Tutorial - How to Sew on Borders to Keep Quilt Flat, NO Wavy Edges

You, Too, Can Prevent Wavy Borders!

Can you see the waviness in this quilt?

I don't know how well you can see the amount of fullness in this quilt. I have the top straight across, and I've lined up the squares across the belly bar, yet it hangs with more and more fullness as it goes out. How does this happen? 

Well, in this case, the piecer is fairly new to quilting and doesn't know how important precise cutting and lining up pieces are. She sews, bless her heart, and "lets the chips fall where they may." Then leaves me to try and make it look good.

I'm guessing she has also heard the "fabulous tip" of sewing the borders on without measuring and then cutting the excess off when you get to the end. This is a fabulous recipe for having wavy borders and a very crooked quilt that the longarmer has to try and fix/cover up.

I will say that I can hide a multitude of sins in the quilting, but not everything. Both that first quilt and this one have so much fulness that it is impossible to hide it. Below is one of the worst areas - and even though I was trying to smooth down the fabric, it still looks horrible to my way of thinking. She was perfectly happy with the way it was. I'm not and don't want my name put to it. 

So...How does one avoid having a quilt with wavy boarders? I'm so glad you asked. Let me explain the best way to put borders on.

My preference is the easiest border to put on, with overlapped corners. This is when you sew the two side borders first, then sew the top and bottom borders on. However, the trick lies in finding the right size to cut the borders. 

Lay the center part of the quilt on a flat surface (a rug is great because the fabric clings to it and it easier to get a more accurate measurement as you smooth out the fabric without stretching). Smooth, smooth, smooth until it's as flat and straight as possible. If your quilt is made up of squares on-point or other biases side to side or top to bottom, remember to smooth diagonally as well. 

Measure across the CENTER of the central portion of the quilt (in this case, the panel) top to bottom. This is the length you need for your side borders. This can be done with a measuring tape (as pictured above) or by using the border strips as your measuring tape as shown below. Both parallel borders need to be the exact same length.

Find the center of the border by folding in half. Put a pin in that fold. Find the center of the quilt in the same way OR if it is pieced with the same size squares, you could find the center seam or fold the center block in half to get the center. This last one works if you are a careful piecer. If you sew more randomly, you better use the first method.

Match the center pin of the quilt with the center pin of the border and repin in that spot, connecting the two. Match edge of the border with the edge of the center portion, pin, then do the same with the bottom edge and border. For something this small, those 3 anchor points may be enough, but if it's longer, or if you prefer more anchors, subdivide both the borders and quilt top in quarters (by matching the end to the center pin to find the quarter mark, etc).

Ease any fullness in as you sew. If either the center or border is obviously longer than the other, sew with that side on the bottom so the feed dogs can help ease in the fullness. 

Press the seam allowance towards the border.

Now back to the floor to measure side to side, including the borders you just added in your measurement. Again, do this with the border strip fabric or measuring tape, whichever gets you a more accurate measurement. Always best to measure twice and cut once. I like to see how these numbers match up with my math, as well.

In the end, I had to refigure some of the outer border numbers because the seminole border figures were slightly off by a bit. Those borders were on the bias, which always makes things interesting. However, comparing my numbers helps me know what I had anticipated and gives me a place to jot down new numbers.

If you have multiple borders to add, continue by repeating what you did above. You got this! 

The true test - when you smooth it out on the floor, does it lie flat? Are sides across from each other the same length? Well, done.

And as a longarmer, Thank You! for taking the time to make your quilts flat and squared up.

Tutorial - How to Sew Binding with Mitered Corners on by Machine, No Visible Start/Stop

 Tutorial - Beautiful Mitered Binding by Machine. Sewn first to back and topstitched on front.

First you will cut strips for binding. Anywhere from 2"-2.5" are favorite choices, and everyone has their own preference. Mine is 2.5" but I have done 2", 2-1/8" and 2-1/4 as well. I like 2-1/2 because it is an easy size strip to fine with jelly rolls and my seam allowance matches up perfectly with the foot on my machine. You will then lay the strips perpendicular to each other and sew on the diagonal.

Some find it helpful to line up the strips on the cutting mat to ensure they are indeed perpendicular, then pin to the side of the sewing line. Some draw a line and sew on the line.

For me, I have a piece of painter's tape lined up with where my needle is sewing, so I just keep that corner intersection lined up with my painter's tape as I sew, ensuring a straight line without having to mark.

But if marking is what works for you, go for it. Sew diagonally, but remember this is a bias seam, so take care not to stretch it.

When you open it up, it should be straight. If it's wonky or the edges don't line up, you will need to unpick and redo. Don't worry, anyone who has perfected this has had to unpick many times until they learned the trick.

Cut 1/4" from the sewn line, either with your rotary cutter or scissors. Trim any overhanging fabric.

Press the seam OPEN, either with your finger or an iron. (Sorry, no photo, but you know how to do that.)

Some people prefer to fold in half lengthwise and press either at the very beginning after cutting the strips or now. I on the other hand prefer to fold it as I go. I feel I do a better job lining up all the raw edges that way. Whatever works for you. Then I roll the binding up on my hand until I'm ready to sew it on.

