mjpEncinitas

I agree with Battle Axe. Smallest border inside with borders getting bigger as you go to the outside is most pleasing to the eye. . However it's your quilt, Do what you like. There are always exceptions to the rule. I would put it up on a design wall if I had one available.

NJ Quilter

I think as long as a single border width is no larger than your block size it will look proportional with no issues. I'm also of the belief that if you start with your smallest width border and work your way out it would be the most pleasing to the eye.

When I shop for fabrics for a project at the LQS, I usually try to line up the bolts of fabric for the borders in the (rough) widths that I'm planning to sew. If you have various fabrics that you are considering using, fold them to the various widths you are thinking..line them up with your top and see if they are pleasing to your eye. You might need to adjust some colors/widths but folding and lining up with the top might save lots of sewing/ripping. Just a thought.

QuiltnLady1

When I got back into quilting in 2000 I read a lot of books to learn how folks approached quilt design. Several of the books I read talked about borders and the information was interesting (though I do not pretend that I have adhered to the advice at all times). Here are some of the things that I picked up:
-- what is the purpose of the border -- is it to simply enlarge the size of the top, is it to draw the eye out of the quilt or into the center, or is it to stop the pattern so you can maybe do a patterned border as well
-- If the quilt has pieced blocks, no individual border should be as large as the block
-- if there are multiple borders, it is most pleasing to have the narrowest toward the center
-- In planning for multiple borders, and odd numbers are better than even
-- better no border than the wrong border
-- for medallion quilts it is most pleasing to alternate pieced and solid borders so the eye has a place to rest -- alternating the size of the borders is good too.
-- some designers tell you that if the blocks of the quilt are large, the total size of all borders should not exceed the size of the blocks.

Since there are no quilt police, I use these concepts as guidelines then do my own thing.

NZquilter

Those are very interesting points, Quiltnlady. I'll try to remember some of them.

For myself, I like to use two borders. The first one I like to make a narrow 1" border and the second I like to make about 4"-5", depending on the design. The quilt I am working on now has a 6" border. It's feels a bit big, so I am quilting feathers in it to make it look better, like it has less "negative space" as some people say. (But how space is negative is still beyond me!)

granny64

Try different sizes on your quilt by laying the fabric in the width that you want next to the finished top. I like quilts with borders because it frames your work like a frame frames a picture. Our quilts are works of art, so they need a frame.

klswift

There are quilts with very wide borders all the way to no borders - it is what you prefer. My suggestion is to lay the top out on the bed (folded in the middle) and audition border widths on both sides. Leave it there and each time you enter the room note which side is more pleasing to you.

Battle Axe

[ATTACH=CONFIG]582237[/ATTACH]Here is one I'm currently working on. The little squares are black and so is the narrow framing border, then a beige scroll fabric to show high contrast to the black and then a darker honeystone fabric to tie it all together. I tried to pin those pieces to show approximate proportion. What do you think?

Marcia

MadQuilter

That is a stunning quilt, battle axe. I also prefer the borders to go up in width, but I have seen some where a narrower border is in the center of the border. It would add more interest imo if each border strip was a different width with the outermost being the widest. If the first two borders are relatively narrow 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 (for example) then the last border could be wider 4" (for example) and I don't think it would overpower the 6" block.

When I get to the border stage, I lay out the fabrics and fold and smoosh until it feels right to me. It is generally an intuitive process.

bigsister63

IMHO- the outer brown border is too dark. Do you have any of the lighter gold left for a border? Or you might want to do a piano key border.

It is a very pretty quilt! Pattern please!

bigsister63

I have used a 1/2 or 1" flange on several of my quilts. It adds a small pop of color without adding a actual border. I have even put a flange on both sides of a inner border and pressed it so it is facing in toward the inner broder. It is your quilt and there are no quilt police!