Question about mitered corners on borders
 

Is there a rule of thumb about how much extra fabric you leave on borders to make miter corners? I am thinking of making them on a top that may have 6 different border strips. It seems like it would easeier to sew stips together and then sew them on the quilt which means the corners need to be mitered. I have watched videos suggested by others so I think I know how to make them but need to know how much extra fabric to leave. Thanks for you help!

I think I cut the width of the border plus 4 or 5 inches. That's probably a little more than necessary, but I like the insurance.

I've seen instructions that add only 2" to each end of the borders (4" total)...that's a little too close for me...especially with a 6" wide border. I'd have to up the allowance to 6-8" total. Remember you can always cut the excess off :thumbup: ....sewing it back on is tricky! :thumbdown: :mad: :D

Nan - IN

You could makes this more complicated than it needs to be. I think Caroline S is right, width of border plus a few inches, better to be safe than sorry.

I think it should be width of border TIMES TWO unless you are mitering only one corner.
Here's a good reference guide for borders.
http://www.mccallsquilting.com/mccal..._quilt_borders

what ever the width of the border is plus a few inches for insurance- depending on the width of the borders- if the border is fairly narrow (less than 4") just a couple inches extra is ok- if the borders a wide you want a bit more (so if your border width is 8" total you might want an extra 11" of length to work the miter...or more- the extra just gets trimmed off to be used in another project. :)

Have you checked out the tutorials on You Tube? There are a lot that will show you exactly how to sew them. Have fun!

Let me get this straight. If my border is 10" ( I like that size border for the drop) then I would need to make total border strip 10" +11+11 (for each side) + the length of the side border is to be sewn on. EG- side is 70" so 10" border strip needs to be 70+10+11+11=102" This lengeth means that I would have to cut an extra 30" strip x width for each side.(4 extra strips) of each strip width. Basically it would be 1 extra WOF strip for each side. So if border peice is 6" then I would need 4 -6 1/2 "WOF cuts =26" extra. That is almost an extra yard of fabric. Seems like a lot. Maybe I will have to rethink this!

Honestly I say, make life easier and don't miter unless necessary. Most borders will look fine not mitered unless the fabric calls for it.