An Unusual Border Solution

Even before finishing this little quilt I knew it needed a border.  But, I had already trimmed it!  What to do?  For starters, I went ahead and completely finished it, facing it as usual.

Then, I decided to make an entirely new background quilt to serve as the border.  Later, I joined them together:  a quilt upon a quilt.

I’m big on making sure the border is integrated with the interior design of the quilt.  In this case, I knew that dark browns, blacks, and greys would do the trick.  But how to best use them?  Other than color, I complimented the inital design by:
– Tearing all fabrics, giving them a frayed edge like the interior fabrics,
– Tilting the border fabrics to align with the streets,
– Quilting the border with the lines of the original quilt.

I’m happy with the overall effect.  Based on an old map, this quilt is called When the Town was Young.

What creative solutions have you used for borders?

If you’re interested in more border suggestions, be sure to read the free article on my website.

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  Here’s another quilt which challenged me with the border design.