Troublesome Tablerunner
04-24-2009, 05:01 PM
#24
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: currently central new jersey
Posts: 8,623
try this from ebay:
Mitering borders doesn't need to be as difficult as you thought! Give up those old complicated methods as I walk you through an easy solution to mitering corners on multiple borders.
The first step in the process is to decide how many borders you would like, i.e. inner border, middle, outer, etc. On a bed quilt, I often combine a 2 1/2" cut inner border with a 1" cut highlighting border (a color that sets the quilt off in a dramatic way) and finally about an 8 1/2" cut of my feature, outer border.
If your quilt top is 80" and you plan a 10" border all around, your 4 border sides will all need to be at least 100" long (a little longer is better). You will need to seam together enough lengths of fabric for each strip of the border to create the length that you need. When all your individual border strips are the length that you need, go ahead and stitch these individual border strips together in the order that you would like to attach them to your quilt. You should now have a border unit comprised of your full length inner, middle and outer borders, seamed full length.
Next, you will need to attach each border unit to a side of your quilt. First, find the center of your quilt (fold it in half and mark it with a pin), then find the center of your first border (fold it in half as well). Attach your border at the mid-point to the mid-point on your quilt. I usually do this process on my ironing board. From the center, begin to pin your border down as you work your way out to each corner.
When your first border unit is pinned in place, you can begin to sew. You will begin to seam the border on by starting 1/4" in from the corner of your quilt. Backstitch to hold that spot in place. Stitch down to the other end of the quilt and again, stop 1/4" from the corner and backstitch. This will leave 1/4" unsewn at each end. Your border units should hang out at both ends beyond the edges of your quilt (overhang should be at least as long as the width of the border). Repeat the process with the other three sides.
At this point, all four border units should be stitched to the edges of your quilt, with 1/4" unsewn corners at each corner. I now put the first corner on my ironing board. Try to lay the border flat, with room to manipulate the corners. Extend the top border along the board, past edge of quilt. The second border should be laid out crossing the first. Take that second border and fold it back (under) so that it extends (right sides together) with the bottom border. When folded in this way, your second loose border flap will be laying on top of the first, extending in the same direction. This fold will create your miter. You will adjust this fold until all strips in your unit miter nicely at the corners. When you are happy with your fold line, iron the fold down with a hot, steam iron. At this point, I use a wide piece of masking tape to lay across my ironed fold, down the fold line.
Now fold the border back so that you can see the crease line on the inside of the border corner. You will take the corner to your sewing machine and sew along the crease line (taking care not to stitch the tape on the inside of this crease- tape should be folded in half lengthwise down the crease). You will be stitching through both borders on a mitered angle that you will be able to see using the iron crease to guide you, and the masking tape to hold the corner in place.
You can fold your corner back to double check that your borders are still lined up. When you are happy with the finished product, pull off the tape and trim the seam allowance back to 1/4".
Now that your quilt borders are on, you're well on your way to the next step of basting & quilting your project!
Mitering borders doesn't need to be as difficult as you thought! Give up those old complicated methods as I walk you through an easy solution to mitering corners on multiple borders.
The first step in the process is to decide how many borders you would like, i.e. inner border, middle, outer, etc. On a bed quilt, I often combine a 2 1/2" cut inner border with a 1" cut highlighting border (a color that sets the quilt off in a dramatic way) and finally about an 8 1/2" cut of my feature, outer border.
If your quilt top is 80" and you plan a 10" border all around, your 4 border sides will all need to be at least 100" long (a little longer is better). You will need to seam together enough lengths of fabric for each strip of the border to create the length that you need. When all your individual border strips are the length that you need, go ahead and stitch these individual border strips together in the order that you would like to attach them to your quilt. You should now have a border unit comprised of your full length inner, middle and outer borders, seamed full length.
Next, you will need to attach each border unit to a side of your quilt. First, find the center of your quilt (fold it in half and mark it with a pin), then find the center of your first border (fold it in half as well). Attach your border at the mid-point to the mid-point on your quilt. I usually do this process on my ironing board. From the center, begin to pin your border down as you work your way out to each corner.
When your first border unit is pinned in place, you can begin to sew. You will begin to seam the border on by starting 1/4" in from the corner of your quilt. Backstitch to hold that spot in place. Stitch down to the other end of the quilt and again, stop 1/4" from the corner and backstitch. This will leave 1/4" unsewn at each end. Your border units should hang out at both ends beyond the edges of your quilt (overhang should be at least as long as the width of the border). Repeat the process with the other three sides.
