#7 Stay stitching around the finished quilt.

One neat trick I have learned was revealed to me when some of my favorite ladies paid me a visit several months before their quilt show.  These accomplished and talented quilters seem to come out of hiding around March of a show year (the show is in November).  One of them had an intricately pieced quilt…with an equally intricately pieced border.  This wise quilt-maker had taken the time to stitch within a quarter inch all the way around her quilt.

The quilt pictured above isn’t the quilt I mentioned, but several of my clients have adopted this wise technique.  The line of stitching was within a quarter of an inch of the outside edge of the quilt so it not only held all those seams together, but it helped to alleviate any stretch that could have resulted due to the bias edges on her border.   The stitching was easily hidden in the binding, and was a great help in keeping her quilt square. I think it turned out pretty well!