I am a new quilter and I am working on a nine patch baby quilt. The quilt top is done and I have the border and the batting pinned. I cut the fabric and the batting to be a little bigger then the quilt top but the lady that is teaching me to quilt said that my border doesn't need to be as big as I have it. Before I cut the fabric again, do I need to cut the batting too? Meaning do I need to have batting in my border as well as the quilt? Any help would be appareciated.

I'm a little confused but the answer to your question is yes you do want batting in your border. If your border makes your quilt top bigger than the batting, maybe your instructor meant that you should cut your border down to fit. :?:

Also, welcome to the board. This is a great place to get answers. There are a lot of very nice and helpful people here.

I to was a little confused with the question....I'm not quite sure what you mean by "the border and batting pinned" line. Do you mean the batting and backing fabric?

My rule of thumb is the backing fabric and batting should be three inches bigger than the finished top (including borders). This is in case of shrinkage while quilting.

Hope this helps.

Post a picture of your dilema. There are a lot of people who can help more if they can see the problem (myself included). :oops:

Did the instructor say border or maybe did she mean binding?
Yes, you do want batting in both the border and the binding.

What is the difference between a border and a binding?

Borders are fabric that is cut in strips and sewn around the quilt like a frame. Any where from 3 to 6 inches are good for a border.
Binding is usually 2 1/2 inch strips sewn togather long enough to go around the quilt. You fold the strip in half right side out and sew around the quilt then you trim off the extra batting and backing and fold the binding over and sew it down making mitred corners.
You should watch videos on the web to see how it is done.
Here is a free website with lots of videos.
http://quilterstv.com

Here is a written binding tutorial...I wasn't sure if you have dial up :wink:

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/pho...ing/index.html

Here is a video

http://video.google.com/videosearch?...d=0CBQQqwQwAw#

If it's just the border she was talking about, you basically are free to make borders as wide as you want. It's your decision. If you're happy with it, and the backing and batting are larger than your center plus border, you're good to go!

what are the dimensions of your top and what is the size of the border? It may be that the border is out of proportion to the top.

The backing fabric needs to be larger than the completed top and the batting needs to be larger than the completed top as well. I usually cut the batting slightly smaller than the backing. That way I can see the edges which helps me make lay out the top centered.

The batting and backing generally does not get trimmed until the quilting is done. (At least that's when I suare mine.)

Hope that helps.

i agree with that. it just about sums it all up.

binding is the narrow strip that encloses the raw edge of the quilt.

welcome to the board.

Okay another question. I'm still working on the baby quilt. I have most of it pinned and I started sewing the pieces together and my thread bunched up and broke. I tried to pull the thread out and it wouldn't come out. Can I just stitch over the broken thread?

I wouldn't stitch over it, as it may cause problems later. Make friends with your seam ripper. Most have a point that can be used for untangling thread wads. Good luck. It CAN be done. :thumbup: