Hi y'all! Are you ready to put your blocks together to make your border strips?
I definitely am! These last few steps are building the excitement for the finished quilt so much that I almost can't stand it!
In the last week (or more) you have made:
16 Cross My Heart Units,
16 Stitched Together Units,
4 Love Knot Units,
and joined the 16 unit pairs into 16 Enamored Blocks.
That deserves a BIG pat on the back! Great Job!!
Now let's wave our magic wand (or sewing machine) and turn those blocks into the 4 border strips!
Divergent Paths
If you have been making this quilt but chose not to do it using quilt-as-you-go, that is perfectly fine. But this is where our paths go in different directions.
You do not need to trim your Enamored border blocks. Simply orient them as directed and sew them together. Sew one Love Knot Unit on both ends of two completed border strips, and leave the other two as is.
For the quilters who chose to go QAYG, it is time to trim your Enamored Blocks based upon the trimmed size of your quilt blocks. Please refer to what you wrote down on your handout, sticky note, or whatever you chose regarding the trimmed size of your quilt blocks.
Trimming your Enamored Blocks
As you can see in the snip above, each block in my trimmed stack measures 12.25". Yours should measure somewhere between 12" and 12.5". I do not recommend getting crazy and trimming to 1/8" or 1/16" measurements only 1/4" increments.
The next step to finish the border blocks is to trim them, so they will measure the same length as your quilt blocks once they are sewn together. To do that take your finished quilt block size (from worksheet) and add 1/2 inch. The sum is the size to which you will trim your border blocks.
For me that looks like:
12.25 + .5 = 12.75" (or 12-3/4")
The finished Enamored Blocks measure 13 inches, so I need to trim off 1/4". I chose to do this on one side only (the Cross side). If I had a larger increment to lose (like .5") then I would trim 1/4" off each side.
It's hard to see, but this will make a difference when it comes time to put it all together.
**Helping Hand: If your finished blocks are 12" then you need to trim your border blocks to 12.5" (so 1/4" off each end). If your trimmed blocks are 12.5" then your border blocks need to measure 13" so leave them alone.
Time to Strip
HA-HA - I mean make strips!
In a nutshell, orient your 4 blocks and sew them together into one border strip. Repeat to make 4 border strips.
Please download and print the instructions below:
As always if you have an issue with the downloading for this or any other pattern, please leave a comment below or instant chat with me.
Your blocks are made...your borders are ready to quilt...your Nothing but Love quilt is almost done!!
Share your borders on the blog, Facebook, or Instagram using the comments below or tagging me @polkadotpeepquiltsetc or use the hashtags #enamoredborder or #nothingbutloveQAL - I would LOVE to see them!
If you're just joing us here is the schedule with links to participate at any time.
Nothing but Love Schedule
December 20, 2021 - Quilt Along Intro & Details
January 10, 2022 – Get Ready: Prep the Fabrics & Batting
January 17 – Affection
January 31 – Refuge
February 14 – Joyful
February 28 – Adoration
March 14 – Devotion
March 28 – Inspiration
April 11 – Besotted
April 25 – Admiration
May 9 – Infatuation
May 23 – Faithful
May 27 – BONUS Cross My Heart Border Unit
June 6 – Smitten
June 20 – Cherish
July 6 – Patience
July 8 – BONUS Stitched Together Border Unit
July 19 – Comfort
August 1 – Grateful
August 15 –Hopeful
August 29 – Enamored – Love Knot & Enamored Block
August 30 - Squaring up Your Blocks
September 1 - Making the Enamored Border Strips
September 12 - Sashing It All Together & Finishing Details
Quilting of the completed border strips will be next week - September 5.
Happy stripping my quilty friends!
Be blessed,
Tara
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