Michelle,

Thanks for the great tutorial. Just what I needed to get me going! I'm inspired! I'll keep you posted on my progress

Noreen Couture
Cape Cod

Cool question and tutorial!

Hi Michelle! Thanks for the mini-tutorial on doing border appliqué before attaching it to the quilt. I've thought about doing that but was never exactly sure how to make it work--now it won't be trial-and-error...

Yes that's possible. I do that most of the time. Just mark the borders and only do the appliqué up until about 6-10" from the corners. If you have a continuos vine or motifs that cross the future seams just pin them off to the side for later. I put the whole quilt up on a design wall and lay the borders out in place so I can match the pinned designs to make sure all is aligned. I also use tape or a pinned scrap of paper to number and label each border so I don't get them mixed up as to where they go. Then appliqué each border up to that stopping area. When all borders are done to those points, sew them onto the quit making sure not to catch any pinned designs in those seams. Then finish your appliqué.

I do this for needle turn and machine appliqué. Hope this helps.
Michelle

I am planning on putting a meandering vine design on the border of my quilt using the needle turn method. Help! I would like to do each border before attaching to the quilt. Is that possible? I am an experienced appliquer but have never attempted a border.