Spiky Border Tutorial

I love a border on a quilt. I like to make borders and I LOVE to quilt them. Here is a super fast and easy border that you may want to add to your next quilt.

I learned this technique from Wonderful Gwen Marston. I have used it in quite a few of my quilts. I felt my Scrappy Trip Along quilt needed something more....there was just so much going on in it, a little more may be just the thing!

My Spikes on this quilt go both directions. It was a mistake, but a happy mistake I think.

My border consists of strips of fabric cut 8 inches (selvedge to selvedge) and sub-cut into 2.5 to 4 inch rectangles. I don't measure the sub-cuts, I just cut.

The "focus" fabric is also cut in 8-inch strips, but they need to be sub-cut a bit more wide like, 3 to 4.5-inch rectangles.

Cut the "focus" fabric rectangles in half diagonally.

****this is the step that I made my mistake with.

If you want all your spikes going the same direction Lay all the focus fabric face up as you cut them diagonally and keep the diagonal cuts going the same way.

If you want the spikes to go both ways alternate the direction of your diagonal cuts.

Lay your triangles on the rectangles in a position that when they are stitched and pressed back the triangles will cover the background section.

When I am piecing these spikes I have a pile of triangles and a stack of rectangles right beside my sewing machine and I chain piece them. It goes super fast. I love fast.

See the triangles over-hang the rectangles a bit? This way they will be sure to be the right size.

Flip them over and trim them up

Trim off the back part of the background.

Sew all the spikes together, and you have a fast border the packs a heck of a punch, it makes a bland quilt shriek with delight.

Happy sewing folks!