bodie358

I am getting ready to add the borders to my first project. I am confused as to how to do it. I have read that I should measure the middle from side-to-side, cut the border and attach to top and bottom. Measure from top-to-bottom down the middle, cut and attach to sides.

First, what happens if the edges are not the same as the middle measurement? If the center is larger, do I ease in fullness? What if the measurement is smaller than edges?

I know that you are supposed to cut the borders before adding, but why? It sounds so much more logical to attach and then cut.

OdessaQuilts

bodie, lots of us cut our borders extra long (by 3"-4") to insure that they fit. I will usually cut even more if I am mitering the corners, but since this is your first project, I assume you are just putting your borders on straight. I would cut the border that little big longer than necessary, leave an ample amount at the edge (for straigntening purposes), then sew. Attach the other side in the same way. Then square up the ends.

Next, cut the strips for the other two sides, attaching them in the same manner. Square up the corners. If you have sewn pretty accurately, your quilt top should be square/rectangular, not curvy (relatively speaking). I think it's easier to have a length of fabric that is close to the appropriate length so you are not dealing with huge amounts of fabric under the needle unnecessarily.

Hope this helps. If not, I know that others will give their own tips, too, and you will have enough to select from to help you.

Welcome!

shaverg

Ditto. I basically do the same way and have never had a problem with the quilt not being square.

vjengels

I'm with Odessaquilts; I cut my borders longer than the quilt and trim, do the sides first, as the width is usually shorter . Patterns usually have you cut the lenght first so you get the most of your yardage.

mic-pa

Sorry but I measure top to bottom from the middle and put my side borders on first. If the quilt is a tad bigger on the sides than the length of the border you ease it in by pining first on either end than in the middle and then contine down the side. Sew it on putting the quilt on the botton and the feed dogs will help in easing it in. Then measure the side to side from the middle and cut you border . I always put the sides on first as then the top and bottom looks better as a "base" for the quilt. If you just cut the borders long and sew them on lots of times you will end up with a wavy border and thats not good. Just my opinion. Marge

bodie358

Yes, they are straight borders, not mitered.

Marge, that was the reasoning behind the cutting to length in all of the sources I read - eliminating the wavy edge. I had not thought about doing the top and bottom first, when I picture that in my mind it seems that it would look more pleasing that way. Thanks for the idea!

dakotamaid

Here is what I do. To help keep the quilt top square I measure the length of the top through the middle and both sides, than average those measurements and that is the length of the side borders. Repeat for the width of the top, only now you are including in the width the side borders which are ready on. :-D

Just read Marge's, we are in agreement!

nativetexan

http://www.quiltuniversity.com/metho...or_borders.htm
I like pictures.

dakotamaid

I like this, will bookmark it for future young quilters that I help!

thanks

MadQuilter

Just sewing and cutting CAN result in a wavy border. By using the center measurements (both directions) and easing in any fullness or stretching what is a little too short (EVENLY distributed) you "force the borders to conform."