At this point, all four border units should be stitched to the edges of your quilt, with 1/4" unsewn corners at each corner. I now put the first corner on my ironing board. Try to lay the border flat, with room to manipulate the corners. Extend the top border along the board, past edge of quilt. The second border should be laid out crossing the first. Take that second border and fold it back (under) so that it extends (right sides together) with the bottom border. When folded in this way, your second loose border flap will be laying on top of the first, extending in the same direction. This fold will create your miter. You will adjust this fold until all strips in your unit miter nicely at the corners. When you are happy with your fold line, iron the fold down with a hot, steam iron. At this point, I use a wide piece of masking tape to lay across my ironed fold, down the fold line.
Now fold the border back so that you can see the crease line on the inside of the border corner. You will take the corner to your sewing machine and sew along the crease line (taking care not to stitch the tape on the inside of this crease- tape should be folded in half lengthwise down the crease). You will be stitching through both borders on a mitered angle that you will be able to see using the iron crease to guide you, and the masking tape to hold the corner in place.
You can fold your corner back to double check that your borders are still lined up. When you are happy with the finished product, pull off the tape and trim the seam allowance back to 1/4".
Now that your quilt borders are on, you're well on your way to the next step of basting & quilting your project!
04-24-2009, 05:14 PM
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: currently central new jersey
Posts: 8,623
sorry --- i can never get the photos to transfer. i don't know why. but i hope some of this helps you. this one is very good.
(does anyone know how to get those pics on here?)
All rotary rulers have 45° angle lines on them. This is all you need to successfully miter the corners when you are adding borders to a quilt top.
Note: The 45° angle is the angle on the corners of a square. If you are making a quilt with odd shapes, such as a hexagon, you will need another angle to miter, but the procedure is the same.
When you are sewing the border strips on for a mitered corner, you must add extra length for the miter. I write this out each time, including the size for each side. This reminds me that there is a border on both sides that I must take into account. I don't want to say I have a short attention span, but when I just add in my head (quilt top + border), I invariably add the border from one side only.
For a mitered seam, you must add another 2" on EACH side for the miter. If your main quilt is 36" and the border is 2" wide, the math would look like this:
miter + border width + body of quilt + border width + miter + seam allowance
(the seam allowance is 1/2", which is 1/4" on each side and needs to be added only ONCE for the entire piece)
2" + 2" + 36" + 2" + 2" + 1/2" seam allowance = 44 1/2"
If you think of it in small steps, one section at a time, it is not difficult at all. I actually draw myself a little sketch, adding each border, and then I can visually SEE that there need to be TWO sets of numbers added, one for each side.
Attaching borders to form mitered corners is done differently from butted borders. You begin by sewing all four borders onto the quilt. Each border piece is marked so that the amount you have left for the border and miter is not sewn to the body of the quilt.
Remember to follow the rules for attaching borders. Mark the center of the border and the quilt and pin. Then pin the two ends (in this case, the mark you have made near the end), continue by pinning the center sections.
Strip extends past body of quilt
White mark on left measures the border width, seam allowance and amount for miter; arrow on left shows pin put in from left to right, well out of the seam allowance; right arrow shows seam allowance pressed open to reduce bulk
In other words, in the example above, you would mark the border strip 4 1/4" from each end. The seam allowance belongs to the main quilt BUT actually is not sewn. When you sew, you will have the border width, seam allowance and miter amount (4 1/4") hanging loose at the ends.
Stitch to within 1/4" of the edge. Take a look at the corner.
The two borders in the picture are in different colors so you can clearly see that they come together at a right angle. To make this angle, you have to work on the right side (rotating the quilt so the corner you need is always to the upper right).
Take the side border and bring it to the top, matching the top edges and having right sides together. This should put a fold exactly in the middle of the quilt corner at a 45° angle. Using your long ruler, place the 45° angle across the top of the border, so you can draw a line along the edge of the ruler from the corner of the borders to the intersection with the quilt corner as shown in the diagram.
Stitch from the quilt out to the edge, starting your stitch in the last stitch you used to attach the borders. Open and check that there is no gap in the stitching and the end pieces come out evenly. Press. Then (and only then!) trim away excess. Repeat this same procedure on all four corners.
