World Wide Quilting Page
Question of the Week
Question for the week of June 30, 2003:
Our question this week comes Mandy R:
How do you decide the best size of sashing to use between blocks? Is it based on a percentage of the size of the block? Does it depend on the size you want the finished block?
Judy :
I generally follow the percentage guideline and then try spreading out a piece of the sashing fabric (still whole) and lay the blocks on top of it as close to the "recommended sashing width" distance apart as possible. From there, trust your instincts to tell you if it looks OK. But remember, if you have a very wide sashing (more than 2 or 2 1/2 inches), you may find you'll need to quilt within it.
Carol Ann :
I like to hand tie my quilts, so a wide sashing is out of the question. I usually use a 2 inch finished sash. It looks very nice plain or quilted!
Pat Rainey :
I have done the calculations all of the ways you mentioned.
Sometimes it just depends on how you want
the finished quilt to look. Sometimes the
blocks need to be a certain size, and sometimes
you just want the sashing to fit with the
pattern of the blocks.
So any of those ways is OK.
Patty :
I have heard it said ... it should a measurement divisible by the block size. (a 3" sash on a 9" block ... 2 1/2" sashing on a 10" block, etc.) I think a 1" sashing looks right on everything and only use wide sashing if the block is very detailed. There are no rules, so try it out and see what you like best.
World Wide Quilting Page * Question of the Week