(Yes, this roll of binding was the leftover from another quilt that I sewed with the leftover from this quilt to show you how to join the strips. The process is the same, though.) Now we're ready to sew.

I like to have my start/stop jointure somewhere in the middle of a side. Since turning the corners are the most awkward part, I don't want that jointure too close to a corner. I also like to make sure that the diagonal seams in the binding do not land at a corner - that's too much bulk. So I pick what I think might be a good place, pin the binding at that point, then quickly run the binding around, making sure there are no seams too close to a corner. Adjust if necessary and you're ready to start. I also like to put a pin at the place I need to stop sewing (4"-8" from the beginning of the binding tail).

Leave a tail of binding of no less than 4" (I prefer closer to 8" or more so I have plenty of room when it comes to joining the beginning and the end together) before your starting point. Begin sewing the binding to the BACK of the quilt. I use a scant 3/8" seam allowance.

As you approach the corner, you can mark your turning point with chalk, a pin, or eyeball it. For me, I stop close to where I think it is. 

With the needle down, I turn the quilt and see if I'm in the correct spot. Do I need to take another stitch or did I take one stitch too many? If I overshot by a stitch, I can gently turn the wheel on my sewing machine backwards, enough to raise the needle and undo the last part of the stitch. Then gently slide the quilt over to be in the correct spot and lower the needle again. Sometimes that's back one stitch, sometimes it's half a stitch, but now you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Either backstitch a little or pivot and sew a diagonal line to the corner (off the quilt).

Now move your quilt a little away from the the foot so you can fold the binding up away from you, then straight down towards you. You will have a diagonal fold from the corner, the folded edges of the binding will line up and there will be a fold that lines up with the raw edge of the quilt farthest from you with the binding raw edge lining up with the right-hand side you are about to sew next.

You can now sew, either starting off the  quilt, or exactly where you stopped and backstitched. I've seen people swear by both methods, and both seem to work equally well. Continue all the way around until you come to your first side again. Stop somewhere from 4"-8" from where the edge of the binding starts. (Again, I like to give myself plenty of room). Luckily I have a pin reminding myself where to stop. Yes, I've tried it without, and yes, I've sewn further than I should have and had to unpick.

I have tried this many ways, like, cutting the edges at a diagonal and then finding that I cut it too short and having to add a little 1" piece in or other fun mistakes. This is what works best for my brain, and since starting this way, make very few mistakes.

Whatever the width of your binding, that is the amount of overlap you need. Mine is 2.5" so I overlap 2-1/2" and cut.

Oh, good. I did it right.

To avoid getting the binding sewn in a twist, I fold the binding at a 45 degree angle on one side, lay the other on top, then pin or hold them together so I sew them the right way. Again, you could mark, pin, or whatever helps you sew it correctly.

Then sew at the diagonal, the same way as sewing the binding strips together. (Please ignore that wrinkle in the strip on top. I keep thinking it's a line I drew, but it's not. Plus it's more noticeable in the picture than it was in real life.)

Straighten it out and make sure it is the correct length. Whew! It's good. If it's not, now's the time to fix it before cutting anything off.

Now trim 1/4" from the seam and press open. Finger pressing works just fine.

And finish sewing the binding to the back.

Again, starting somewhere in the middle of one of the 4 sides, I bring the folded edge of the binding to the front and topstitch it down, nice and close (1/8" or less) to the folded edge.

As I approach the corner, I want to fold the edge closest to me all the way into the corner so there is a nice mitered fold in the corner. It is important that the extra binding in the fold be opposite to the extra binding on the back side of the quilt so when you feel the corner, it feels as flat as possible. That is why the bottom edge gets folded up first. Try folding it the other way and feel the difference.

Now keeping those edges folded just so, sew down. If you need pins or clips or some means to help you hold it, do it.

Sew to the point where your needle is into the corner line of the miter, for me it's about 1 stitch onto the binding nearest me. 

With the needle down, pivot. You should be lined up in the right place for sewing. If not, do you need to take another stitch or go back a stitch? Same method as before.

Keep going until you finish. As I sew, my needle is just to the left of the orange seam that sewed the binding to the back.

From the front.

The back. If I had wanted to hide my stitching on the back, I would choose a bobbin thread that matched the back better - a nice cream, or even white would have been less visible (but then you couldn't have seen it as well in the tutorial). And you're done!

Pat's T-Shirt Quilt with Gray Front and Pink Back

Pat made this memory T-shirt Quilt for her family member who loves pink. However, pink on the front with these colors of T-shirts didn’t seem to be the right choice. So she made the back pink. Being a t-shirt quilt, I did a large meander in Sterling Gray Glide and Glide 60 thread which blended well on the front and back.

Emerald's Scrappy Spinning Squares Charity Quilt

This charity quilt was made by my sister, Emerald, using up the last of her square scraps in two different sizes.

I love how she made the swirl.

I quilted it using the Duet pantograph from Urban Elementz in Sterling gray Glide and Glide 60 thread.

The next 2 pictures I took because I was struck by how the same gray thread looked so different on the light vs. dark fabric.

The back, made of more neutral fabrics, makes a whole new look. It's like having two quilts in one.