One Cure For a Wavy Border
 

I'm going through all of my UFOs right now and trying to finish them off. I'm doing pretty good so far, but I came across one of my very first quilts that I had stopped and started several times over the years. I've been big stitch quilting the main body of it over time. And even though the points don't match and my skills were, "very beginner," at best when I first put the top together, I still really like the pattern and colors of the quilt and I get a warm, sentimental feeling when I look at it.

But then, I got to the borders and OMG, they are so wavy! So wavy that I was getting seasick just looking at them! How could I have been that bad of a quilter?
:::sigh:::
I was new at quilting, so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. :)

After trimming it down to the bare minimum, I took a good, hard look at it and realized that I had found a solution to the waviness right in front of me... just do lots of big stitching in the borders. I started on it and it's working like a charm. I can take in all of the fullness and slack as I decoratively stitch in the border space. I measure, do a little stitching, measure again, etc. I started thinking that the big stitch would be a good arsenal to have in my, "repairs tool bag." It might work for other quilts that are off kilter, or wavy. It goes really fast and looks kinda cute. I think that after the quilt is washed it will be just fine.

Great solution! More quilting always pulls in the slack...

This advice is late, but....
when I was a new quilter, I believe it was someone on this site that advised me to do the following:
When you are measuring for the border, measure thru the middle of the short side of quilt. Use that measurement to know how long to make the border for the shorter edge. Do long side the same way,being sure to add the width of the shorter border onto each end of the length from the shorter side. This method has worked for me to not have wavy borders.
If this is as clear as mud, I would look this up on line to perhaps get better instructions and pictures!

I tuck the wavy border under the seam until the wave is gone. The tuck is hidden and none the wiser. Much faster then measuring, just sew on the border and not worry about it. I learned this from an episode of the old quilt tv online, the one with Jodi Davis hosted. I can't find it anymore. I do remember it was filmed at a quilt show and the quilter was giving a tutorial how to make a her pattern and as an afterthought said she never measured her borders and showed how she tucked into the seam to make them lay flat. That one thirty second how to has been my lifesaver for borders.

Amazing what we learn "after the fact"!

I find myself checking the seam allowances on the major offenders. If I can, I will take the blocks in. Other than that I make tucks that I can fold into the binding or another border. I can always us a larger quilt.

This is what I do too. Never failed me.

I have made tucks and the made very tiny stitches along the border to smooth it down..

I have NEVER had a problem with borders! But then I always add an inch or two to the fabric strips. Then I just sew them down each side without pulling or pushing and trim for length after sewn on.

I have found that crosswise cut for borders are easier to keep flat then cutting lengthwise. That is opposite of what most experts say.