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Question about mietering borders
For some reason, sometimes when I miter a large border (like 10"), I have trouble with slight waves in the border? Any suggestions? Thanks.
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I like to press my top and borders and then lay the top flat to do the miter, 1 corner at a time. I leave extra border fabric and take the 2 “ears” and fold them underneath at a right angle to get a good miter. I press the miter in the border for a line to sew one. I pin the border so nothing shifts, sew on the iron line and then check that the corner lays flat. If it look good I trim the extra fabric away but I leave 1/2 seam allowances until all four corners are done. I iron again and lay the quilt top full out to check that it looks good. If I need to adjust anything, the extra seam allowance allows that. If it looks good I sandwich it.
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I like using Elmer's glue when mitering corners. I'll press a 45 degree angle on one end, add the glue to the edge and then press it down to the other end, then go to the machine to stitch it down using the fold as my guide. I also starch my fabrics heavily so it keeps them from stretching most times so rarely will have I waves in my borders.
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I glue baste the miter, lay the quilt top flat to check for any problems then sew the miter. I starch my fabric paper stiff.
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Your waves could be that you are stretching the fabric(s) because you are sewing on the bias.
The key for me is ... do not do it when I am the least bit tired! :) What works for me ... * Best Press the fabric well .... at least in the mitered zone. * Leave the border pieces the full length/width. * Mark the 45° line on the wrong side. and pin the pieces two together. * Stitch. * Press. Open. Press. Check! * If all is square and flat ..... then trim the excess material. * Repeat for the other four corners. |
Donna Jordan from Jordan Fabrics has a great video that I watched yesterday and vey interesting
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I've only made one mitered corner in my quilting lifetime and it turned out perfect on the first try. Haven't done another one because I'm afraid to mess with perfection....LOL
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Where are the waves happening? On the edges or the in the miter corners?
Are you cutting the borders cross grain or with length grain? How are you measuring and determining the border length? The methods can all factor in and result in a wave. I had a project help class yesterday at the LQS. The instructor gave me a couple of tips. Starch the fabric and press before cutting. Then cut on the length of grain. Pin the borders to the quilt starting at the center point and quarter points. She also mentioned for my project to use a walking foot this time as one of the fabrics has a little stretch. |
When mitering the corners, make sure it is in alignment with any other miters within the quilt i.e. the center medallion. Also when applying the binding, make sure the binding miter is in alignment with the border miter. (Info for those of you that enter quilt shows. Judges look for this.)
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