Border Matters 03: mitres

If I have sufficient fabric I like to make a mitred border. You need the length of the side of the quilt plus two border widths for each one. I add a little bit extra. 

Here illustrated with my quilt.

First I mark the seam lines at the corners on the reverse side of the quilt top. Where they cross is the starting and stopping point of the seam stitching.

Reverse of top piece

Then match the centre of the border strip to the middle of the edge of the quilt  and pin. 

Centre fold of border strip matched
to top piece centre.

Pinned

The rest of the pinning is done with the back of  the quilt top uppermost and right sides together.














Sew all four border strips stopping and starting where the seams cross. I do two opposite sides and then the remaining two.

 

First two sides. Note stop and start points.

Last two sides pinned at the centre ready to turn over and
sew on the reverse.

Now draw or press a 45 degree line from the marked point to the outer edge of the border strip, using the lines on your ruler or a set square.

Using a set square. note side of the
set square is aligned with the edge of
the border trip.

Using a ruler.

Place the two adjacent strips alongside each other and pin.
Sew along your marked line either back stitching or using a smaller stitch before you reach the point.

Ready to sew: borders pinned together and sides aligned.

Open out and press. 

You see the excess length I cut
poking out

Trim away excess fabric.

Be careful!

Border Matters 02

The final stage of a partially pieced border setting

When I haven't got enough fabric for a mitred border I often resort to a partially pieced border. The length is calculated as the finished edge length of the quilt plus the finished border width plus half an inch though I usually add a bit extra. 

The first border length is only partially attached leaving the end unsewn. Then the remaining three sides are added (the second at the bottom of the above picture). Finally the first strip is completed. This becomes especially clear with striped fabric as in my cushion top piece below.

First and second pieces added

Rounds complete

Final borders laid out

Border Matters 01

At Christmas I swap the everyday cushion covers in our living room for seasonal ones. When our group taught a block or technique I would often make a Christmas version and make it into a cushion cover. Now I have Christmas covers without a suitable size cushion and larger cushions without a matching  Christmas cover. I do have some orphan 12" blocks from a wonderful applique class taught by Inger Milburn and I am killing two birds with one stone, adding borders to upsize them and illustrate different border strategies to the U3A class.
I was surprised by how good my 20+ years ago applique technique was, both machine and but especially by hand. I'm not sure I do it so nicely now. I think I mastered needleturn in Inger's class; perhaps I  need to relearn it. We learnt a different technique with a different block every class and I always tried my very best.
Anyway a basic technique for borders is to add a strip to two opposite sides and then longer strips to the remaining sides. I don't do this very often. The busy prints hide the joins.

I added 4" x 12.5" strips top and bottom of the block and 4" x 19.5" strips to the sides. Quilting will reduce the size which I shall trim to 18.5" to make an 18" finished size cushion.

Here is my basic sample with the longer strips at the top and bottom. I should have taken assembly pictures.

Quay mysteries

These pictures of versions made by Quay Quilters were taken in 2006.

Clue 17: One Last Heave

Add the two remaining triangle pieces to the other side of the medallion. 

Side pieces ready to add

All done: note uneven edges

I had upsized the triangle pieces so some stick out. 

At the end the smallest overlap was 1/2" so I trimmed the rest of the piece to this width as shown.

Same section after trimming.

Trimmings

Now the mystery is revealed. You can either sandwich and bind or add a border or borders to enlarge it. I'll be posting about borders in the coming days.

Clue 16: Coming Together

Stitch the lob-sided ABC triangles units to opposite sides of the medallion so that the pattern matches and the ABC background squares are framed by Fabric 3.

Clue 15: Central Medallion

Join the pieces from Clue 13 and 14 as shown to form a square.
You have two background squares diagonally across from each other framed by Fabric 1 top left and bottom right and the other by Fabric 3 top right and bottom left.. 

U3A Mystery Quilt, clue FOURTEEN

Getting there
Use the two remaining Set A's to join the two Y and Z squares as shown.
Note the asymmetric layout whereby one background square is framed by Fabric 1 and the other by Fabric 3.
Press in toward centre Set A's.

Ready to join

Done

U3A Mystery Quilt Clue THIRTEEN

The heart of the matter
Locate the fabric 1 square you've been saving and sew a Set C unit to each side of it aligned as shown.
Note the asymmetric positions of the Fabric 1 and 3 strips.
Press toward the C sets.

Ready to sew

Done

U3A Mystery Clue TWELVE

Lobsided
Take the 2 remaining HST units from Clue 10 and add a single QST to one side of each in the same alignment in both cases, either on the right or the left so that they are identical.
Press toward the QSTs.

Two lobsided units

U3A Mystery Clue ELEVEN

Getting  in a flap
Take just two of the HST units from Clue 10 and add QST's on either side as shown. (2 QST's remain).
Take care to match the two right angles as neatly as you can.
Press towards the QST's.

U3A Mystery Quilt Clue TEN

What's the point?
Take all four ABC units you made earlier and attach all four large background HST's to the long edge with the Fabric 1 squares. 
The important thing is to match the centre of the long triangle side with the centre of the ABC units. 
The triangle corners will stick out at the sides. 
Be careful with the long edge of the HST as it is on the bias and stretchy.
Press as desired.

The label should read "X 4" !!

U3A Mystery Quilt Clue NINE

Return of Set Square
Take the two Set D's and sew to two Set C's to make 2 more squares (2 set C's left).
This time Fabric 1 forms a frame around the background squre.
Press toward the D set.
Label Z square.

Z square

U3A Mystery Quilt Clue EIGHT

Set Square
Take the two Set B's and sew to two C Sets to form two squares (4 Set C units left).
Again Fabric 3 frames the background square while the strip squares are at right angles to the Fabric 1 square.
Press towards the B set and label Y square. 

Two Y square units