How NOT To Get Wavy Borders On Quilts
Do you sometimes have wavy borders? Do you know why that happens? Do you know what to do when that happens? I’m here to give you ANSWERS to your wavy border issue!!!
When I started learning to quilt, I didn’t do borders on my quilts because I didn’t want to deal with them. The main reason for not putting borders on my quilt is that I didn’t want to learn how to do them.
One time, I did put a border on my quilt top and it wasn’t wavy. All I did was measure the middle of the quilt, folded the top of the quilt in half to find the middle and did the same with the piece of fabric that was going to be the border, and then matched the two creases, pinned in a few places and sew. It worked out fine for me.
Why Wavy Borders Happen…
- Tops are not square—square your tops
- Edges are bias – remember that bias edge stretches
- Uneven sides
What To Do To NOT Have Wavy Borders…
1. Start by measuring the middle of your quilt width or length wise (depending if you are starting on the sides or top/bottom of the quilt). Get your measurement.
2. Cut your strip of fabric and pin or clip to fit the side you are starting on. Do the same for the opposite side. Go sew. Iron.
3. Then measure the middle of the quilt, opposite sides for the next two borders. Pin and sew. I did pretty good, didn’t I?
What To Do If Border Strip Is Longer Than Quilt Top?
Solution: Sew with the border on the bottom, the feed dogs will take in the fullness.
What To Do If Quilt Top Is Longer Than Border Strip?
Solution: Sew with the quilt top on the bottom, once again the feed dogs will take in the fullness.
You will mostly read to get a top, middle, and bottom measurement of your quilt top and to take the average of them. I don’t do this, but that is totally up to you. You will find what works for you and stick to that.
Happy Quilting!
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