flat borders

[Lynn K.]

What is the secret to nice flat borders? I starched the fabric, cut it the exact length, pinned and still I have a bit of a ripple. What am I doing wrong????? This is so frustrating :x

Thanks for your suggestions!

Patty in Alabama

[Lynn K.]

The best suggestion I've ever had was to cut the border the length of the fabric where there's much less stretch. Also, when measuring for your border, measure the quilt in the center and cut the borders that length. If either the quilt or the border is slightly larger, put it on the bottom when you sew to help ease the fullness.
Sometimes I actually measure the center of the quilt and both sides and then average them to cut the length of the border.

[Lynn K.]

I measured the sides and averaged that - should have checked the middle. I will try that and thanks for the tip about putting the longer one on the bottom.

I appreciate your help

[Lynn K.]

I don't think that I do it the correct way, but it works for me. I cut my widths than lay both sides down the center of the quilt. Then I cut the lengths and sew them to the border area.

[Lynn K.]

I also lay the border down the center and cut. I also find the center of the border length and center of the quilt top and crease. then find the quarter by folding the ends to the center and crease. Match up the creases with the top and border and pin that way if one is a little longer than the other, the extra fabric will be evenly distributed as you sew.

Hope it makes sense. Ofcourse none of this will work if your top isn't squared up. That could also be part of the problem.

Cheryl

[Judith T.]

I, too, lay the border down the middle of the quilt and cut and then find and middle of the border and pin, and the middle of the quilt and pin, then fold to find the quarters of the border, pin and the quilt and pin, then match the pins. You then can ease in what doesn't match. I never knew this until about a month ago and it now works well for me. Judy in AZ ( still in YOrk, PA)

[Judith T.]

When I put the second border on, I measured the center and both sides, averaged that and cut the border. I put the longest on the bottom to help ease and it did great!

I do like the idea of putting the fabric on the quilt top and cutting it that way rather than using the measuring tape

The top is square - I have learned how VERY important that is, but thanks for mentioning it

Thank you all for your suggestings and help. Isn't that one of the greatest things about this forum? You can find help for any quilting question you have

Thanks again,
Patty in Alabama

[Judith T.]

I have always done my borders by cutting the strips overlong first (if I need 40" I cut strips 45") and then trimming them after they are attached. I make sure to lay the quilt out as flat as I can when I trim and make sure it is square.

[Judith T.]

I will sometimes cut the border length just 1/4" short- then ease it in.

Sharon

[Eileen K.]

Sharon,
The problem with cutting your borders a tad short is that your center may have fullness.
eileenkny

[Beth A.]

Make sure you have equal densities of quilting in the center and borders of your quilt.

One of my most common problems is choosing a quilting design for the border which is not as dense as the center quilting. That leaves the center smaller than the borders, and so the borders ripple a bit. blocking the quilt seems to help, but the basic problem is still there, just masked.

BethMI

[Beth A.]

I recently had a problem that frustrated me. I foolishly didn't pre-wash my fabrics and when the quilt was done with over 2 years of hand applique and hand piecing, the borders shrank less than the fabrics in the center blocks (which shrank more). The result is that the border waves because the center of the quilt is now smaller than I originally measured. I'm going to try to steam and press and slightly stretch the material in the blocks and see if I can get them to lay a bit flatter. Right now they have that old fashioned puckered look.

So, the moral is, better prewash everything cuz the different fabrics could shrink different amounts and cause problems! Nancy in NY

[Beth A.]

I recently had a problem that frustrated me. I foolishly didn't pre-wash my fabrics and when the quilt was done with over 2 years of hand applique and hand piecing, the borders shrank less than the fabrics in the center blocks (which shrank more). The result is that the border waves because the center of the quilt is now smaller than I originally measured. I'm going to try to steam and press and slightly stretch the material in the blocks and see if I can get them to lay a bit flatter. Right now they have that old fashioned puckered look.

So, the moral is, better prewash everything cuz the different fabrics could shrink different amounts and cause problems! Nancy in NY

Dont we hate it when it happens?? :shock:
Have you tried to block your quilt?? Put it in your washing machine and give it a rinse...lay it out on a carpet..pull and stretch..use a ruler if you want to make sure its staight..pin it down to the carpet and let it dry..And voila...you have a flat quilt to go on the wall.
I have tried this many times after I watched Ricky´s DVD, and it works out perfectly every time :wink: :lol: :lol:

[Beth A.]

I AM thinking about trying that. I might try some steam with the iron first. Thanks for the reminder about the blocking. I've never really done that and maybe I should! NA