Wavy borders
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Posts: 8,139
Check that your tension is not too tight. I Found out the hard way that too tight tension causes tiny ruffling of the border, and that stretches the fabric out. I had to remove a border that had been sewn on with too tight tension. When I measured the removed border off the quilt, it was 2 inches longer than the quilt.
You could say that I learned my lesson...and you'd be right.
Also, when adding borders on a quilt, I start sewing them from the center to one end, then reverse and sew the rest - also starting at the center - of the border to the end. It has really helped me with wavy borders.
You could say that I learned my lesson...and you'd be right.
Also, when adding borders on a quilt, I start sewing them from the center to one end, then reverse and sew the rest - also starting at the center - of the border to the end. It has really helped me with wavy borders.
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: The Deep South near Cajun Country, USA
Posts: 5,434
I do all the measuring and pinning that everyone else does. And if, there are a lot of seams on the edge, I will run a staystitch around the edge to keep it from stretching or the edge of the seams from coming undone. When I sew, I place the pieced side down and put the long border on the top. Even though I have pinned like crazy, I still maintain a little bit of pull on the fabrics so that both the top and bottom feed equally. Until I figured out that I had to keep the fabrics in sync with the pull method, I thought about getting a Pfaff or a Bernina so I could have the even feed without using a walking foot. Now I don't need it.
#14
What works for me, and I have made 400 - 500 quilts of different sizes.
I lay a border strip In the center of quilt top, up & down for side borders. I gently smooth it down, mark and cut on this line. I lay other side border strip on table and gently smooth it out, lay 1st strip on top, gently smooth, mark, cut on that line. I fold sides in half put in straight pin, fold ends to center pin on each side. I pin quilt top the same. match up pins, hold at pins making sure the edges stay together then sew borders on top of quilt edge. After those are sewn on and pressed I make the end borders the same. Absolutely smooth borders, no math or stuff. I square up blocks as I go.
Of course, typing this out takes much longer than doing it. I am sure there are youtube videos showing how to do this. I am sure Lynette Jensen has this in her books. I used her books to learn a lot of things from.
I lay a border strip In the center of quilt top, up & down for side borders. I gently smooth it down, mark and cut on this line. I lay other side border strip on table and gently smooth it out, lay 1st strip on top, gently smooth, mark, cut on that line. I fold sides in half put in straight pin, fold ends to center pin on each side. I pin quilt top the same. match up pins, hold at pins making sure the edges stay together then sew borders on top of quilt edge. After those are sewn on and pressed I make the end borders the same. Absolutely smooth borders, no math or stuff. I square up blocks as I go.
Of course, typing this out takes much longer than doing it. I am sure there are youtube videos showing how to do this. I am sure Lynette Jensen has this in her books. I used her books to learn a lot of things from.
Last edited by Jingle; 12-13-2019 at 07:21 PM.
#16
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,729
Great tips for applying borders at this link
I’m working on this quilt and my borders are wavy. There is a two inch border before the 6 inch final border. If I cut the smaller border at 2.5 and then followed my inside seam and measured 2 inches all the way around and trimmed at 2 inches, would that fix the wavy border so that I could add my last border wave free?
Im just about ready to pull my hair out. I’ve been at it all afternoon. Can’t post picture, but I have a thread about what colored squares to add from the other day.
Help Needed, Can’t Decide
Im just about ready to pull my hair out. I’ve been at it all afternoon. Can’t post picture, but I have a thread about what colored squares to add from the other day.
Help Needed, Can’t Decide
Here is the link with great tips for borders: https://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2010...rders-tip.html
I hope this helps you!
#17
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,330
What works for me, and I have made 400 - 500 quilts of different sizes.
I lay a border strip In the center of quilt top, up & down for side borders. I gently smooth it down, mark and cut on this line. I lay other side border strip on table and gently smooth it out, lay 1st strip on top, gently smooth, mark, cut on that line. I fold sides in half put in straight pin, fold ends to center pin on each side. I pin quilt top the same. match up pins, hold at pins making sure the edges stay together then sew borders on top of quilt edge. After those are sewn on and pressed I make the end borders the same. Absolutely smooth borders, no math or stuff. I square up blocks as I go.
Of course, typing this out takes much longer than doing it. I am sure there are youtube videos showing how to do this. I am sure Lynette Jensen has this in her books. I used her books to learn a lot of things from.
I lay a border strip In the center of quilt top, up & down for side borders. I gently smooth it down, mark and cut on this line. I lay other side border strip on table and gently smooth it out, lay 1st strip on top, gently smooth, mark, cut on that line. I fold sides in half put in straight pin, fold ends to center pin on each side. I pin quilt top the same. match up pins, hold at pins making sure the edges stay together then sew borders on top of quilt edge. After those are sewn on and pressed I make the end borders the same. Absolutely smooth borders, no math or stuff. I square up blocks as I go.
Of course, typing this out takes much longer than doing it. I am sure there are youtube videos showing how to do this. I am sure Lynette Jensen has this in her books. I used her books to learn a lot of things from.
#18
Super Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,391
Here is the link with great tips for borders: https://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2010...rders-tip.html
I hope this helps you!
I hope this helps you!
Then measure the width of what you have now, including the side borders. Measure top, bottom and center. Cut borders to the average of those measurements. Pin top, bottom and center and ease in to fit.
I hope you can see the importance of measuring in three places to get the length of the border strips.
#20
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 163
When tackling borders I think of the Prairie skirt with all the ruffled tiers. Every tier takes the increase of the one above it and expands even more until there is a full skirt at the bottom hem. All the pinning and measuring of the quilt top is to keep that from happening. If the basic quilt top is a little wavy, the first border gets more wavy and so on until the whole thing is flapping like a bird.
I've been known to sew a staystitch around the top and if that doesn't lay the quilt top flat I pull the bottom thread like I want to make a ruffle. Then pulling the ruffle back out always ends up with a slightly pulled stitch line that hopefully takes out that wavy edge. I press the quilt top and check again to be sure it lies absolutely flat.
Also, I read in an old quilt magazine about sewing an 1/8 inch wide tape around the edge and then ironing. The tape would shrink and pull in the edge of the top. Filed that away in my memory banks except for one minor detail. What kind of tape was to be used. Possibly Rayon? All I remember is that it was white and came off a Christmas ribbon type spool.
So basically the goal is to get the pieced top right before adding a border. Then do the measuring and pinning stuff to keep control as borders are added.
Angela Walters always keeps a glass of wine handy, too.
I've been known to sew a staystitch around the top and if that doesn't lay the quilt top flat I pull the bottom thread like I want to make a ruffle. Then pulling the ruffle back out always ends up with a slightly pulled stitch line that hopefully takes out that wavy edge. I press the quilt top and check again to be sure it lies absolutely flat.
Also, I read in an old quilt magazine about sewing an 1/8 inch wide tape around the edge and then ironing. The tape would shrink and pull in the edge of the top. Filed that away in my memory banks except for one minor detail. What kind of tape was to be used. Possibly Rayon? All I remember is that it was white and came off a Christmas ribbon type spool.
So basically the goal is to get the pieced top right before adding a border. Then do the measuring and pinning stuff to keep control as borders are added.
Angela Walters always keeps a glass of wine handy, too.
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