Friday 15 October 2021

Mitered corners

Mitered corners - they look so good, but they're not always easy.  


My first mitered corners were on my la Passacaglia quilt above, and they worked out well. 



My second attempt was on my Fireworks quilt (Ballet with Kaffe), and although the pattern didn't match perfectly, it wasn't too noticeable because the border is mainly black.




I also used mitered corners on my Trans-Tasman Bubble quilt (Aussies and Kiwis - remember the Trans-Tasman Bubble??). 

The navy and white striped border needed to be mitered in the corners to allow the pattern to flow. 



Now I'm ready to attach the borders to the Raindrops are Falling on my Head quilt, but the fabric isn't meeting nicely in the corners. 


The length of the sides doesn't match the pattern repeat on the fabric.  So I can either leave it as it is (top left corner), or insert cornerstones to avoid the issue.  

The three fabrics in the corners above are just me narrowing down my options.  I think if I do go for cornerstones, it will be the Kaffe spot in the bottom right corner above.  Of course I didn't have enough of it, so I went and bought more this morning, just in case I do decide to use it.  

I think I'll just walk around this quilt all weekend while I decide what I want to do.  Feel free to leave a comment below if you have a suggestion. 

(Gayle from Hamilton asked the other week where I got a grey spotted fabric from.  I'm sorry to say I bought the last piece of it, but send me an email because I might be able to spare some.  I bought a whole metre.  I can't reply to your comment because you're a No Reply Blogger.)

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.



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13 comments:

Barbara said...

Check out Jinny Beyer's website www.jinnybeyer.com for info on how to do this. She, of course, uses her border prints but the concept is the same. Under "Tips and Lessons" look for "Framing a Quilt with Border Print Fabric". There is a video and a printout to download.

dlw0656 said...

Just to be different and ‘out there’ I like the prospect of yellow cornerstones. It’s beautiful work.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I find it very difficult to make mitered borders - I have managed do it on a couple quilts and got it "almost" right but a lot of the times I end up with cornerstones as well.

Betty P. said...

The yellow/gold in the lower left corner "screams" use me. It's eye catching.

Designing Duo said...

I retired in 2015 from teaching and judging at quilt shows across the US. IMHO, since the top right cornerstone fabric blends so much more than the other ones, it is the best choice to keep the border flowing around the corners. If you’re entering this in shows, the last thing you want to do is draw viewers and judges eyes to the corner first rather than to the center where the real eye candy is. Having an element usurp the entire quilt as a whole, can be jarring. I’ve seen this happen to otherwise beautiful cohesive quilts so many times that it keeps them out of the running. In training, one mantra that’s stuck with me is: you judge the quilt in front of you because the contestant can’t remake it today. Just my humble opinion.

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

I prefer the top right corner fabric. It goes better than the rest and doesn't stick out too obvious. The one you are thinking about just doesn't blend at all in my opinion. The quilt top is gorgeous as all your quilts are Wendy.

Becky said...

Lovely quilt! I prefer the miter. Even though it doesn’t match, the overall appearance complements the quilt better IMO. For me, the cornerstones look too chunky in contrast to the fine details elsewhere. Having said that, it’ll be gorgeous however you choose.

Rochelle aka Bella Quilts said...

I'd do the miter and if they all come out the same, I'd think about snowballing the corner with a turquoise....if you could find a matching turquoise. Otherwise, I'd rethink the border altogether (easy for me to say)!

Kathaleeny said...

The cornerstones look large. My eyes want to move them out of the way to see where that zigzag is going. Could you piece a cornerstone ?

FlourishingPalms said...

Sewing mitered corners for borders AND binding is my preferred method too, though it's been more than a dozen years since I added a border to a quilt. I've found I prefer my quilts without them. I see your dilemma with the border fabric you selected, and it appears to me you've found every possible solution to the problem. At least, I can't think of anything else to do! It's a gorgeous quilt, and I have no doubt it will be a fantastic finish too, whatever course you decide to follow.

Rebecca Grace said...

Each of these quilts is more stunning than the last and I just adore your Raindrops On My (Your!) Head! You probably already tried this, but just in case -- sometimes when the border print doesn't land just right for a spectacular corner miter, I've found that I can work backwards by setting the print how I want it at the corner miters, and then put a seam or insert a block or strip of fabric at the center of each border to get the overall border length the way I wanted it. On your particular quilt, if it was mine, I think I'd insert one of your cool star blocks at the center of the top and bottom borders, and maybe space out two of them on the side borders. Does that make sense? Like a few blocks from the center of the quilt had escaped from the inner border walls. Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure it will be fabulous. You have such a great eye for design and color and your workmanship is just superb.

lvkwilt said...

You didn't actually ask for our suggestions, but I would go with the mitre...I think it flows better! Beautiful quilt as always! I'm always anxious to see what you'll do next!

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

You would have had to lay the top and bottom borders exactly to get the look you wanted, I like the top right fabric to bring it together. The other colors distract from the border, the mauve blends in well.

I bet that the repeats would not have allowed you to really match the corners. Hummmmm. Pretty quilt! Hugs