or use a big prarie points edge or ruffles of some of the same fabrics, like a bed skirt.