I sew mine together with a diagonal seam, but I've done it both ways.

Like most everything in quilting, it all depends on the look you want and what the quilt is going to be used for.

If it is a quilt that is going to be used and loved, then piecing your border isn't going to matter much. Even if the "print" doesn't match, is that going to make the quilt any less loved??

If you are making a quilt to enter into a show, and want to win a prize, then find out what the judges look for in a quilt and the borders. Do they want to see a continuous border?? If so, then DO NOT PIECE your border, or you will lose points.

I think too many people get stuck on doing things the "right" way. If you are not making quilts to enter into shows, then doing what you want, with the fabric you have IS the "right" way. Do you really care if your borders are a bit wavy if the quilt is going to be used by a toddler and dragged around on the floor? Is the quilt going to be used in a teenagers room, and do they really care if everything is "perfect" on the quilt?? If you are making a quilt that is going to hang on someones wall, then wavy borders may distract from the quilt, and you will want to do them differently.

The question you need to ask yourself, is how much of a difference, in the overall look of the quilt, and what it is going to be used for, will make in the way you do your borders.

I will never cut a border that is not from selvage to selvage because I did one from end to end of fabric and had to run a stitch on the outside to pull in the stretching on the outer edge. I had done this several times without problems but would rather have seams in my borders than having to pull it back in line. Gail

It is not written in stone that you can't piece a border cut on the grain. It takes the same amount of fabric whether you cut the fabric on the grain or WOF. If you are making a 5" border you can get 8 pieces out of a 44 inch width of fabric. Buying a yard and a half of fabric and cutting it on the grain gives you a border long enough for a Queen Size quilt (432 inches) that WON'T stretch as you sew - not to mention your design is all running the same direction. Cutting WOF you sometimes get a wavy border, simply because you pull the fabric as you're stitching it.

OK, here is a web site giving information on straight, cross and bias grain of fabric.

http://www.suite101.com/blog/cdmwrit...nd-fabric-bias

Really good explanations. I myself usually cut WOF, because like many others I cannot afford to buy 3 yards of extra fabric just to cut straight grain borders. I have never had a problem with the nice fabric we have access to stretching in a WOF cut. I don't pull hard, and am careful when pinning and sewing a border on.

Recently I heard a group of quilters lamenting.."Why can't we just go back to making quilts?" I agree. All this agonizing over what is "right" and what is not. Whew!! Let's quilt!!!

No one needs to think they have to ONLY cut straight of grain borders..its expensive and not really necessary..... unless it's a quilt for a judged show. Then, yes. Do it.

I also can't afford to buy 3 yard of fabric for an outer border. However, cutting 5" borders for a queen size (100 x 100) requires you to cut ten WOF strips, since you usually only get 80 inches from two WOF strips. That ten WOF strips equals to 50 inches of fabric or just a smidge under 1-1/2 yards. It's just as easy to take the 1-1/2 yards, cut it on the grain (eight 5" strips), and piece those strips just like you would your WOF strips.

Like I said, same anount of fabric either way. It's your personal choice and whatever you choose is acceptable. However, if you want straight of grain borders, it's no more expensive to cut and piece them than it is to cut and piece WOF strips.

Word of caution crosswise grain of fabric stretches more than lengthwise and is harder to control on a long piece. You might try stitching some test fabric with each grain before you decide to cut. :-)

WOF for me unless there is a pattern that demands the other, but I still will usually piece that in 1 yard pieces.

What does wof stand for is there a place where we could find what all the short cuts people use . Do you know of a quilting site that doesn't use shortcuts thanks

A lot of quilters I know piece the borders. If you do, sew the two pieces together on the bias and the seam will not show as much.