mollymct

Hi! Thanks to all who have helped so far! The squares are now sewn together!! I am now planning for and working on a border.

I am going to follow the advice for a solid border on the "inside" then a piano-key border. The blocks are about 8 inches square (or were before sewing together). Right now (without stretching/pressing the thing down) the dimensions are about 31 X 39 inches.

What width would look good for the inside border? I think I will look for a blue fabric (prob not totally solid--what do you think?)The piano keys are going to be probably 4.5"--this width gave me the most pieces to work with. If they are of variable size, what range would you use for blocks of 8 inches? I'm wondering if there is a rule of thumb for what will be visually pleasing. It's hard to see with the cut pieces just laying next to each other.

Thanks so much for looking! Have a great day.

kathy

personally I would cut it 1-1/2", that will leave a nice narrow 1".

dkabasketlady

Your quilt top is very colorful & cheery! I think the inside border width of 1 1/2" cut would be great, that way it's only 1" finished and it would be a good size to frame your quilt before adding the piano key style border.

shaverg

Ditto, on cutting 1 1/2".

amma

You are doing a great job on this quilt :D:D:D
I think a blue that is a tone on tone would be pretty or another fabric that reads as a solid.
Maybe cut the inner border at 2 or 2 1/2"?

ktbb

I think the cut width of either 2 or 2.5 would be nice if the fabric has enough contrast to stand out and be visible against the different fabrics next to it. You can audition so see what pleases your eye. As far as how to make the decision I've been given this guidance in previous projects: The narrower the border, the stronger the contrast needs to be in order for the border to be effective...and...rations of one half the previous width or twice the previous width looks good because the eye sees a balanced proportion. For example, a two inch border against a four inch block looks better than a three inch border against the same block because the relationship is more balanced.

grann of 6

Really cute! Is it for a boy or girl? I think 1 1/2" would be good, you just want to accent, not overwhelm. And a mottled blue or aqua would work well. Play with your piano keys. If they are too big they will take away from the center.

littlehud

I would go with cutting a 2.5 inch border. Finishing to two inches. Just what I like. I think the blue would be very pretty.

franie

Smaller inner border for sure to stop the action. Then decide on the last border--could be something just simple in one of the colors in the blocks. Nice job. I really like it.

mollymct

Thank you all! This is a quilt of baby clothes for a little girl, Grann of 6. She loves blue, though! I think a blue inner border will look good with the majority of the center fabrics having pink in them. I'm on the lookout for the right thing! I will have to "audition" a 1" and 2" (finished) border once I find my fabric. I'm trying to squeeeze more "keys" out of my scraps, because I want to use all baby clothes, but I may have to supplement with some purchased fabric if I don't have enough. Smaller keys=more fabric inches lost to seams, right?