I am adding 3 borders to the quilt I'm making. I going to miter the border strips.

Does it make sense to make 1 long strip of border #1, miter each strip I add, then cut the long strip to fit each side of the quilt? Or should I stick to working on one side or end at a side at a time.

I would do this with each of the 3 borders, then I'm sewing the strips together to make 1 border.

I hope this makes sense!

**I will check back later. I have to pick up my dd from school tonight so I'll respond when I return.


Thanks for your help!
Ginger

often when having multiple borders to miter we sew the borders together then miter the whole thing at once- much easier than mitering each one individually.
sew all of your border strips together- then add to each side of the quilt- stopping at 1/4" point of each corner-with the extra fabric (flapping) on the corners- then you can miter each corner around the quilt- 4 miters instead of 8 or 12- or how ever many borders you plan to add x4 corners.

What ckcowl said. :thumbup:

Because if you do each border on its own, you will never get each miter to line up perfectly in each corner.
I'm not talking about matching the colors, I'm talking about the seam line.
And when it's off, it's totally noticeable.

If you sew the three border strips together and treat them as one border, yes, you'll have to carefully place/pin so the colors/fabrics match up in each corner.
But that's a much easier adjustment then lining up the seam.

IraJane posted this tutorial the other day.
I don't know if you have a prefered method for mitering already.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-159715-1.htm

I actually cut the miter after the borders are attached but there are many ways to accomplish the same task.

I love multiple borders.

eta: This method is similar to how I do mine (although the fabrics used don't really photograph well).
http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/2009/08...-tutorial.html

Here's one of the first multiple (four) mitered borders I did back in 2002 (the first pic):
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-121803-1.htm#3209393

ditto .... join all and add as one piece, cutting the mitre after you have it sewn in place. I then baste it first, to check it matches and is laying flat, before the final stitching.

Ok, I didn't explain myself good enough.....I am planning on sewing all 3 borders into 1 border then sewing it onto the rest of the quilt.

What I'm wondering about is the individual borders themselves. For the sides of my quilt I need 79" of border. My fabric is 43" wide. Should I sew together (mitering as I connect them) 1 long strip of border 1? So then I'd cut that 1 long strip to accommodate the borders on all four sides of my quilt.

I hope this is easier to understand.

Thanks much!

I long piece!!

Thanks much.....I was thinking that would be a good way to have the sections end up in different spots along the edge.

I think/hope we're playing with semantics here.

One long piece for EACH side of the border (made up of two or more ~40" long strips, depending on the size of the quilt).

Not one long piece that's enough to go around the whole quilt.
;-) ;-)

(since we got it totally wrong the first time. :mrgreen: )

I'm glad you posted this! I was going to make 1 long piece for the whole border, then cut it down for each of the four sides.

Ok, then 1 long piece per side/per border then sew them together.

Thanks for clarifying!

you mean....then sew them to the quilt top. ;-)

Since you're not mitering the corners (right?), you can attach the two sides borders first, and then the top and bottom borders.

The length of the top and bottom borders will be longer than the sides.

And, yes, you could do the top and bottom first and then the sides, but my personal preference is sides first.
I think it looks more balanced this way.

Good luck!

Yes I am going to miter the corners too! So I will make all 3 strips into 1 border, attach a side, then do top, then a side/bottom.

I really like the mitered look. To me it looks softer.

Ah, okay.

Just make sure that you make the strips long enough.

Quilt top measurement + twice the border width + 3"-4" extra for some wiggle room.

I love, too, love the look of a mitered border.

Looking forward to seeing your finished quilt.

I'm so glad you posted this question! I've NEVER thought of making the borders into one and mitering the whole thing... GEESH!

What a GREAT question and GREAT answers! Thank you all!!!!