Final Borders Assy Question

Back in our "old house" (which, the tornado 6 years back has converted to a
whopping two foot tall building) I had a parquet floor ... to get the
measurements on long/wide quilts, I'd lie/tape it on the *freshly cleaned*
tile and count the tiles it covered and then multiplied that by 12 inches.
If it didn't cover all of a tile, I'd measure how much it *did* cover and
then add that to what it did cover all the way (yeesh ... did that make
sense to anyone other than me???).

Now, I don't have a parquet floor (yet - it's in the planning stages -
simply so I can make huge quilts again - ain't my hubby a sweetie!?) ... so
I just use my dining room table. It's 90 inches long, and if the quilt I'm
making is longer than that, I just fold the quilt in half and measure it
that way, multiply it by 2 (or however many folds) and tack on about a foot
for good measure. I'd rather trim the excess than sew on a too-small length
of fabric (and have to reverse stitch!).

YMMV!

--
Connie
http://sewverycreative.blogspot.com


"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
For goodness sake, I had no idea that it mattered. I usually do mine for
economy of fabric too. While we're here though, how do you go about
measuring something like 100" accurately? I can see the need and borrow
DH's metal wind-up sort of tape or use his long metal ruler plus my
yardstick. Still, I wonder if someone's perfected the challenge. Polly

"KJ" wrote in message
news:Z6Qlj.313481$Fc.184700@attbi_s21...
I learned to do it like you Lorraine. I was told that it felt more like
it
was capped off if the top and bottom were the last two borders. I'm not
sure why, but that's how I view it even now. That it's "finished" with
the top done last. The other way, it feels like the sides aren't
"contained". Just my warped view based on something I read or was told
long
ago. If it's not square, then you don't have as long a piece for the
side
if you do those first when you do it our way.

--
Kathyl (KJ)
remove "nospam" before mchsi
http://community.webshots.com/user/kathylquiltz
"TwinMom" wrote in message
et...
Ok friends, I'm at a loss here. I'm turning to the group to see what
ya'll do. When I was taught to make quilts, one of my first teachers
told
us to put the side borders on first, then add the top and bottom.
Something about seams around the top being uncomfortable when in use,
wearing better, hanging straighter and it was just easier that way.
That's what I was taught all those years ago. Always done it that way.
BTW, most of the smaller quilt patterns I've seen (lap & such) also
show
this "wrong" method.

Now, in making this TB Club Quilt, they want the top and bottom first,
THEN the sides. This makes for some Really Long sides (120") and Fairly
Short top/bottom (84") border cuts. So, I checked with the shop owner
and
she concurs on the TB way. Then I check my reference books (Oh, I
should
read the manual first? LOL) and, Yep, I've been doing it "wrong" all
these years. I'm going to keep doing it my "wrong" way unless there is
some convincing arguments to the contrary. It seems that, when I do it
my
way, the borders on a large rectangular quilt come out generally close
in
size when the sides go on first, and the top/bottom second. In the TB
example, my raw borders would be roughly 100" sides and 104"
top/bottom.

So, keeping in mind that TANQP (There Are No Quilt Police), what do
ya'll
do in attaching your final borders? Curious minds want to know. LOL

Lorraine in WA

I've said this before, but for borders I "measure" with the untrimmed border
fabric piece. I stretch (well not stretch, but you know what I mean) the
fabric through the middle and mark where to trim it for the measurement.
Then I cut the other border from the first one....or use the top
again...whatever is easiest. Works really well.

--
Kathyl (KJ)
remove "nospam" before mchsi
http://community.webshots.com/user/kathylquiltz
"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
For goodness sake, I had no idea that it mattered. I usually do mine for
economy of fabric too. While we're here though, how do you go about
measuring something like 100" accurately? I can see the need and borrow
DH's metal wind-up sort of tape or use his long metal ruler plus my
yardstick. Still, I wonder if someone's perfected the challenge. Polly

"KJ" wrote in message
news:Z6Qlj.313481$Fc.184700@attbi_s21...
I learned to do it like you Lorraine. I was told that it felt more like
it was capped off if the top and bottom were the last two borders. I'm
not sure why, but that's how I view it even now. That it's "finished"
with the top done last. The other way, it feels like the sides aren't
"contained". Just my warped view based on something I read or was told
long ago. If it's not square, then you don't have as long a piece for the
side if you do those first when you do it our way.

--
Kathyl (KJ)
remove "nospam" before mchsi
http://community.webshots.com/user/kathylquiltz
"TwinMom" wrote in message
et...
Ok friends, I'm at a loss here. I'm turning to the group to see what
ya'll do. When I was taught to make quilts, one of my first teachers
told us to put the side borders on first, then add the top and bottom.
Something about seams around the top being uncomfortable when in use,
wearing better, hanging straighter and it was just easier that way.
That's what I was taught all those years ago. Always done it that way.
BTW, most of the smaller quilt patterns I've seen (lap & such) also show
this "wrong" method.

