Welcome to TQS, Nancy! There are a bunch of us here....

Nancy

Hi Margarita, it was nice to see you on the latest show.

Nancy, welcome to TQS and the forum.

Margarita in Auburn, California

Hi Nancy, welcome to the forum and TQS. It's good that some of us are good at maths - because some of us are not

Welcome to the Forum and welcome to TQS!

Margo, I hope what I shared made sense. It has sure helped me figure out what size borders to use!

Hi Nancy! Glad you jumped in!!

Nancy, (Sparkles65), you're a newcomer to TQS and jumped right into the Forum, aren't you? (unlike some of us, like me, who watched from the sidelines for a while... Welcome aboard!!!

My understanding of Fibonacci's Divine Proportion (or Golden Rule) is to start with your block size, then divide by 1.6, then divide that result by 1.6, etc. You will end up with numbers with decimals. Then convert to inches, rounding up/down to the nearest 1/8th or 1/4.
For example - for an 8" finished block, the results would be 5", 3.13 (3 1/8"), 1.96 (2"), 1.23 (1 1/4"), and 0.77 (3/4"). With your quilt top on your design wall, "audition" the various sizes to see which combination looks best. The intensity of your fabric colors plays a role in deciding what size borders you choose. Your first border might be 2", your second one 1 1/4", and your outer border 5". And 3/4" might be just the right size for an inner border if your fabric is red or yellor or black. This has worked well for me over the years.

Nancy

Lois, borders are tricky, aren't they? If they are really wide, single fabric, just mean to make the quilt big enough, then they can look funny- but not always. The color of a border can make a difference, too. Some borders I've made have been because that's all the fabric I had! Others, I just put the quilt up on the design wall and play with the width of the border. Even if I make a quilt in a book, the borders need to be selected after the quilt top is made. I guess there isn't any right answer????

Rita, I like your idea about skirt hangers, that may be my answer. I'm off work Tuesday and will attempt to find a spot I can hang them. In my house there are no moldings near the ceiling.

Cindy, I'm wanting to see your quilt now that you've decided on a border!

kathy

Cindy, I hope you post photo when it's done.

Update on the OBW 's borders. I ended up putting a 3" black border then a 2" green border followed by another black 5" black border. Well, the border was nice but seemed to suck the pretty OBW's design into it. It was just too big. So, I cut the 3" border down to 2" and the 5" border down to 2". Now, I have a 6" border of two blacks with a green in the middle. Yesterday, I fused some flowers of the main fabric onto two corners of the borders. It really added an extra punch to the quilt.

The good news is - I like it! Now, it's a flimsy. Today, I will start making the backing and cut the binding.
This is my new must do. I find that I stall on quilts if the binding isn't ready to go when the quilt comes off the frame. If the binding is ready to be sewn on when the quilting is finished it seems an obstacle is removed to the big finish.

This is my weekend to work but that is an obstacle I just have to deal with it. LOL

Cindy - MI

Kathy my design wall is too small too. I know what you mean about getting a photo of a big quilt being very difficult. What I have done is to use two or three skirt hangers to hold the quilt and hang them along the architrave around one of the double doors in my living room. You could hang it from a curtain rail if it's too tall for the doorway. Just a suggestion.

Lois, I have always done what you have done too Whatever fabric I had divided evenly to make up the border or if it is for a specific bed then whatever makes it hang nicely around the bed. I don't think that there are any firm and fast rules. I would love to see your pineapple quilt finished though :

Hello all - Reading this post several days after Cindy's question (and solution) about border proportion, I immediately thought about the Golden Ratio 3-5-8. I did a Golden Ratio Google search and discovered a reference to the Fibonacci scale. Fun to learn something new every day!

Thanks Cindy and Rosemary!

BarbCA