Borders should be in proportion to the size of the finished quilt. As a general rule of thumb, a small wall hanging should have a border of less than 6" while a king-size quilt can handle a 12" to 14" border. Borders that are too wide diminish the quilt center design.
The Golden Ratio
The ratio, in its simplest form, is 1.6 to 1. This is applied so that each border should be 1.6 times larger than the previous one. One border is 2”, the next is 3.25″ (rounding number to the nearest 1⁄4” makes cutting nicer).
Generally, the side borders are added first. Measure the length on each side, and also measure the center of the quilt.
Borders should be in proportion to the size of the finished quilt. As a general rule of thumb, a small wall hanging should have a border of less than 6" while a king-size quilt can handle a 12" to 14" border. Borders that are too wide diminish the quilt center design.
Cut borders from the lengthwise grain if at all possible. Cutting from the length of the fabric means you do not have to piece the border. The lengthwise grain is more stable so the border will have less stretch than borders cut on crosswise grain.
Quilts are squared in order to prepare for binding or borders to be added. A squared quilt will lay more flat on your bed. Squaring a quilt will remove the extra batting and backing extending past the quilt top. It also prepares the quilt for the binding to be added.
Pro tip: serge around the edges of your quilt before attaching the binding.
Modern quilts often don't have any borders and that is OK. I find I tend towards quilts with no borders or just a small border. We each have our preference. I know a quilter who feels a quilt isn't finished unless it has borders.
Single-fold binding is a binding that is one layer of fabric that is laid face down on the front of the quilt top, lined up with the raw edges, machine stitched and then turned to the back to hand stitch in place. Double-fold binding is a wider strip that is folded over before attaching it to the front of the quilt.
Pressing quilt seams to the side is faster than pressing open and makes it easier to lock seams in place, sort of like a puzzle. It gives you that little added help in a clean seam intersection. This occurs because seams are pressed to opposite directions when sewing sections together.
Many quilters always press seams open, with good results. Press open when lots of seams come together in one spot, creating too much bulk. Quilt tops are flatter when seams are pressed open; that problem becomes more of an issue when using heavier fabrics such as flannel or denim.
Use a grid ruler to make sure the corners are at 90 degrees, then tape the corners to the work surface with masking tape. Then tape the center of each side, then tape the center of each segment, and so on, until the quilt is flat around the edges and perfectly square.
The seams used to piece quilt backing can run vertical or horizontal depending on the size and shape of your project. Typically, to make the most of your fabric you want to use horizontal seams for 40″-60″ quilts (pictured above) and vertical seams for quilts that are 61″ or larger (pictured below).
If the border is too long, then the sides of the quilt will be puckered or wavy, and if the border is too short or tight, the middle of the quilt will bubble. If the border is not sewn evenly along the whole edge of the quilt, it will cause waviness in some places and tightness in others and just will not sit flat.
Because one or more straight sides of every fabric piece should follow the lengthwise or crosswise grain, it is important that the line on the pattern or template runs parallel to the grain.
Wider borders are easier to manage, because they give your plants the space to grow and you will not have to keep cutting them back to contain them in the space. It is better to have fewer planting areas, but make them bigger. One metre wide is really a minimum, two metres better.