No.9 - ADDING MITRED BORDERS

Mitred borders require longer lengths of border strips for all 4 sides, as a general guide you need the length and width measurement of your block or quilt, add to that the width of the border you require plus another 2 inches. That is:

	For a 12" Block with a 2 ½" border Block = 12" + 3" + 3" + 2" + 2" = 22" cut borders (this includes the ½" seam allowances)
	For 2 borders as illustrated sew strips together first and then treat as a single Border. 4 borders cut with 2" extra on each side.

Fold and pin mark the centre of the block/quilt.
Measure and pin mark the centres and edges of the borders.
Matching pin positions and edges pin and sew to within the quarter inch seam allowance on all 4 border sides, reverse stitch to hold the stitching:

	Sew only to within the quarter inch seam allowance.

Spread the block/quilt out as flat as possible and lightly press the borders outwards with the border pieces extended, one lying over the other (the border pieces should have the same length extending out). Carefully fold the block/quilt RS together diagonally in half so that the 2 end pieces of the borders are aligned one on top of the other from the inner corner of the stitching.

Using a long ruler with a 45 degree angle and lining up the fold of the quilt and the angle with the edge draw a line from the inner corner to the outer corner of the border, pin this line and check that it looks right then sew.

The triangles of excess fabric can be cut off leaving a quarter inch seam allowance, press this seam open.

Repeat on all 4 corners.

Using striped fabric

Some fabulous effects can be obtained using striped fabrics. These always require a mitred corner. I use 2 mirrors to see the effects that can be achieved from different parts of the design BEFORE cutting. To do this just hold the mirrors at right angles and run them up and down the design, decide where you want the corners to fall. Measure the block/quilt. Now find the repeat of the border:

Cut the striped borders out EXACTLY the width you require plus ½" (thats 2 quarter inch seam allowances), take your time and make sure you cut straight, they need doing one border at a time these cannot be cut together.

Fold the strip in half with the required corner designs matching, measure the border – you may need to adjust this length to exactly fit the block/quilt – you do this in the centre of the stripped fabric:

Sew and press this seam open. Pin border to block/quilt edge, sew to within the quarter inch seam allowance.

Lightly press border out, fold block/quilt in half RS together and draw and pin the sewing line. Check on the right side that the design has fallen correctly, if not then redo the corner from the RS and hand-stitch if required.

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Putting in a 'Border spacer'

A spacer is often used when using striped fabric for borders it eliminates the need to cut and re-sew the centres of the borders to make them fit. 2 common problems are:

The repeat units that exactly divide along the length or width do not divide exactly along the other measurement.

The border design is too long – adding a spacing border makes the quilt side longer to accommodate the striped border.

Calculating spacing borders

Measure the block/quilt through the centres, for example say 60"

Measure the striped border from corner design to corner design, say 63"

Take this measurement away from block/quilt measurement which would be 3" divide by 2 = 1 ½" spacers (don’t forget to add ½" seam allowance when cutting)

Don’t be afraid of striped fabrics they can look stunning.

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Happy sewing.

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