Finishing School: Better Borders

Class Preview

Finish UFOs and future projects with borders that bring out the best in your piecing. Learn essential techniques to succeed with basic, mitered and pieced borders!

Basic & Simple Quilt Borders

Meet your instructor, acclaimed quilter and quilting author Winnie Fleming. You’ll start the class with an engaging introduction to quilt borders, ranging from borders that are blunt to contrasting blocks in the corners. Winnie shares techniques for measuring, pressing and pinning along the way!

Mitered Borders

Mitered borders can look intimidating, but Winnie walks you through everything you need to know to create crisp, symmetrical mitered corners that are guaranteed to impress! Learn what types of fabric work best, train your eye to find patterns that will align well, and discover Winnie’s helpful formulas as you pre-cut borders and create beautiful miters.

Pieced Borders

Dive into pieced borders with Winnie’s troubleshooting tips to help you along the way. Start by exploring designs that will set you up for success, and determine what sizes will work best for your border. Next, Winnie demonstrates how to cut, piece and press half-square triangles efficiently and easily.

Selecting Borders for Your Quilts

Apply your new skills as you determine which borders to pair with a variety of quilts. Whether you’re assessing a quilt that’s been in your unfinished project pile or imagining a quilt you want to make in the future, Winnie’s tips will help you choose the best patterns, styles and sizes of borders for any project of your choosing.

Floater Borders & Attaching Borders

Discover the possibilities of floater borders, starting with measuring methods for square or rectangular quilts. Next, you’ll learn how to manage the width to maintain the proper proportions all the way around your quilt, in addition to the best techniques for pinning and attaching your borders. Winnie shares a wide range of examples to help inspire you!

Medallion-Style Quilts

Explore the best borders for medallion quilts, which are quilts that have a focal point in the center. Winnie explains what aesthetic works best for medallion quilts, including the sizes and shapes that will provide the best frames. Finish the lesson with a fun look at round-robin quilting, which involves swapping quilts with a friend or a group and adding a border to someone else’s project.

Quilting Borders

Wrap up the class with helpful tips and tricks on quilting your chosen borders. Winnie covers quilting techniques for both plain and pieced borders, and shares fun, creative methods for envisioning, planning and marking your designs in advance. You’ll finish the class brimming with ideas for your next beautiful borders!