Following the Rules with Quilt Borders

Image by pbev via Flickr

Greetings Quilter,
It seems like every time I turn around there is someone with a
"rule."

Some of the rules certainly are useful – like stopping at a
stop sign or red light.  And maybe even some quilting rules are
useful – like using a 1/4 inch seam allowance when you sew your
patches together, or cutting the selvedge off of your fabric
before you cut your patches.

Other rules in quilting are interesting – to say the least.
Especially rules about borders.

I'll admit that I made scores of quilts before I was introduced
to the notion of rules about borders.  When I added borders to
my early quilts, I viewed the borders like a frame around a
picture.

Sometimes I used fabric that was darker than the fabric I used
in the blocks in the center of the quilt.  Other times, I
wanted to make the quilt larger, so I pieced borders that used
some of the fabric in the center of the quilt while introducing
new fabric in the borders.

And I just kept adding borders until the quilt was the size I
wanted it to be.

In a couple of my quilts, I added blocks or partial blocks
using the same design as in the center of the quilt, but using
different colors than those I used in the center blocks.

Maybe you can imagine my surprise when I learned that I had
broken many of the special Quilt Border Rules.

One rule that I have broken many times is that the border
should be a little wider than the blocks in the center of your
quilt.  That would mean that if your blocks in the center were
12 inches square, your border should be at least 12 inches wide.

I can't even begin to count the number of quilts where I broke
that rule.  Maybe I should be embarrassed.  Or not.

To read about other Quilt Border Rules and see some examples of
interesting borders I have added to quilts I have made, visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/2507-quilt-borders.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com

P.S.  One other Quilt Border Rule is that you use the same
fabrics in the border that you use in the center of your
quilt.  The burning question is – what happens if you run
out of fabric?

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/2507-quilt-borders.php

P.P.S.  For additional resources, check out my blog:

http://quilterpenny.wordpress.com/

You'll find all of the daily emails so you can search for
articles about tons of quilting topics!
www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

7925 Pasadena Ave.
La Mesa, CA  91941


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