Adding the final border to the side of Birds

It is time to add the final strip of red to my Birds in the Loft hexagon quilt sections. My plan is to applique the quilt sections to a 2 1/2" strip of red fabric so that the quilt will have a straight outside edge. I had promised to show you how I do it and today is the day! My plan is to use the leftover strips of reds that I used for the "made fabric" hexagons. I may have to cut a few more but first I'll use up what I have.

The first step is to make the cat get off the scraps of red! If you don't have a cat just skip this step.

I am going to stitch the red strips to one of the side panels. The little yellow "tents" come right to the edge so the extra bit of red will create a visual stop so that the tent points float and don't get cropped when the quilt is bound.

A few of the red strips were stitched together. I need a strip that is at least 5 inches longer than the length of the side of the quilt I am working with.

I pressed the outside edges of the panel with a hot, dry iron and removed the papers.

Although I could use Roxanne Glue Baste-It (basting glue) to hold the red strip in place I decided to use tiny applique pins to hold the red border strips to the quilt and then thread baste them into position.

I place the strip on the quilt making sure that the strip extends  a couple of inches beyond the end of the quilt. I line up the strip 1/4" in from the "v" that is created where the hexagons are joined and I pin it in place with an applique pin (red circles). The area in the green circle will be the next to be pinned.

Working from left to right I smooth the strip making sure it is laying flat. Any excess fabric is pushed to the right. Once the fabric is smooth and taught I hold it in place between my fingers and place a pin. Continue in this way and while doing so .....

shoo the cat as required. If you don't have a cat please skip this step.

The pinned border will look like this from the right side. You can see the pins on the right side (inside the red circles) and the red border fabric is laying flat and smooth. Continue pinning the strip and

once again shoo the cat as required.

Once the entire strip is pinned to the quilt I thread baste it in place so that it is ready for the hand applique. The pins are removed.

Here you see the right side of the quilt with the red pieced border and the red finished border stitched together. The extra strip of red really makes the little yellow "tents" stand out nicely!

If you are wondering about the loose fabric at the top and bottom of the red strip please stay tuned because I will be explaining the reason for it and what I will be doing it!

Time for me to do a little more basting while little you-know-who takes a cat nap! All that help with pinning has worn him out so he found a nice sunny spot and is fast asleep in the sunshine!

In my next post I hope to show you how I'll add the border to the top section (complete with mitered corners. Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H
p.s. If you have a troublesome pussycat why not link up with Sarah's Feline Friday?