Putting the Border On

How exciting to finally be at the point of putting the border on!  The next steps are to add the filet crochet lace and then tack the front to the interlining.  That should keep me busy for at least a couple of days.


While I've done a fair amount of quilting, I haven't pieced very many quilts and I've never done a mitered border before.  Jinny Beyer suggests measuring the width of the borders based on the center dimensions of the quilt as she feels that the outer edges get stretched a little.  I think she's right, especially on a crazy quilt with all the weight of embellishment.  Those stretched edges then get eased to fit the center dimensions and helps to ensure that the quilt will lie flatter if hung.

On the first block I made, I only added 1/4 inch seam allowance, which wasn't nearly enough.  By the time all the embroidery was added, that seam allowance just about disappeared!  By using Jinny's method for the border, I was able to get it to fit just fine!


Jinny makes some truly incredible quilts.  Every stitch is done by hand.  I learned to quilt by hand years ago when I stitched with the Sewing Circle at First Presbyterian Church in Boulder.  Reading through this book is almost like sitting in sewing circle again!  I have found many of her tips invaluable and highly recommend "Quiltmaking by Hand" if you enjoy hand stitching!