Adding a Ruffle

[Deborah W.]

I am making a quilt for our granddaughter and would like to add a ruffle to the top and bottom of the quilt. I am not sure how to bind the quil if I sew the ruffle to the top and bottom. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Betty J.]

Debbie, Neat quilt!. You have to face the two sides with the ruffle, instead of binding it. If you want to bind the two sides without the ruffles you would do that before the facing, then sew the facing on with your ruffles facing toward the middle, catching the raw edge of the ruffle between the facing and the quilt. Then turn and hand stitch down the facing on the back, or you could face all four sides with a mitered facing that would look really neat on the inside of your quilt. If you want to bind it with a different color, you could add a narrow border the same width and color as the finished binding on the two sides with the ruffle before you add the ruffle to give an illusion of a binding, then bind the two sides, then do the facing. Hope this helps. Cheers, BJ

[Deborah W.]

Thanks Betty Jo. I will have find out how to face a quilt but now that I have your instructions I hope I can put the ruffle on it. Thanks for your advice.

[Deborah W.]

I have been reading about facing a quilt and have found a couple of methods that looks fairly straightforward. I am just wondering if, when the facing is turned to the back of the quilt, it shows like a regular type binding? Do I just stitch it down? Cutting it 2 1/2 inches seems like a lot of it would show on the back. Maybe I am missing something when I am reading the tutorials on this.

[Betty J.]

It does show, but if it is neatly stitched down, it can add a lot to the back...looking kind of like a border, or you can do a very narrow facing that looks more like a binding. It doesn't matter how wide it is, it just has to look good and be stitched sturdily on the back. Wish I could show you in person. :wink: I can see it in my mind, but not very good at explaining it, I think. Here's a tutorial that shows you:
http://fibermania.blogspot.com/2008/...ly-finish.html

and another
http://www.bluemoonriver.com/HowToFaceAQuilt.pdf

It ends up looking kind of like a frame on the back. If you decide to bind the unruffled edges, however, you don't need to miter the corners, of course, but sew them down neatly. Hope that helps.

Cheers,

BJ

[Deborah W.]

Thanks for the links to tutorials as well as the advice. I think I get it now and will give it a go after I get the top quilted. I wish you could show me in person as well but I really value the expertise of all on TQS and am so thankful for being able to communicate through the forum and the blogs.

[Betty J.]

Please post pics of the finished results (both sides, if you want). It sounds wonderful. I'd like to see how the ruffle looks too. Cheers, BJ