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Question of the Week

Question for the week of March 5, 2001:

Our question this week comes from Jmac2136

I have just finished my first quilt -- the borders see to be too big -- they ripple. I measured through the center and cut the borders that length. How do I keep this from happening?

topsyturvycareations@juno.com :
I would 1st measure the quilt all around,and through the centers, both directions. I do this to ensure I have an even quilt, not one measuring different lengths and widths in different areas. Provided I am not more than 1/2 to 1 in. off anywhere, I go about borders in one of a few different ways. 1st, to miter corners, I cut lengths and widths longer than needed to allow for the mitering in the corners, (not a specific length.) It will depend on the width of the border the extra on the ends. Lay it on a flat surface, and make a pretend miter by folding the fabric as if mitered. Then sew each of the four sides on, leaving a 1/4 in. to make yor miter.
If not mitering, cut the length of the 2 ends, plus a little, sew them on, and before pressing, with the leftover extending beyond the quilt, while folded under the quilt, use your rotary cutter and a square ruler to trim the excess. Do both ends the same way, then repeat with the sides. This way you are not trying to make up for a 1/4 to 1/2 inch difference by squeezing it in or stretching it. Also make sure all your thread tensions are in good shape, and stitch length is correct for the thickness, test on a sample 1st. If in the beginning, when measuring, you had big discrepensies in the measurements,(across and around your quilt,) thats another whole can of worms. And will require some creative correction of the origional quilt design. This, however is how a lot of art quilts may have gotten started in the 1st place. A very good reference for your question is "Happy Endings". Its been around for a long time, but I bellieve its still available.

Kathy Kaser :
I've heard this suggestion:
Make the quilt fit the border, meaning,
ease the fullness in. Take an average of
all your side measurements and lengthwise
measurements.
sandra Buss :
make sure when you are attaching your borders, you start with joining the center of the quilt side with the center of the border. I break my double size quilt into 8 equally measured points and do the same with my border.
Match the points=measure acurately and it works. Also you can spray starch the border pretty heavily and it keeps it nice and straight to work with.
Barbara :
Dear Jmac2136,

Instead of measuring with a tape, lay the border strips
on top of the quilt through the center.
Whack off the ends. When attaching to each side,
be sure to pin each end first, then work your way down
, pinning every 2 - 3 inches. If you find that one side
has more fabric than the other, lay that side down when sewing
the seam. Your feed dogs will ease in the extra fabric.

Amy I :
I just happened upon this list of "solutions to your Undluating edges". I think you'll find a number of possible answers to your question!
Avoiding Wavy Edges. Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 22:52:41 PST I read this somewhere and found it works great for keeping my quilts from having wavy edges....
URL: www.quilt.com/FAQS/WavyEdgesFAQ.html
Anne Marie :
This used to happen to me, too. It's really important to square up each component of each block as you're piecing, and then assembling the quilt.
And then do those edge and center measurements as everyone suggests - it does work!
Diane :
You should measure both ends also.
quiltarkmv@yahoo.com :
Rippled borders are difficult to work with. To avoid ripples, try to square your blocks before piecing them into a top. To avoid ripples when adding the border you need to measure CAREFULLY.

I always work with the long sides of the quilt first (if a rectangle).Take 3 measurements: measure the left long side, the right long side, and lengthwise right down the middle of the quilt. If your quilt top has square corners, the 3 measurements will all be the same. If they aren't and differ more than 1/2 inch, you need to make adjustments in your blocks BEFORE adding the border. Usually 1/2 inch can be safely eased in or out of a border seam. More than that produces ripples or wavy borders.

When you cut your border fabric strips, measure and square up the corners with a square or quilter's rule. Cut your border strips equal to the center measurement + your 1/2 inch seam allowance as long as the left and right sides are no more than 1/2 inch longer or 1/2 inch shorter.

Measure and mark the center of the sides with a pin and mark the center of the border with a pin (or mark both into quarters). Match pins and pin border in place.

You can carefully ease the border fabric or the quilt top to match--as long as you don't try to ease in more than 1/2 inch. This may sound like a lot of trouble, but the results are worth the extra effor......your borders will lay flat, they will be even and easy to mark, and they will look great.
Good luck!

stdowning@netzero.net :
Whoops - I laid down in bed and jumped right up as I forgot to tell you to add the 1/4 inch seam allowance to each end of the border. So that would be 63 1/2 inches - I wish I could draw you a picture, I'm not real good at explaining things. Good Luck ST
stdowning@netzero.net :
As your borders are the most important part of your quilt you should always make sure that your border is cut to the size of how many blocks you have. If your blocks are 9" squares (cut size would be 9 1/4 to allow for seaming) and you have 7 blocks down the side, your side border should be 63 inches. Your best bet for borders is to always figure the size of your blocks. If you have sashing between the blocks also figure those too. Do the same for the top and bottom.
Leslie :
I see 2 possibilities here (both of which have happened to me!). One is that your quilt may not be "square". I've been told to measure the middle, top and bottom (or middle and both sides) to see if all the measurements are the same. If there are big differences, you may cut your borders too long and the center will also give you fits when you try to baste it before quilting. The other possibility is that you stretched the borders when you attached them. It's best to pin liberally and baste, and to avoid "pulling" the quilt through the presser foot. Good Luck!

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