Question about quilt borders ...
 

I'm making a king size quilt for my parent's anniversary. The last border I need to put on is a 10" border. I'm considering adding this border to only the sides and bottom of the quilt, so that when the quilt is on the bed, it won't be too long on the top. As you can see in the picture, the main part of the quilt (where the red stars and squares on point are) will fit perfectly on the top of the bed with the borders draping down. If I add the border to the top, there will be extra there, and they'll likely need to tuck the fabric down along the mattress, or tuck it under ... Does anyone else do this? Should I just put the border on all sides? Thanks for your advice : )

i like your idea of not having a wide border at the top. then the pattern of the center comes up over the pillow to be seen better. i've seen a lot of older quilts that have been done this way. the quilt is beautiful.

What a beautiful gift. Go with your idea. Looks like it will work well.
Annie

What is your quilt pattern? Oh....so very pretty and I love your color arrangement!

I have seen several antique quilts made with no top border. I have also seen several modern quilts with a top border etc. on a separate piece to be removed when the people climb in bed under the main quilt.

You have done a fine job, BTW.

That's what I did for the quilt on our bed. I wanted the star to be basically centered on our bed, so no 3rd border on the top. Go for it - you'll be glad you did it that way.

Very pretty quilt! I think it's wonderful that you're thinking of how the quilt will be used and how it will look on the bed it's meant to be on. Add borders (or not) as you see fit. Some people like to have a pillow tuck, some don't; some have footboards and others don't. One of the advantages of a hand made quilt is that it can be designed specifically for the taste of the person who uses it.

First let me say the quilt is BEAUTIFUL. I would go ahead and put the border on all sides because I would want the option of rotating the quilt. I tuck the bottom of my quilts in and I know over time this can stress the fabric and seams.

P.S. please tell us your pattern!

Either way would be just fine. Your quilt is beautiful.

Thank you to all. This quilt is called "Star Light", by Rebecca Segura of Zeffie's Quilts, designed by Gerri Robinson. I found the pattern in the McCall's Quilting magazine, Winter 2010/2011 (no named month). Her quilt was 59 1/2 x 73 1/2, a total of 12 blocks. I made mine bigger ... 25 blocks, and it'll be approximately 115 x 115, with 2 borders. My reds are redder than they appear in the picture. Fun quilt ... but a challenge for me, as I've been quilting for a year.

"Star Light" in the McCalls Quilting magazine 2010/2011 Winter. More info on another post. Thank you : )

I have done what you are describing. I did it so the very top showed the quilt better, it also worked well for the spare bed I have that the foot board it afixed to the mattress making it impossible to tuck in the quilt at the footboard.
Sometimes I regret that I did this as the quilt has limited uses... if I had to do it over .. I would put a narrower border on one side rather than none, leaving some border to have the appearance that it continues on. The binding ending at the quilt pattern and without a "border" of some width was just too "abrubt " of a stop of the overall design.

I just finished one, and put a much narrower border at the top. It is usually covered by pillows, or pulled up over the pillows, so in some cases it looks better without a wide border at the head of the bed.

That is one beautiful quilt. I did something similar with a quilt I made for my grandson--I added a boarder but made it narrower on the top. It turned out just fine and looks great on his bed.

I just did that on a King and it turned out great. Keep in mind though that you'll lose a few inches in quilting/washing. I average about 3-4" on a queen each direction. Here's my EQ7 file pic.

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