Add The Perfect Borders To Your Next Quilt Project

Everything You Need to Know About Choosing and Applying Quilting Borders

Whether you’re a beginner quilter or a seasoned pro, borders can be one of the most challenging aspects of completing a quilt. In this article, I’ll share tips on deciding which border style is best for your quilt, where to buy borders, and the proper techniques for attaching borders to get beautiful, even results every time.

Consider Your Quilt Design When Choosing a Border

The first step is evaluating your quilt design and colors to determine what type of border will complement it best. Ask yourself questions like: Is the quilt simple or busy? Bold colors or soft tones? Do I want the border to blend in or stand out?

From my experience, simpler quilts usually look best with narrow plain borders that don’t distract from the quilt top. Busy prints work well on complex quilts to tie all the elements together. For bold colors, consider tone-on-tone borders that provide separation without overpowering the quilt. Soft quilts often pop with a contrasting wide border.

Popular Border Styles to Consider

1. Striped borders: Made of alternating fabric strips, these allow you to incorporate multiple prints and tones to complement your quilt. I’ve found they’re very versatile for any quilt style.

2. Pieced borders: Create interest by piecing small prints, solids, or shapes together into the border. They work well for scrappy or patchwork quilts. I sometimes construct these randomly for a casual look.

3. Appliquéd borders: Stand out with shapes or motifs appliquéd onto a solid border fabric. These tend to work best on less busy quilts so the appliqué features are prominent. Consider fusible web for easy appliqué.

Don’t forget plain solid borders too! They provide a clean, polished finish. Combining different styles can also be impactful, such as a striped inner border with an appliquéd outer edge.

Where to Source Border Fabrics

It’s important to source your border fabrics thoughtfully to get the look you envision. From my experience, the best options are:

• Fabric stores like Joanne’s, Michael’s, and online retailers have a huge selection of borders in prints, solids, and novelty fabrics.

• Quilt shops are ideal for high quality quilting cottons in exclusive prints perfect for borders. You may pay more but it’s worth it for show-stopping results.

• Your quilt stash – rummage and you may find the perfect border hiding there! It’s a fun way to use up scraps too.

Make sure fabrics are colorfast before quilting and prewash to prevent shrinkage. Caring for borders like the quilt top ensures they’ll last for years of enjoyment.

Precise Basting is Key for Perfect Borders

Now it’s time to attach the border! Proper basting is crucial to get perfect results. Here are my steps:

1. Place right sides together and pin inner border fabric to the quilt top, easing fullness as needed. Pin all four sides before sewing.

   

2. Once basted, check for puckers and re-pin as needed. Take your time – it makes sewing straighter.

3. Sew with a 1/4″ seam using the edge of the presser foot as a guide. Backstitch at the beginning and end for reinforcement.

4. Press the seam allowance toward the border fabric for a sleek look. Repeat on remaining three sides.

Tips for Perfect Borders Every Time

Here are more tips from my experience to make perfect borders a breeze:

• Mark a sewing line 1/4″ from the quilt edges with a chalk pencil before pinning for a seam guide.

• Use lots of pins to keep fabric from shifting as you sew. Less than 3-4″ between pins may be needed.

• For mitered corners, fold border strips at a 45° angle with raw edges flush and sew from the fold to the corner. Trim and press open.

  

• Add binding last after borders are sewn to keep raw edges folded neatly under the binding.

follow these techniques and your borders will lie flat with no gathers for a polished finish. Is your quilt complete and full of charm?

I hope these tips have given you ideas and confidence to choose and attach beautiful quilt borders. As always, be willing to improvise based on your quilt too. Have fun with it – that’s what quilting is all about! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Choosing the Right Quilting Border

FAQ

1. What size border do I need around my quilt?

   Most quilters use borders between 2-4 inches wide. Anything less may get overlooked, while anything more than that risks overwhelming the quilt design. A good basic width is 2.5 inches.

2. Which fabric type is best for borders?

   While you can use any fabric you like for borders, cotton or cotton blends tend to work nicely. They are durable enough to stand up to washing and drying over time. Stay away from fabrics that may shrink drastically or stretch out of shape with repeated laundry loads. Choose a fabric that compliments the quilt top colors and pattern.

3. What if my border strips are a different length than the quilt?

   No worries – it’s easy to fix! Simply trim off the excess fabric from the longer strip so it matches the quilt length. Alternatively, you can piece multiple shorter strips together to make one long continuous border. With a little sewing, any border length issue can be solved.

4. Should I add borders to all sides or just some sides?

   Much of this comes down to personal preference. Many quilts have borders on just the outer edges, but you can certainly add them to the top/bottom as well if you want. Some folks do an inner border plus a wider outer border for an interesting layered effect. Borders are your chance to get creative – do what looks best to your eye!

   

5. In what order should I add multiple borders?

   For best results, add borders going from narrowest to widest. Start with any inner narrow borders and work your way out to the wider outer border. This helps avoid overlapping bulk in the quilt corners. Some experts also suggest pinning each border onto the raw edge before sewing to ensure nice alignment.

6. How can I make sure my borders are straight and not wonky?

   Use pins to secure the raw edges as you add each border. Place the pins perpendicular to the edge at regular intervals. Also, press as you work to help create sharp creased corners. Take your time pinning and sewing to reduce wrinkles. A walking foot can help feed bulky fabrics evenly. With care, you can have perfectly positioned borders!