Making Borders Fit & Square Up The Quilt Top At The Same Time

Have you ever had a border that rippled....dangled like a flag....had it's own personality totally different than the body of the quilt?

We are going to fix that before we quilt it.

1. Last resort, remove, re-measure, re-sew.

2. OR for straight un-mitered borders
A. Lay the border fabric under the horizontal middle of the quilt top for top and bottom borders. Be sure to cut enough raw fabric to stick out under each side of the quilt. If you are fussy cutting your border be sure allow for the pattern positioning.

B. Next cut TWO (2) horizontal border pieces following the exact outer edges using a straight edge template to keep the cut straight. Now you will have 2 borders the same length.

C. Sew to top and bottom of the quilt top and press.

D. Repeat same steps again (A & B) laying the TWO (2) vertical border pieces under the vertical middle making sure they are under the sewn top and bottom borders. Cut. Now you will have the two vertical border pieces that include the already sewn top and bottom borders length.

E. Sew vertical borders and press.

This will automatically square up your quilt top without a lot of measuring. This can work for outer sashings as well. I recommend measuring the body sashings during construction.

In case you luckily have not experienced this ;) here are some great examples.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzoL7ddTEnA

Hope this helps.

Yours in the love of quilting,