The stripes, maybe, if you don't want to go buy another fabric. The orange, not at all, in my opinion.

thanks everyone for your thoughts... the group is a split as I am :) I didn't think about birthing the quilt that could be a good option. I agree the red would be good for a border or binding but I only have enough of that left for the backing.. and only the backing. I will keep kicking it around and see what I come up with

I'd cut the stripe on the diagonal and just bind it - maybe a little wider than a regular binding - like starting at 3". Second choice would be a medium blue stopper strip and the stripe border. I really like diagonal stripes.

I am not crazy about either choice.

I vote for the stripe with binding in yellow as mentioned above. He will be thrilled with his lovey blanket.

I like the idea of cutting the stripe on the diagonal and using it as the binding.

Or...what about using the stripe as a very narrow stop strip, and then the orange as the border, with blue binding.

I really like the stripe fabric but I favor stripe fabric for a small border to frame the quilt. Lucky 3 yo boy. I am sure he will love the fire trucks.

I agree with the others. Unless you really need a border to make it larger, I would just bind it and gift it. A 3 year old will love it.
Sue

I would use the stripes for the border and the gold/yellow fabric for the binding. Children love bright colors so they will love this quilt.
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i'm with the stripe camp... fun for kids