Tag: How to add a mitered border to your quilt

Adding a Mitered Border

Assemble:
(4) 2″ wide Inner Border Strips

Read over this section before cutting and sewing. You may prefer another method of adding a mitered border, or you may prefer not to precut.

A mitered border can frame the center of a quilt top, much like a painting in a frame. Using a stripe for a mitered border emphasizes the framing effect.

Adding a mitered border is a different process than adding a straight border. Start by measuring your quilt through the center. Add to this measurement the width of both borders, then add (4) more inches. Cut 4 borders this length.

In this quilt, the center is 28-1/2″ square and you are adding a 2″ wide border on all sides so you would cut four borders that are (28-1/2″ + 2 “+ 2 “+ 4″) or 36-1/2” long.

When you sew on borders, always use a walking foot if you have one. Your feed dogs will try to pull the bottom fabric through the machine just slightly faster than the fabric on the top. A walking foot will prevent this.

Mark the center point of both the border and the quilt top and pin a border to one side of the top matching the center points. Starting 1/4″ from the raw edge of the center, sew the border to the quilt top using a walking foot if you have one. Stop 1/4″ before you get to the end of the quilt top. Mark this 1/4″ ahead of time to be safe. Your top is going to look pretty odd, but it’s okay.

You can do this to all four sides at the same time, or just do two at a time. To sew the mitered corner, it’s easiest to take the top to your ironing board and fold the edge of one border on top of the other at an exact 45 degree angle. One strip will completely cover the other. Work with it until you like the appearance of the miter and the corner lays flat. Press that fold.

Carefully unfold the top without disturbing the two borders that are
now right sides together and pin along that pressed fold line. Take the
top to your machine and sew along the pressed fold line from the outside
into the middle where you stopped sewing 1/4″ away from the
edge of the top.

Press and double-check to make sure the corner lies flat. If so, trim 1/4″ away from this seam. It’s a bit tricky, but if you are careful and use lots of pins, you can get a perfect border that lays completely flat on the first try. Repeat this three more times and you will have successfully added a mitered border to your quilt.

Your quilt top should now measure 31-1/2″ square.  Don’t worry about the wrinkles in my quilt above. I hadn’t pressed it yet.