Tip: If you have more than one strip in your border, sew them together and attach them as a unit. Carefully match the seams of the border strips as they are face to face and open it to check before sewing. To do this, insert the pin in the same direction as stitches would be sewn, then fold open the strips. If in any doubt, baste first.
By not trimming the excess fabric until you are satisfied, you are completely free to do this over. Once cut, it is almost impossible to make corrections.
The arrow line shows where you would stitch from the edge of the quilt top to the outer edge of the borders. The quilt top is folded right sides together to form a 45° angle.
Press with tails to one side. Trim.
Questions about our site? Contact us at [email protected].
© Copyright 2000-2009 Quilt University. All Rights Reserved. Class content is copyrighted by the respective teachers. Students may not teach these classes or make copies of the material for others. All other content is the property of QuiltUniversity.com. Participating students may reproduce class materials ONLY for their personal, non-commercial use.
(does anyone know how to get those pics on here?)
All rotary rulers have 45° angle lines on them. This is all you need to successfully miter the corners when you are adding borders to a quilt top.
Note: The 45° angle is the angle on the corners of a square. If you are making a quilt with odd shapes, such as a hexagon, you will need another angle to miter, but the procedure is the same.
When you are sewing the border strips on for a mitered corner, you must add extra length for the miter. I write this out each time, including the size for each side. This reminds me that there is a border on both sides that I must take into account. I don't want to say I have a short attention span, but when I just add in my head (quilt top + border), I invariably add the border from one side only.
For a mitered seam, you must add another 2" on EACH side for the miter. If your main quilt is 36" and the border is 2" wide, the math would look like this:
miter + border width + body of quilt + border width + miter + seam allowance
(the seam allowance is 1/2", which is 1/4" on each side and needs to be added only ONCE for the entire piece)
2" + 2" + 36" + 2" + 2" + 1/2" seam allowance = 44 1/2"
If you think of it in small steps, one section at a time, it is not difficult at all. I actually draw myself a little sketch, adding each border, and then I can visually SEE that there need to be TWO sets of numbers added, one for each side.
Attaching borders to form mitered corners is done differently from butted borders. You begin by sewing all four borders onto the quilt. Each border piece is marked so that the amount you have left for the border and miter is not sewn to the body of the quilt.
Remember to follow the rules for attaching borders. Mark the center of the border and the quilt and pin. Then pin the two ends (in this case, the mark you have made near the end), continue by pinning the center sections.
Strip extends past body of quilt
White mark on left measures the border width, seam allowance and amount for miter; arrow on left shows pin put in from left to right, well out of the seam allowance; right arrow shows seam allowance pressed open to reduce bulk
In other words, in the example above, you would mark the border strip 4 1/4" from each end. The seam allowance belongs to the main quilt BUT actually is not sewn. When you sew, you will have the border width, seam allowance and miter amount (4 1/4") hanging loose at the ends.
Stitch to within 1/4" of the edge. Take a look at the corner.
The two borders in the picture are in different colors so you can clearly see that they come together at a right angle. To make this angle, you have to work on the right side (rotating the quilt so the corner you need is always to the upper right).
Take the side border and bring it to the top, matching the top edges and having right sides together. This should put a fold exactly in the middle of the quilt corner at a 45° angle. Using your long ruler, place the 45° angle across the top of the border, so you can draw a line along the edge of the ruler from the corner of the borders to the intersection with the quilt corner as shown in the diagram.
Stitch from the quilt out to the edge, starting your stitch in the last stitch you used to attach the borders. Open and check that there is no gap in the stitching and the end pieces come out evenly. Press. Then (and only then!) trim away excess. Repeat this same procedure on all four corners.
Tip: If you have more than one strip in your border, sew them together and attach them as a unit. Carefully match the seams of the border strips as they are face to face and open it to check before sewing. To do this, insert the pin in the same direction as stitches would be sewn, then fold open the strips. If in any doubt, baste first.
By not trimming the excess fabric until you are satisfied, you are completely free to do this over. Once cut, it is almost impossible to make corrections.
The arrow line shows where you would stitch from the edge of the quilt top to the outer edge of the borders. The quilt top is folded right sides together to form a 45° angle.
Press with tails to one side. Trim.
Questions about our site? Contact us at [email protected].
© Copyright 2000-2009 Quilt University. All Rights Reserved. Class content is copyrighted by the respective teachers. Students may not teach these classes or make copies of the material for others. All other content is the property of QuiltUniversity.com. Participating students may reproduce class materials ONLY for their personal, non-commercial use.
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