Help!
 

I haven't attempted a quilt in 3-4 years.
So, I am making this for my very first great-grandchild, and already discouraged! First off, I should have searched harder for my walking foot to quilt it....then, when it is quilted, I started cutting off the excess to bind it.
Oh my goodness, after swearing I had plenty of excess, I find myself short 1/4 - 1/2 inches on one side :(
What in the World do I do???
Should I add another border with a larger seam to catch the quilt top? If I do that, then my star points on the border will probably be lost :(
I suppose I could sew on a bit more backing to make up the loss, which I think will be ugly, but possibly the only way to fix this.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

From a great great grandma. Ask yourself, will the baby notice if the side is a little narrower? Or will the baby love it because you made it? If it was mine, I would sew on the binding, and give it to the baby. We some times worry too much. The quilt is made with LOVE!

You could do a rat tail quilt binding or use your tight zigzag stitch to finish the edges.

Ischo4jm ... Oh, please do tell me, what is this rat tail?

I tried to attach a link but failed miserably. So, Google rat tail quilt binding or go to Pinterest and search there. It’s really easy to do and covers those “uh oh” issues. 🤣

I'm honestly with Grannie Cheechee on this one - I also tend to dwell on the imperfections of my quilts but have learned that I seem to be the only one who notices them for the most part. I found myself rushing to finish a baby quilt last year as the giver was in hospice. It was far from perfect - my quilting had a couple of goofs, it was slightly off square, and the binding was a bit wobbly in spots - but I have since heard from the recipient a couple of times who has only spoken about how much it is loved and used. :-)

Just my thoughts/experiences...

Here are a couple links that I found for rattail binding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xi2sL8PT-U
https://www.nationalquilterscircle.c...hniques-003980

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

It's not that bad, not all quilts are the same and sometimes doing your own thing "makes the quilt", look at it a tad more and make a decision and finish it. So far it's looking very good!!

Thanks.
An interesting technique ....... but the name, totally gives me the creeps!! :)

What a beauty! I love how the stars extend out into the borders.
I feel the same say as Granny CheeChee. I'm not a perfectionist and I don't see where 1/4"-1/2" is a big issue. I've never known of a baby that took out a tape measure & checked their quilt. I would bind it & give it with love without pointing out the shortage.

I wouldn’t trim the front, add whatever you need around the backing and then quilt some in the border and those stitches will camouflage your added fabric on the backing. I recently made that pattern as well, nice job!

First of all, congratulations on the great grand baby! I have had this problem too. I solved it by adding a wider binding. I still sewed it on with a 1/4 inch seam, on the front, then folded the binding to the back, covering the too narrow backing, and hand stitched it down.

Now I'm going to look for rat tail quilt binding.

I agree with those who suggest finishing it as is. The baby won't notice and will in no way be harmed by it.

How I think of my quilting errors: A quilt is like a good life. It's full of mistakes, but in the end it turns out pretty good.

Enjoy your new great grand!

Cute, kid friendly, quilt. Kids love variety. Add any of the colors of fabric in the quilt for that small part you need and don't worry about it not being matchy, matchy all the way around. If you want, you could add a similar small amount on the opposite side of the quilt and it will look like you planned and designed it that way.

I'm with Granny Cheechee & GingerK. Just finish with a wider binding. In stead of hand sewing the binding on the back use Elmer's to "baste" it & use a decorative stitch to sew it down.

I agree with GingerK. You don't have much to cover on the back so I'd cut the binding wider, use the usual 1/4" seam with plenty to fold to the back to cover what you came up short. Then hand stitch it down. The binding will simply be wider on the back and looks like you intended it that way!

you might try facing the edge instead of binding or using rattail cord. (Using rattail makes the edge a little stiff which you might not want on a baby quilt.)

Facing a quilt edge is just like facing a neckline in a garment - make the strip wide enough to stitch to the front, turn to the back and still have an inch or more on the back. This leaves a knife edge on the quilt - not a real binding, but covers a lot of area in the back. Plenty of videos on line about facing a quilt (or garment neckline.

Thank you all for your help! I wound up sewing a tiny piece on the backing to try to make up the difference. It is noticeable on back, but not too bad.
Then I sewed binding to front and hand-sewed to back. I didn't want to lose my star points, and after all the problems, I didn't trust myself to machine bind it.
Not really happy with the binding...probably should have went with the star-colored fabric like I was thinking, but I thought I wanted a more muted binding. All in all, I would have done a bunch of things different, but it's done except for clipping threads and trying to work out some of the puckers.
I definitely need more practice....

I think it looks sweet and I'm sure it will be much appreciated. :-)

Your great grandbaby is sure to have hours of cuddling in this, good for you for figuring it out!

Very sweet quilt, Alder! If you want the puckers to go away quick in the brown border, try minimally quilting it. I'd do a squiggle or curlicue right down the middle. Wrinkles will be gone.

Please don’t beat yourself up over this. I’m with Cheechee. Bind it, and gift it. It’s perfect!

I'm with the majority here, don't beat yourself up over it. It's a beautiful quilt and the baby and family will love it.