This tip was contributed by Marje Rhine, pattern editor for American Quilter magazine. I have used a similar technique for many years when pinning together the two sections of Drunkard’s Path blocks.
“Most quilters know to measure through the center of the quilt and then cut borders to fit before stitching them on. But how you pin your borders also can make a big difference in the quilt’s appearance. In this example I measured, cut and then pinned the border to the quilt, easing as necessary. The ends of the border at the seam fit perfectly so I expected a perfect result. But look what happened! The quilt peeked out from underneath the border on the unstitched edge (photo 1).
When I pressed the border and surveyed the results, I noticed that the edge of the border was not in line with the edge of the quilt (photo 2).
So I took out a length of the border seam. This time, not only did I pin along the seam to be stitched but I also pinned the border even with the quilt along the end of the border (photo 3).
After stitching and pressing you can see that the border is much more in line with the edge of the quilt (photo 4).
I now pin like this for each end of my borders and for strips in blocks such as a Log Cabin, and I get better results.”
Posted by Christine N. Brown, Editor-in-Chief, American Quilter Magazine
Great Advice!
Thanks for the tip and the excellent explanation–this will really help me in the future with adding borders.
Very helpful and timely. I am ready to add 4 borders to a BOM quilt with many blocks. the first to accommodate many raw wdges. Thanks.
Thank you very much for the very handy tips. I will use next time I sew a border on
Regard Esther from Denmark
Very nice tip. I always have this problem; now I have a solution.
Thank you
Great tip! Thanks