I’m happy to report that all the snow is gone from my front yard and we are expecting a sunny spring day here. I don’t mean to be whiny but this has been a LONG winter here and even I am sick of the snow. I’m not too excited about the heat though so I should stop complaining.
Today I’m going to show you how I attach the sawtooth borders that I made to my block.
The first step is to measure the length of the short border. Mine measured at 25”. My block is a 19” square. Just to be safe I’m going to add a little extra fabric to my border and cut it down to the right size. To do this I cut three 4” strips. Out of one of these strips I cut two lengths 19” long. I sewed these to opposite sides of my block and pressed the seams toward the border. Then I measured the width of the block and the two attached borders and it was 26”. I then cut a 26’ length out of each remaining 4” strips. I sewed these on the other sides and pressed toward the border. Now my block looks like this.
Now I need to cut this down to 25” so I can sew the sawtooth border on. I need to cut the border 3.25” FROM THE SEAM between the border and the block. I know, I know it’s a little confusing so here is a picture of me doing it.
And here is a sketch.
When I do this I make sure that I have my ruler aligned so that I’m measuring 3.25” from the seam as I cut. This helps me block the square and cut an accurate border at the same time.
Oh, by the way, it REALLY helps to have a really big square ruler (how many times can you use really). I use mine all the time and It’s definitely worth the price so start saving if you don’t have one. Seriously, it will make your life so much easier.
So now all I need to do is attach the two short sawtooth borders to opposite sides and press toward the plain border. Then I attach the long borders on the remaining sides and press toward the plain border. Take care when attaching the long borders so that the sawteeth line up at the corners.
what size big square ruler are you using there? I have put a big square ruler on my list for when I shop at the Paducah quilt show - I was thinking to get a 16 inch if I could find it - do they come larger?
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
Posted by: Karen | 04/08/2010 at 07:17 AM
I have a 20 1/2 square from Creative Grids
Love it Love it Love it
Posted by: erinrussek | 04/08/2010 at 10:13 AM
I'm so glad your snow is gone, BUT did you happen to have sent it towards Wisconsin? Our 60 degree temps gave way to 6" of snow overnight. My daffodils and tulips are buried. Guess it would be a good night to sit and sew.
Posted by: Pat Pollock | 04/08/2010 at 03:16 PM