When it comes to borders, the possibilities are endless! This post is only going to talk about basic (non-pieced) borders, but you should add whatever kind of border makes your heart happy 🙂

Basic Border Steps – Finished Size: 72″x 72″

1. Cut (8) – 3.5” x WOF strips
2. Sew ends of 2 strips together to make 1 long strip of fabric.
3. Repeat with remaining strips to create (4) border strips.
4. Attach first 2 strips to opposite sides.
5. Press seams to the outside and trim.
6. Attach 2 remaining strips to unbordered sides and press.

Here is a simple graphic showing the dimensions for borders to make 3 different finished sizes: Throw, Twin, and Bed. To make one of the larger sizes follow the steps above, using 12.5″x WOF strips where needed.

If you’d like more information on attaching borders, I have gathered 3 different resources:

• Amy Smart’s Adding Borders 101 is a concise blog post on how to calculate precise border dimensions by measuring your quilt top.
• If you prefer video tutorials, Applying the Perfect Borders to Your Quilt: Avoiding Waves and Puckers from The Quilter’s Planner covers similar information with a bit more explanation and more visuals.
• For in-depth border instruction, Martingale has a downloadable PDF from Robin Strobel, How to Sew Borders on Quilts, that will walk you through the process.

Finishing Tutorials Round-Up

Speaking of tutorials, as I mentioned last month here is a link to submit your favorite tutorials for basting, quilting, and binding to share with our guild in the December post.
If you or a friend have any tutorials fitting these categories, be sure to include those too!