Measure to Get the Perfect Size Borders for Your Quilt

From Cutting to Machine Quilting and Binding . . . Transform Your Fat Quarter Fabric Pieces into a Beautiful Quilt – with ease! Get the inside track on choosing fabrics, exploring time-saving techniques, and discovering quilting designs unique to fat quarter quilts. Your friends and family will be amazed to see what you can do with small bits of fabric, whether they come from brand new fat quarters or cut up shirts from the thrift shop. Read more - - -

 

 

The first step is to lay your quilt flat.  Hanging it from your flannel wall won’t do for this step – you want the quilt top to just “be its natural size” without gravity or pinning affecting its length or width.

Next, take your tape measure and stretch it across 2-3 places in the middle of your quilt top – preferable along a line of seams. 

I generally add borders to the longest sides first.  If I am using a strip of fabric as a border, and not piecing the border, I like to use a single strip, and not have a seam in it.

Because of that, I buy the length of fabric I need to cut 1 strip the length of the side of my quilt.  If I added the strip on to the shorter side first, I would need a longer length of fabric for those sides of the border.

When cutting strips for borders, you need to add seam allowances only to the width of your strip – the ends should be the same length as your quilt top. 
When you decide how long to cut your strips, you could choose to average the measurements you get, or use the longest or the shortest measurement.  I generally use the measurement that comes up the most (i.e., 2 out of the 3 measurements) and also use something that is a relatively simple measurement (i.e., 1/4” or 1/2” but not 7/8” or 3/8” – those measurements are unnecessarily challenging in my view!).

If there is less than ½” difference in your various measurements, there should be enough “give” in your quilt top to make it match the border strip you cut.

Cut two strips the exact same length, as determined by your measurement, and add them to the sides of your quilt. Press the borders open

Use the same process to determine how long to make the other two borders for your quilt.

 

Watch a short video demonstration:

 

 

Happy Quilting!

Penny is a quilter of more than 27 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

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©2006, Penny Halgren

 

 

 

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