Quilt top done!

WELL I FINALLY HAVE THE final boarders on, and am done with my quilt top. If you've been following me along you can now see the finished product. I think it turned out really lovely!

After doing the center of this quilt it really was just about getting the boarders on. You'd think that, that's the easy part and while you're right it is, there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. If you haven't taken a class or read anything about adding boarders, you may think that you just measure out the fabric and slap them on. However if you choose that method and send your top out to a 'longarm' quilter, you may find she's not so happy with your top. If you don't measure properly your quilt will not lay exactly square and will give her problems on her quilt frame.

When you sew a new boarder onto your quilt, you need to treat it as if you're just adding on to another block. Which indeed you are! For my interior boarders I was able to add them without having to use more than once piece of fabric, but as I added the more outer boarders I then had join pieces together.

When I do this I join my fabric like I do when I'm making a binding, by adding it on in a diagonal. I place the fabric in a 'L' position, mark the diagonal, sew and cut.

Then I cut a 1/2 seam allowance and press the seam open. This gives a bit stronger seam.



Now that I have a long enough piece to boarder the longer edges of the quilt I measure in three places. Across the top, middle and bottom. Then you add them up and divide by three to get the average length of your quilt. Then you cut your strip the length of the average. For example, say your quilt measures 34 + 34.25 + 34.5 = 102.75. Then you divide 102.75 by 3 and get 34.25, that's what you would cut your boarder. Then you get the middle of the boarder and the middle of that side of you quilt and begin pinning from the center out. You would do this for each boarder you're adding. This will keep your quilt top nice and square and give you top a much nicer look and make it much easier to quilt.

The last important thing to remember when adding boarders or any part of your quilt for that matter, is the pressing. Remember to always PRESS and not iron. So that you have nice crisp seams and don't unintentionally distort your fabric. Hope these tips help you along your way.

As always enjoy your day!!