Now, in making this TB Club Quilt, they want the top and bottom first,
THEN the sides. This makes for some Really Long sides (120") and Fairly
Short top/bottom (84") border cuts. So, I checked with the shop owner
and she concurs on the TB way. Then I check my reference books (Oh, I
should read the manual first? LOL) and, Yep, I've been doing it "wrong"
all these years. I'm going to keep doing it my "wrong" way unless there
is some convincing arguments to the contrary. It seems that, when I do
it my way, the borders on a large rectangular quilt come out generally
close in size when the sides go on first, and the top/bottom second. In
the TB example, my raw borders would be roughly 100" sides and 104"
top/bottom.

So, keeping in mind that TANQP (There Are No Quilt Police), what do
ya'll do in attaching your final borders? Curious minds want to know.
LOL

Lorraine in WA

I have a cloth/plastic coated/whatever measuring tape that's 120 in. long.
That is a great tool for measuring borders. But, that said, I usually fold
the fabric in half and cut a 100 in. border at 50 in. from the fold.

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
For goodness sake, I had no idea that it mattered. I usually do mine for
economy of fabric too. While we're here though, how do you go about
measuring something like 100" accurately? I can see the need and borrow
DH's metal wind-up sort of tape or use his long metal ruler plus my
yardstick. Still, I wonder if someone's perfected the challenge. Polly

"KJ" wrote in message
news:Z6Qlj.313481$Fc.184700@attbi_s21...
I learned to do it like you Lorraine. I was told that it felt more like
it was capped off if the top and bottom were the last two borders. I'm
not sure why, but that's how I view it even now. That it's "finished"
with the top done last. The other way, it feels like the sides aren't
"contained". Just my warped view based on something I read or was told
long ago. If it's not square, then you don't have as long a piece for the
side if you do those first when you do it our way.

--
Kathyl (KJ)
remove "nospam" before mchsi
http://community.webshots.com/user/kathylquiltz
"TwinMom" wrote in message
et...
Ok friends, I'm at a loss here. I'm turning to the group to see what
ya'll do. When I was taught to make quilts, one of my first teachers
told us to put the side borders on first, then add the top and bottom.
Something about seams around the top being uncomfortable when in use,
wearing better, hanging straighter and it was just easier that way.
That's what I was taught all those years ago. Always done it that way.
BTW, most of the smaller quilt patterns I've seen (lap & such) also show
this "wrong" method.

Now, in making this TB Club Quilt, they want the top and bottom first,
THEN the sides. This makes for some Really Long sides (120") and Fairly
Short top/bottom (84") border cuts. So, I checked with the shop owner
and she concurs on the TB way. Then I check my reference books (Oh, I
should read the manual first? LOL) and, Yep, I've been doing it "wrong"
all these years. I'm going to keep doing it my "wrong" way unless there
is some convincing arguments to the contrary. It seems that, when I do
it my way, the borders on a large rectangular quilt come out generally
close in size when the sides go on first, and the top/bottom second. In
the TB example, my raw borders would be roughly 100" sides and 104"
top/bottom.

So, keeping in mind that TANQP (There Are No Quilt Police), what do
ya'll do in attaching your final borders? Curious minds want to know.
LOL

Lorraine in WA

Well, golly, Kathyl. Why didn't I think of that? Well, we know why.
Nevermind. The truth is, the number of inches isn't important - it is
having the measurement right. You are just so smart. Thank you. Polly

"KJ" wrote in message
news_Qlj.313550$Fc.164671@attbi_s21...
I've said this before, but for borders I "measure" with the untrimmed
border fabric piece. I stretch (well not stretch, but you know what I
mean) the fabric through the middle and mark where to trim it for the
measurement. Then I cut the other border from the first one....or use the
top again...whatever is easiest. Works really well.

Depends on the design of the quilt! I've done both ways. And, I've used
cornerstones and mitred corners too. There are NO quilt police.

Happy quilting,

Lenore


"TwinMom" wrote in message
et...
Ok friends, I'm at a loss here. I'm turning to the group to see what ya'll
do. When I was taught to make quilts, one of my first teachers told us to
put the side borders on first, then add the top and bottom. Something
about seams around the top being uncomfortable when in use, wearing
better, hanging straighter and it was just easier that way. That's what I
was taught all those years ago. Always done it that way. BTW, most of the
smaller quilt patterns I've seen (lap & such) also show this "wrong"
method.

