GPDU -- MONTH 10 The DIAMOND BORDERS

This post is coming out a few days early so you can be ready to work on the Diamond Borders when the pattern is released, usually the first of the month.

Irene Blanck, the designer of the 2022 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show, describes this border as representing a picket fence around your beautiful garden. 

The first decision you will make is if you will applique the diamonds onto a long background OR if you will piece the diamonds with equilateral triangles.  Irene appliqued hers, I pieced mine.

A segment of my pieced border:

To help you make the decision, there are TWO VIDEOS, one describing Irene's technique and one describing mine. Star Members of The Quilt Show have FREE access to the Videos and all the patterns until December 31, 2022. Membership alone is a great deal; having amazing, exclusive Block of the Month patterns is like the best icing on the cake.

Some important things to consider:

1. If using the Kit fabrics, be aware the stripe provided for the border must be cut into eight 6" wide x WOF cuts, then pieced together to create the length needed.

2. The Length Needed will depend on the size of your quilt center. In a perfect world it should be 62.5". Mine grew to 63". I went with that. If I had been appliquéing the borders I would need length AT LEAST 63". And since applique tends to "shrink up" the background, I would cut mine 64"--you can always trim off a little on each end AFTER the diamonds are in place. 

3. If you want to PIECE THE BORDERS, I strongly recommend you select a fabric that is non-directional.  The gray/white stripe in the Kit is beautiful but the stripes will not line up easily if the borders are pieced. One yard will do it BUT get two yards so you can add a Floater Border if necessary and an outer border should you choose. 

Here are two good options, the top is what I used in my Sample Quilt and the bottom would be a good choice if you want a little darker background: 

4. Irene's applique method uses 20 diamonds on each side. They are 3" wide so those 20 fill 60" of space. As the borders are at least 62" finished, you will want to leave a very small space between them OR leave an inch on either end. The VIDEO I made explains this in detail.

5. My pieced method uses 21 diamonds on each side and a Floater Border to make the pieced border fit the quilt center. There are 5 detailed pages of  OPTIONAL ALTERNATIVE instructions, with photos of each step, included in the Month 10 pattern section. 

6. If  you applique the Diamond borders, you will determine if you want to trim them to 5.75" tall, so the points exactly touch the center of the quilt, OR if you want to leave them 6" tall. I would leave them rather than trim 1/8" off both sides. The points will be "close enough" to the quilt center for me. It's your quilt, you get to decide. This is discussed in the VIDEO.

7. If you piece the Diamond borders, they should be 5.75" tall when done. Piecing them requires careful attention to the 3 things we can do wrong in piecing: the CUTTING, the SEWING, and/or the PRESSING. The instructions address all of these steps. The VIDEO will be very helpful. 

For those of you who are not Star Members of The Quilt Show here are some photos of my borders in progress last year. These are here to TEMPT you into joining us and taking advantage of ALL you can learn from our Shows and Block of the Month patterns:

Pieced Segments 

I machine baste the critical center join 

I pressed seams open

Picking Diamond fabrics was the fun part

As the borders were finished so I could select fabrics for the next border

How I kept the selected fabrics in order prior to sewing

How to cut the Equilateral Triangles

A Perfect 60 degree equilateral triangle

The two outer diamonds with Half Triangles ready to sew, then they will be trimmed to 1/4" beyond the point. Each will also get ONE triangle on the outer edges.

Friday September 30, 2022, I will do the monthly FACEBOOK LIVE for MONTH 10. It is early this month so we can discuss these things in advance. They are available FREE to everyone and are always available after they air on Facebook AND The Quilt Show's YouTube channel. 

In Month 11 we get the final TWO SKINNY VASES and make the LEFT SIDE DIAMOND BORDER. Here's a tip: the LEFT SIDE is exactly the same as the RIGHT SIDE.

Let's quilt.

Barbara