I am working on "Stars for a New Day"it is a medallion quilt by Sue Garman...although my measurements are almost exact to the pattern each time I add a row of borders etc, it seems to be "buckling" for lack of a better word...it is not laying nice and flat on the table and I am worried that when I go to quilt it I am going to have problems...why is this happening...I still have the outside star border to add...the very last one..and then I am done..I have been working on this for months off and on...and expertise advice would be appreciated..does anyone else have this problem...is it a "medallion" problem??? (besides an amateur sewer problem...lol)

Your borders should be measured by the size of the quilt, not the instructions. I measure through the center of the quilt. Some people will measure both sides and take the average.

maybe the tention on your machine is off causing the quilt to pucker...

Are you working with a lot of bias edges? If so, try steaming your top and see if that helps any. Sometimes steam will help draw in the bias edges :D:D:D

I'm with Gale, measure the borders, don't go with the instructions. It will make a world of difference in your final quilt. "Friendly" borders are NOT fun to quilt!

"Almost" won't cut it in this quilt.
http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/bom/11/bom_11_00.jpg

This is not a solid one fabric border.
There are so many seams/pieces in each border, that you really need to be spot on in order to make it work.
Even if you're off just 1/16" on each seam, that could add up to over 2.5" on these particular borders.

Is it the flying geese border you're trying to add on now?

Or one of the thinner plain borders? Because the plain borders is where you can "adjust" things to get it back in sync - making it a little wider or thinner as needed for YOUR quilt, regardless of what the pattern says.

You need to measure the borders as instructed upthread, and see how that jives with the pattern, and adjust accordingly, on EACH border.

If it's the FG border, how much is it buckling? Enough that if you remove one FG it will now fit?

If it's the plain thinner borders (the ones before and after the FG) did you measure the length of the strip(s) you were sewing on BEFORE attaching it, or did you just sew it on?

It's a beautiful quilt, and I know you've got a ton of time and $$$$ invested in it.

Can you upload a picture? Maybe it would be easier to see the problem.

MTS is right - This is not 'just a border'!! She's given you some great tips!

I would take the work apart clear to the first border that buckles. If you add on to it without fixing the problem, it will just be getting worse.

Measure the top (the piece where you need to add the border) across the center and cut your border (or adjust your pieced border) to THAT dimension. If your top is different from the pattern, then the border needs to be different too.

It's worth the effort and you'll be much happier in the end.

Wow, its going to be one beautiful quilt. I think mts has given some good advice, no sense in me repeating. Good luck!

I haven't done pieced borders like that (only simple piano keys) but I read that if you need to adjust the length, you just adjust individual seams a tiny bit. For example, if your border is 1/2" too long you adjust 4 seams 1/8" or 8 seams 1/16" to do minor adjustments that aren't so noticeable. I don't know how it would work on a border with that much piecing but it looks like they all have some straight across seams that could be adjusted if needed.