NO chopped off border designs here!!

Don’t you hate it when you are quilting a border and can’t figure out how to place the designs so that one isn’t CHOPPED OFF?

That was the dilemma presented to me by one listener, and this is my answer….

So, here are TWO methods of placing designs without chopping them off at the edges.

Hope one or both will help you!!

…

Bordering the Stair-Steps

Yesterday I finished the inside section of the “Stair-Step” quilt…..

Now it was time to add some borders!!

My first thought was to use a narrow white border and a wider black outside border…

BUT…..

…..somehow that just didn’t sound right!!

So, I decided to flip that around and start with a black inner border, maybe with a dark grey outside…..

NOPE….that is TOO dark.

How about a white one…..

That one was too bland!!

Okay, let’s split the difference and try a light grey…..

I am still NOT impressed!!!

Okay….what if I skip the solids and try for a BRIGHT print……

NOW you are talking……

I have NO idea where this fabric came from, but it is the PERFECT border for such a bright quilt!

I can’t wait to get started on the quilting!!

Fun AND Easy Border Quilting?

I have always struggled to figure out quilting designs for borders. Part of the problem was that I was OVER whatever quilt I was making and, by the time I got to the border, I was ready to JUST FINISH IT!!

But, this week, I have found a design that was SO easy to quilt and very relaxing and I can imagine that I will use it on many quilts going forward!!

Come see this “secret” design…..

If you are reading on email, you can use this link to go directly to the video….. https://youtu.be/5kfGz1SxhEA

See….I told you that it was easy and relaxing!!

I have an EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

A number of people have asked me for the pattern for the original 2-inch scrap quilt (now named “Windmill Chain”) so I have written it up and it is available for purchase!!

Click HERE for more information!!

Bordering the scrap

When I left you yesterday, I had taken off the two extra rows and was left with this arrangement…..

Now it was time to think about borders!

I normally love picking out border fabrics but I found the scrappy nature of this quilt hard to deal with, so I started with what I KNEW.

I KNEW that I wanted to continue the white pattern into the first border.

I started with two yellowish inner borders….

….but both of those looked insipid!!

Next I played with my “Tried & True” fabric…..a mottled navy…..

Oh yes….that PERFECTLY frames the scraps!!

That pieced, it was time to figure out the outside border!!

I finally came up with four options……

This interesting fabric…..

This fun stripe

More 2-inch scraps (I would leave the white ones out)

More navy…..

I stared at the design wall, took tons of photos of each choice, and still couldn’t make a decision.

Then I did what I should have done in the first place, I called downstairs and asked for my husband (Michael) to come up and give me his advice!

His first comment was “I don’t really like any of them”!!

He then stated that the pieced squares were too much, the two fabrics were too dull and the navy was too narrow.

Wait….you like the Navy??? It can be wider!!!

So it was decided to finish it off with a wider navy strip and it was the PERFECT solution…..

Next, let’s get the back made and start thinking about quilting designs!!

Stay tuned for more!!

A Touch or Two of Red

Yesterday I shared the centerpiece to the “down the rabbit hole” quilt that I started……

Now it was time to add some borders. My first thought was to add a 2-inch red border…..

….but it was apparent that 2-inch was too wide. So, let’s look at my 1.5-inch red strips…..

I chose to cut them into various sizes, ranging from 2-inch to 4-inch…..

The nice thing about doing various sizes is that you don’t have to worry about ANYTHING matching up, and that is always a good thing!!

I sewed them into couplets…..

…..quadruplets……

….and kept stitching until I had one strip long enough for all four sides…..

I chose not to iron this strip until I had finished all of the piecing. While ironing, I tugged lightly at the strip to be sure that it stayed straight in the pressing process…..

Now I was ready to attach the borders. Some people spend a lot of time measuring and cutting but my process is a bit easier. Here it is…..

First I lay the border strips down the middle of the top……

…..and trim the borders to fit the top…..

Now both border pieces are the exact same size.

Next I mark the center of one border strip and match it up to the middle of one side of the top, and pin in place…..

Next, move to a far corner and pin the strip in place…..

Repeat for the other side…..

Now I look at the area between the two pins. In this case you can see that there is more fullness in the red border than in the quilt top……

This is where we can laud the stretchy qualities of cotton fabrics!!! I slightly tugged the fabrics so that the two edges lined up and then I held them in place with a pin…..