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WEEK 4 – RAIL FENCE QUILT – MAKING AND ATTACHING A QUILT BORDER
RAIL FENCE QUILT
This week we will make and add a border to our quilt tops, it’s going to be fun to do something new again! I would also like you to go on and baste your quilts using the instructions from Your First Quilt. You may need to adapt a little to make your backing big enough for your quilt.
Here’s what I want you to do: Watch my YouTube videos and read the notes, then let’s add a border and finish our quilt tops.
VIDEOS TO WATCH | Week 4 – Part A – Rail Fence Quilt – How to Make a Quilt Border Week 4 – Part B – Rail Fence Quilt – How to Attach a Quilt Border |
TO READ | Week 4 – Rail Fence Quilt – Making and Attaching a Quilt Border |
BASTING INFO | Videos to watch Preparing Your Quilt for Basting |
TOOLS NEEDED | Pins, scissors, sewing machine, ¼” foot, standard foot, pencil or washable marker, ruler, rotary cutter, self healing mat, quilting basting pins, painters/masking tape |
SUPPLIES NEEDED | Fabric for your border, quilt top, thread Backing fabric, batting |
NOTES |
When making borders I prefer to make them with the joins on the diagonal. This way I feel that the joins don’t stand out as much and we can use straight joins when it is part of the design of the quilt. You don’t have to do this, you can do your joins however you would like. However, the following instructions are for borders with diagonal joins.
How many strips you need to cut if you went by my recommended quilt sizes:
56” x 56” = 7 strips
72” x 80” = 9 strips
64” x 64” = 8 strips
80” x 96” = 11 strips
MAKING YOUR BORDER
Cut your ironed fabric into 4½” strips
Place a 4½” strip with the right side facing you horizontally
Then place another 4½” strip with the wrong side facing you vertically
Make sure there is lots of clearance from selvedge’s
With a ruler draw a 45 degree angle line from corner to corner to use as your sewing guide
Pin on each side, making sure you have room to sew
Flip your join over, so the right side of the fabric is facing you
Continue on until you have done the above steps for all your strips
Sew along the line with a standard foot
Open it up to check the edges line up to make one longer piece of fabric
Repeat for all your strips
Trim the excess fabric to ¼” seam and the little triangles
Set the seams Press open
SQUARE OFF YOUR QUILT TOP
Check the edges of your quilt
If you have edges sticking out give them a trim
CUTTING YOUR BORDER LENGTHS
Cut the borders for the sides of our quilt first
Layout your quilt top so it is nice and smooth
Measure your strips from the middle of your quilt
Lay your strips smoothly on top of your quilt top
Cut it past the edge of your quilt with scissors
Repeat so you have two strips With your rotary cutter, ruler, and self healing mat cut your strips so they are lined up to the edge of your quilt top
ATTACHING YOUR BORDER TO THE SIDES OF YOUR QUILT TOP
Layout your quilt top so it is nice and smooth
Starting with one side of your quilt, find the middle of your quilt top
Take your border strip, fold in half and finger press the fold
Place your finger pressed marker in line with the centre of your quilt top, lining up the edges of the fabric, pin
Smooth out your border strip and pin at both ends of your quilt top
Pin along the edge
Sew Repeat for the other side of your quilt top
MAKE & ATTACH TOP AND BOTTOM BORDERS
Repeat this process for the top and bottom borders
BASTE YOUR QUILT
Please refer to Your First Quilt Week 3 for notes on preparing your quilt for basting and how to baste your quilt
You may need to make your backing bigger depending on the size of your quilt, so just follow the same instructions with the measurements of your quilt
TASK | Quilting your rail fence quilt |
TOOLS NEEDED | Quilting basting pins, scissors, painters/masking tape, sewing machine, walking foot |
SUPPLIES NEEDED | Your basted quilt, thread |
THESE COURSE NOTES ARE FOR THE EMAIL RECIPIENT ONLY. PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR SHARE THEM. IF YOU HAVE A FRIEND THAT WOULD LIKE A COPY PLEASE ASK THEM TO JOIN QUILT CLUB BY SIGNING UP TO THE NEWSLETTER.
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