Jinny Beyer Border Prints Creative Ideas & Tips for Quilters
Border Prints the Jinny Beyer Way W hile living in India in the early 1970s, I became fascinated with block-printed Indian cotton fabrics. These were sold by the piece (usually a bed cover or table cloth) rather than by the yard, and each piece had a decorative border around the edge. I cut up the fabric for garments and often used the borders for decoration. With lots of scraps left over, I decided to make a quilt and chose the Grandmother s Flower Garden pattern. T he use of Indian fabrics started me on my own creative quilting journey and eventually to designing my own fabric collections. These collections always include a border print a fabric of repeated decorative stripes. M ore than 35 years later, I am still inspired by the wonderful effects that border prints can give our quilts and quilted projects. I hope that this booklet will show you how easy and exciting it is to use border prints when you know just a few of my secrets. Page 1
Designed for Quilters T he Jinny Beyer border print fabrics created for RJR Fabrics are designed specifically for quilters. Every fabric design has several characteristics that ensure the fabric does triple duty: Each border print fabric has a wide design stripe and a narrow design stripe so there are lots of design options. And the wide stripe is repeated at least four times across the width of the fabric so that calculating how much is needed to make borders for a quilt is easy: the length of the longest side of the quilt plus about 18" for mitering corners and matching design repeats. The fabric design includes at least 1/2" between design stripes so when you cut down the center of this space, there is always at least 1/4" seam allowance on both sides of the design stripes. You can use every bit of fabric! Seam Allowance Space Seam Allowance Space As the examples that follow show, it s important for the design motifs to have mirror-image repeats. This provides lots of options for creating dramatic effects easily with border prints. Border prints can add detail to patchwork blocks, frame a quilt, or add interest to quilted or projects for the home. To spark your creativity, Border Print Tote A great tote is indispensable and this one certainly qualifies. It s a generous size and one pattern gives you two great design options. here are three projects that put border prints to work for you. Border Print Place Mat Made with just six pieces of border print fabric so it works up very fast. Braided Palette Table Runner Features a border print medallion in the center, beautifully shaded fabric strips, and border print edging. 2010 Jinny Beyer Page 2 The Place Mat and Table Runner patterns can be downloaded free at www.jinnybeyer.com/borderprojects. Border Print Tote kits and patterns are available at your local quilt shop and www.jinnybeyer.com.
Border Prints in Patchwork Blocks Q uilters have been fussy-cutting fabric since the very beginning, and border prints create unique effects when cut carefully to fit a specific patch. As in the examples below, it can be as simple as replacing a single patch in a block or subdividing a large shape and using an identical piece of border print in each of those new pieces. For more examples, see Jinny s book, The Quilter s Album of Patchwork Patterns. Stars and Cross The plain strips in this block have been replaced with a narrow border print stripe. Basket of Flowers Different portions of a single border print fabric are used to enhance the basket and the base of the flowers. Queen s Crown Replacing the diamonds in the block with border print patches that mirror where they meet creates a frame around the block s center. Page 3
Rising Sun The octagon in the center of this block has been divided and replaced with eight identical border print triangles. Tips For Maximum Effect Keeping a few things in mind when cutting patches will make a big difference in how the finished block or quilt will look. Here are just three: White Nights Adding a small triangle of identical border print to the corner of four blocks that meet creates a lovely medallion effect. 1. Align the sewing line on the bottom of the template with a straight line printed on the fabric. This gives a nice, strong edge to the patch that helps define the shape, as in Basket of Flowers. 2. When the same shape is repeated in a block, center the template on a mirror-image motif and cut identical pieces to give your block pleasing symmetry, as in Stars and Cross. 3. Draw a portion of the design motif from the fabric onto your template. That will help you find the identical motif elsewhere on the fabric so you can cut identical patches. 2010 Jinny Beyer Page 4 www.jinnybeyer.com
Creating Border Print Shapes Squares S quares are the most common shape in patchwork blocks. If a block includes a large center square, consider replacing it with a border print square made from four identical triangles. Or, rather than alternating pieced blocks with plain ones, use border print squares for the alternate blocks for lots of impact with very little sewing! Step 1 Determine the finished size of the square needed. Divide the square diagonally from corner to corner to create four triangles. Make a template from one of the triangles from see-through template material. Be sure to add a ¼-inch seam allowance around all sides of the piece. Draw a line down the middle of the template to use as a mirror line. Step 2 Using the mirror line as a guide, center the template on one of the motifs in the border print fabric, making sure that a line from the border print falls just inside the sewing line on the long side of the triangle template. (This ensures that you will have a nice line or frame around the outside of the finished square.) Mark some portion of the design directly onto the template to use as a guide for cutting the remaining pieces. Carefully draw around the template and cut the piece out. If you want to see what the square will look like before actually cutting the pieces, position the template onto the fabric, then place two mirrors on the two short sides of the triangle so they meet at a right angle. Carefully remove the template to see what the finished square will look like. Placing your triangle on different portions of the border print will produce different effects! Step 3 Cut three more triangles identical to the first, then sew them together to complete the square. Page 5
Other Shapes Other geometric shapes can be made with a border print in the same way as a square. The secret is to divide the shape into identical triangles. Create a template for that triangle (be sure to add the seam allowance), then cut as many triangles as you need from identical portions of the border print. Octagons Equilateral Triangles Hexagons Page 6
