Measure and cut borders to fit the quilt top

Measure and cut borders to fit the quilt top Patchwork & Quilting Tips
Measure and cut borders to fit the quilt top

Today's Tuesday tip is from lead long-armer Tracy in our quilt room, who handles hundreds of quilts every year. 

The number one cause of wavy borders is stitching strips to the quilt without measuring them and then cutting off the excess. Why? Because the centre of the quilt top will tend to be pulled in slightly by all the seams compared to its edges. 

Measure through the centre of the quilt to find its true height and width, then cut your border strips to this length. Pin the borders on, then ease in any fullness on the edges to match the border as you stitch. Repeat this process with each border you add and everything should stay nicely squared up!

Fabric and quilt featured is "Sweet Tea".