Border Tutorial

Adding Borders

When you have completed piecing your quilt, gently press the whole top and trim threads. 

Lay quilt out flat on table or floor.  Using a 3 metre long tape measure, measure the length of the quilt through the centre.  Note this measurement down.  Then measure down each side of your quilt.  Note these measurements down. 

How to calculate:

Cutting Borders

Borders should always be cut on the straight grain of fabric (this is down the selvedge).  If your budget doesn’t fit buying fabric for the full length of your quilt, you can join your borders but we suggest you join on a 45º angle.



If you join your borders, press seam open.  Lay border out flat and cut to the exact length eg 65¼”.

Pinning and Sewing Borders to Quilt

Find the centre of the length of your quilt and place pins on the quarter sections on both sides.  Do the same for the border pieces.

Lay border on top of quilt.  Match the pins and the ends of both the quilt and the border piece.  You may need to ease a bit between the pins.

Pressing

Borders can stretch very easily when ironing.  To avoid this, lay quilt on ironing board with border on top.  Gently press the stitching line on the wrong side.  This sets the thread into the fabric and stops stretching.

Lay quilt right side up and press seam to border.  Don’t iron the edge of the border as this will stretch it out of shape. 

You are now ready to add the top and bottom borders. 

Lay quilt out flat and measure across the top and bottom.

Cut border 45½” and repeat as with side border.

Adding Additional Borders

Follow all the same steps as with the first borders.