Now, in making this TB Club Quilt, they want the top and bottom first,
THEN the sides. This makes for some Really Long sides (120") and Fairly
Short top/bottom (84") border cuts. So, I checked with the shop owner and
she concurs on the TB way. Then I check my reference books (Oh, I should
read the manual first? LOL) and, Yep, I've been doing it "wrong" all these
years. I'm going to keep doing it my "wrong" way unless there is some
convincing arguments to the contrary. It seems that, when I do it my way,
the borders on a large rectangular quilt come out generally close in size
when the sides go on first, and the top/bottom second. In the TB example,
my raw borders would be roughly 100" sides and 104" top/bottom.

So, keeping in mind that TANQP (There Are No Quilt Police), what do ya'll
do in attaching your final borders? Curious minds want to know. LOL

Lorraine in WA

I'm just glad I could explain it well enough for you to understand!

--
Kathyl (KJ)
remove "nospam" before mchsi
http://community.webshots.com/user/kathylquiltz
"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
Well, golly, Kathyl. Why didn't I think of that? Well, we know why.
Nevermind. The truth is, the number of inches isn't important - it is
having the measurement right. You are just so smart. Thank you. Polly

"KJ" wrote in message
news_Qlj.313550$Fc.164671@attbi_s21...
I've said this before, but for borders I "measure" with the untrimmed
border fabric piece. I stretch (well not stretch, but you know what I
mean) the fabric through the middle and mark where to trim it for the
measurement. Then I cut the other border from the first one....or use the
top again...whatever is easiest. Works really well.

Howdy!

36+36+28

when I add borders...

R/Sandy


On 1/23/08 5:50 PM, in article , "Polly
Esther" wrote:

For goodness sake, I had no idea that it mattered. I usually do mine for
economy of fabric too. While we're here though, how do you go about
measuring something like 100" accurately? I can see the need and borrow
DH's metal wind-up sort of tape or use his long metal ruler plus my
yardstick. Still, I wonder if someone's perfected the challenge. Polly

That's pretty much the way I do it, too. I fold my quilt in half, then
in half again, so the center of the quilt is aligned with the edges.
Then I measure my border pieces against that. I guess my piecing must be
pretty accurate, because there is seldom any difference between the two
sides and the center. Of course, I cut the borders for the two sides
exactly the same length. I sew those two borders on and repeat the
process for the other two sides.

Julia in MN
-----------
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KJ wrote:
I've said this before, but for borders I "measure" with the untrimmed border
fabric piece. I stretch (well not stretch, but you know what I mean) the
fabric through the middle and mark where to trim it for the measurement.
Then I cut the other border from the first one....or use the top
again...whatever is easiest. Works really well.

I almost always do the longer sides first because the longest pieces
won't be quite so long. I might do it the other way if I think it will
eliminate some seams in the border (because I almost always cut my
borders on the cross grain and so they are usually pieced.)

Julia in MN
-----------
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http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/
-----------




TwinMom wrote:
Ok friends, I'm at a loss here. I'm turning to the group to see what ya'll
do. When I was taught to make quilts, one of my first teachers told us to
put the side borders on first, then add the top and bottom. Something about
seams around the top being uncomfortable when in use, wearing better,
hanging straighter and it was just easier that way. That's what I was taught
all those years ago. Always done it that way. BTW, most of the smaller quilt
patterns I've seen (lap & such) also show this "wrong" method.

Now, in making this TB Club Quilt, they want the top and bottom first, THEN
the sides. This makes for some Really Long sides (120") and Fairly Short
top/bottom (84") border cuts. So, I checked with the shop owner and she
concurs on the TB way. Then I check my reference books (Oh, I should read
the manual first? LOL) and, Yep, I've been doing it "wrong" all these years.
I'm going to keep doing it my "wrong" way unless there is some convincing
arguments to the contrary. It seems that, when I do it my way, the borders
on a large rectangular quilt come out generally close in size when the sides
go on first, and the top/bottom second. In the TB example, my raw borders
would be roughly 100" sides and 104" top/bottom.

So, keeping in mind that TANQP (There Are No Quilt Police), what do ya'll do
in attaching your final borders? Curious minds want to know. LOL

Lorraine in WA

Hey! Great minds think alike!! I haven't "measured" a border in ages - just
layout the borders (with a little extra length for insurance) across the
top, fold ¼, ½ & ¾ registration marks and I'm off to the machine. Do I
really care if it's 100½ of 99¾? I do measure through the middles though,
just to check for square. Also, I don't "really" check the measure of the
ends. Again, I just fold the ends to the middle and see if they are within
reason. So far, everything has been really flat and square this way. Any
little smidges work their way out and the outer ends are all even and
straight.

Lorraine in WA