Add a Pieced Border to Your Quilt
When you're dealing with one quilt block you can typically use the "textbook" finished size to calculate border component dimensions (the size the pattern lists as its finished size, or the unfinished size minus 1/2" along each edge).Determine a unit size that divides into the dimensions of the finished sides of your quilt block or top. It needn't be a whole number, but the length should be rotary cuttable. For instance:
- (6) 4" (finished) squares will fit evenly along the sides of a 24" (finished) quilt.
Squares that work along the first two sides of a square quilt will work on the remaining two, since the quilt is symmetrical and the units measure the same on both sides.
If you make a border from rectangles, be sure the dimensions work on all sides. For instance:
- Sew (6) joined 4" x 2" rectangles (finished size) along their short sides to make top and bottom borders of the same 24" quilt. The quilt top now finishes at 28" tall (24" + 2" + 2"). A border made up of (7) 4" x 2" rectangles (finished size) will fit along the 28" top and bottom (24" + 4").
On Point Quilts
Blocks placed on point are usually a bit of a wonky size -- not always rotary cuttable, making pieced borders a little more difficult. Measure for borders as you would any quilt and make a patchwork border that's a close to the correct size as possible (it won't be off by much) and ease the border to fit the quilt.Adapt any quilt to suit the patchwork border you want to create by adding one or more plain borders to change the quilt's dimensions.
Reminder
Used finished sizes to calculate unit dimensions for pieced borders.