Mirror-Image Border Print Patches In the Queen s Crown block, the illusion of a border print frame is achieved by putting one patch right beside another that is its exact mirror image. If two patches will meet, using one regular and one mirror-image patch will allow the design to seem to reflect naturally around the corner. Mark the design motif on your template and use it to cut the number of regular patches you need. Then, just flip the template over and use it to cut your mirror-image patches, lining up your design motif markings with the matching motifs on your fabric. Diamonds You can create spectacular effects using this technique in diamond-shaped patches. To create a border print diamond, you need four triangles: two are the same and two are exact mirror images. Step 1 Divide the diamond in half lengthwise and crosswise. Make a template from one of the four resulting triangles. Add the seam allowance to the outside and an arrow to show the lengthwise grain of fabric. Step 2 Position the template onto the fabric and draw a design motif from the fabric onto the template. Cut two identical triangles. Now, flip the template upside down and align the markings on the template with the fabric grain and the matching design motif on the fabric. Cut two of these triangles. Step 3 You will have two sets of mirror-image triangles that form an intricate-looking diamond when sewn together. Page 7
Framing a Quilt with Border Prints J inny Beyer s border prints are designed specifically with the quilter in mind. Each fabric has a wide and a narrow stripe which coordinate in both design and color. Both stripes have mirror-image motifs which are essential for perfectly mitered corners. In addition, the two different stripes in the border print are separated by at least a half-inch so that a 1/4" seam allowance is provided for on both sides of the stripes. From selvage to selvage, there are always at least four repeats of each stripe across the fabric so calculating the yardage needed to border a quilt is easy: you need the length of the longest side of the quilt plus an additional half-yard to match design elements and allow for the miters at the corners. Framing a Square Quilt Step 1 Place a strip of the border print across the middle of the quilt, centering a motif from the border at the exact center of the quilt. (Because of minor differences in seam allowances taken and stretching that can occur on bias edges, opposite edges of a quilt often measure slightly differently. Using a measurement taken from the middle of the quilt will help keep the quilt from ruffling at the edges.) Step 2 To mark the first miter, position a right-angle triangle so that one of the sides of the right angle runs along the bottom edge of the border print. Then carefully move the triangle until the angled side touches the point where the top edge of the border print meets the edge of the quilt. (See arrow in Diagram 1.) Mark, then cut the miter line. (Because you have cut the miter right at the edge of the quilt the seam allowance is already included.) Diagram 1 Step 3 If you used the triangle to cut the miter on the second side, your design motifs might not be an exact match. So, carefully pick up the mitered side of the border strip and lay it right side down on top of the strip on the opposite side of the quilt, placing the top edge of the strip at the edge of the quilt. If necessary, adjust the top strip so that the top and bottom design motifs match exactly. (If you have centered a motif from the border print in the middle of the quilt, the designs should match at the edges.) Mark and cut the second miter. Diagram 2 Step 4 Using this first mitered strip as a guide, cut three more identical pieces, making sure that the design on the border print is exactly the same on all four pieces. Page 8
Step 5 Diagram 3 Mark a seam allowance intersection dot on the short side of each of your borders as in Diagram 3. To find the spot, simply draw a short line 1/4-inch inside the mitered edge and the short edge of the border. Draw the dot where the two lines intersect. Do the same for each corner of your quilt. Step 6 To sew the borders to the quilt, pin the mid-point of one of the border pieces to the middle of one of the edges of the quilt. Next, match and pin the dots on each side of your border with the dots on the quilt corners. Continue pinning the border to the quilt, easing in any fullness. (The edge of the quilt is usually a little wider than the center because of bias edges or seams.) Sew the border to the quilt, starting and stopping at the dots. Sew the mitered seams last, starting from the inside dot. When pinning the edges together, be sure to match the design elements on both pieces. Diagram 4 Framing a Rectangular Quilt With rectangles, you cannot always be assured that the fabric designs will automatically match at the corners. So, you must take an extra step. Step 1 First, follow Steps 1-3 above and cut two identical strips for the short ends of the quilt. The pieces for the other two sides of the quilt must be cut differently: for the corners on all pieces to match, there must be a seam in these long borders at the exact center of the quilt. Step 2 Place one of the cut strips on top of a length of the border print stripe, matching the fabric designs. Cut one miter to match the miter on the top strip. Set the top strip aside. Lay the newly cut strip on top of the quilt through the center, aligning one mitered edge with the edge of the quilt. Mark the center of the quilt on the strip. (See Diagram 5.) Move the strip from the quilt and cut it off ¼" beyond the center mark. Using this cut strip as a guide, cut one more piece identical to it. You also need two strips that are the exact mirror images of these pieces. Using one of the strips you just cut, flip it over and lay it on a strip of border print, matching the fabric design exactly. (The two strips will be right sides together.) Cut the miter and straight edges to match the top piece. Using the newly cut strip as a guide, cut one more piece. Center of quilt Diagram 5 Cut on solid line Center of quilt Sew on dotted line Page 9
Diagram 6 Step 3 Sew the seams at the middle of two mirror-imaged strips and attach these borders to the quilt as in Steps 5 and 6 above. Sewing the borders to a rectangular quilt in this manner assures that the corners will match. There will be a seam at the center of the long strips (Diagram 7), but the design at that center will mirrorimage as well, allowing the design to flow around the quilt. Diagram 7 The black line marks the center seam. Note how the design motif reflects the seam line. Applying Multiple Borders Jinny often designs quilts to make full use of the border prints. She will first frame the quilt with the narrow border stripe, then add a coordinating fabric as a second border. The quilt is finished off with the wide stripe from the border print. Jinny personally measures and adds each border separately. However, when the middle border is a fabric that doesn't have to be matched at the corners, she recommends the following method as being a little faster: Sew the second border to the first and then measure and cut them as a single border in the steps above. Measure, cut and sew the third border separately after the first two borders have been completed and sewn to the quilt. Page 10