Adding borders to a quilt top

Borders help frame a quilt and tie everything together. They also help prevent stretching and keep your quilt square.

Not every quilt has a border and some quilts have multiple borders or pieced borders. Borders of different sizes can be used to get the quilt to the size you want without adding more blocks.

Once you learn the basics of borders, you will be able to use them in your own quilt designs however you want.

Below you will find

• Video
• How to add borders
• Pieced borders
• Fake borders
• Examples of borders in quilts

How to add borders

This tutorial assumes you will add the side strips first and then the top and bottom borders. This is the traditional way, but you are welcome to vary it if you wish.

Measure the length

If you are using a pattern, it might tell you the length of borders you need. This is in a perfect world. Your project might not be exact, so use the measurement you have, not the ideal.

Lay your quilt top out flat and measure the length with a construction tape measure.

On a large quilt, measure in three places – the centre and each side. If your measurements are different, calculate the average of the three numbers.

This is the length of strip you will need.

Prepare the side strips

Cut strips of fabric the width you want your border to be. (Don’t forget 1/2″ for seam allowance!).

If the length from the previous step is longer than your strip, then you will need to cut multiple strips and join them.

Join the strips with a straight seam on the short side and then cut this long strip to be the length you calculated.

Join the side borders

Pin the strip to the side of the quilt so that they won’t shift or stretch when you are stitching them.

Stitch with a 1/4″ seam, then press the seam to the borders.

Measure the width

After the side borders have been added, measure the width of the quilt in the same way you measured the length. (Don’t try to measure the length and width at the same time.)

Prepare the end strips

Once you know the length you need, prepare the end border strips in the same way you did the sides.

Your end borders do not have to be the same width as the side borders. Some people like to make the end borders wider or narrower so that it fits their bed.

Join the end borders

Add the end borders in the same way – pin in place and then stitch.

Adding multiple borders

To add multiple borders, just repeat the same steps as many times as you want.

This Nine Patch Sampler quilt has three borders – a narrow white border, narrow red border and wide white border.

Pieced borders

Once you are confident with plain borders, you might want to branch out to pieced borders. There are many options for this and books and classes to learn how to design pieced borders, but you can make design your own if you want to do the math.

If there is a particular border you want it will probably be easier to look for a pattern that includes it.

This Mod Star quilt has a popular pieced border variation call “piano keys”.

The Dreams Come True quilt has a more intricate diamond-pieced border. Instructions for this are included in the pattern.

Fake borders

Sometimes blocks can give the impression of borders even though there aren’t any.

The No Flies in my Garden quilt looks like it has borders, but it is actually just blocks.

More examples of borders in quilts

This Pojagi Inspiration Quilt has a border that matches the sashing.

This version of the Twinkle Sampler Quilt also has a border in the same fabric as the sashing.

This Nine Patch Sampler Quilt has three borders – a small dark green matching the sashing and background, a narrow light green and then a wide dark green.

This Nine Patch Sampler Quilt has a busy print border that matches the sashing but not the background of the blocks.

Be sure to #epidastudio when you share your projects on social media!