Never one to turn down a challenge, I’m participating in Cheryl Sleboda’s 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge and following a prompt each day to post a little something. (I put a link to her post down at the bottom–that’s where you can find all of the participants. Heck, you can join in, too, you can post on social media if you don’t have a blog.)
Day 9: Favorite tip–how to add borders to quilts
One of the lessons when I learned to quilt at the local quilt shop was one I took to heart. The teacher emphasized the importance of taking a little extra time to measure your quilt for borders–and based on my recent informal survey of professional long-armers, she was correct to do so!
- Lay the quilt top on a large surface or on the floor and measure it lengthwise in three places (the center and near each side).
- Average these measurements to find the length of the side borders.
(L1+L2+L3)/3 = border length
example:
L1 = 72.5”
L2 = 73”
L3 = 72.75”
(72.5” + 73” + 72.75”)/3 =
218.25”/3 =
72.75
- Make the correctly-sized side borders, piecing if necessary.
- Fold the borders in half and mark the centers.
- Fold them in half again to mark the quarters.
- Mark the long quilt edge the same way.
- Pin the center of the border to the center of the quilt, right sides together.
- Pin the ends and at the quarter marks, then pin in between.
- Stitch the side borders.
- Press seams towards the borders.
- Repeat the steps for the top and bottom borders, measuring the width of the quilt top instead of the length.
Check out these fun prompts!
Pop down to the comment section and tell me about your favorite tip.
