Perfectly Miter Quilt Borders Without the Math!

Mitering Corners Made Simple

Perfectly Miter Quilt Borders Without the Math!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Mitering Corners Made SimpleKate Bashynski, a member of the Sewing With Nancy team, designed the No-Math Miter Template Set to miter corners quickly and easily. Use the No-Math Miter Template Set to add mitered borders plus finish the quilt edge without a quilt binding, in one process. You can choose from six finished border sizes: 3/4″, 1″, 1-1/2″, 2″, 2-1/2″, and 3″.

No Math Miter quilt templates as seen on Nancy Zieman's Blog

How to Use No-Math Miter Templates as a Quilt Finish

  • Determine the finished size of the quilt border. There are six options: 3/4″, 1″, 1-1/2″, 2″, 2-1/2″, and 3″.
  • Layer the quilt top, batting, and backing. Pin layers together.
  • Cut the batting the finished width of the border minus 1/4″ on all four sizes.
  • Cut the backing fabric double the finished width of the border plus 1/4″ on all four sides.

How to use the No Math Miter Templates to create an easy border on quilts

In the example, the finished border measures 2″. The batting was cut 1-3/4″ wider than the quilt top on all four sides, and the backing was cut 4-1/4″ wider than the quilt top on all for sides.

  • Quilt the layers together as desired.
  • To make a 2″ border for a quilt, I selected the 2″ No-Math Miter Template.
  • Align the template with the corner of the backing fabric and trace each mitered corner using the 2″ No-Math Miter Template.

Mitering Corners Made Simple

  • Cut on the traced lines.

How to make mitered corners by Nancy Zieman of Sewing With Nancy

  • Press up the 1/2″ seam allowance along the outer edges of the quilt.

Mitering Corners Made Easy

  • Open the seam allowance and fold each corner in half diagonally, right sides together, and stitch with a 1/2″ seam.

Easy Mitered Corners

  •  Clip up to, but not through, the stitching at the corner.

Mitering Corners Made Simple

  • Press the seam open. Use the Iron Finger, a silicone pressing tool, to easily press the mitered corner area.

Easy Mitered Corners

  • Turn the backing/border fabric to the right side, turn under the 1/2″ seam allowance, and press. 
  • Repeat these steps at each corner.
  • Edgestitch the border to the quilt.
  • Ta da!

Mitering Corners Made Simple

The No-Math Miter Template Set

Isn’t this a handy way to finish a quilt project? If you’d like to have a No-Math Miter Template Set of your own, Shop Nancy’s Notions. 

No Math Miter Template set as seen on Nancy Zieman's Blog

What Do You Think of No-Math Miter Templates?

Bye for now,

Nancy Zieman The Blog

Nancy Zieman—author, pattern designer, businesswomen, producer, and national sewing authority—is the host of the popular show Sewing With Nancy®, which appears exclusively on public television stations across the United States and Canada. Follow Nancy’s Blog at NancyZieman.com/Blog and sign up to receive Nancy’s E-News for the latest news in Sewing, Quilting, & Creating.
Content in this feed is © copyright 2014 by Nancy Zieman and may not be republished without written permission. You’re welcome to forward the email to a friend or colleague but it’s not okay to add the RSS feed automatically as content on a blog or other website.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

39 Comments

  • marianne
    October 11, 2014

    Thanks for sharing!! Great idea for making those perfect borders. thanks for the tutorial!!! I love when there are diagrams, it gives me a better picture of how things should be done.

  • Chris H
    October 11, 2014

    I like this. At end where you say edge stitch, it is edge stitching the inner edge of the border? Think I will try this on a small test sample.
    Thanks for the info.
    Chris in GA

  • Amelia McNairy
    October 11, 2014

    The No-Math Miter Template Set is definitely something I need in sewing room.

  • Barbara Howe
    October 11, 2014

    Wow, I didn’t know it could be so easy.

  • Sheila
    October 11, 2014

    What a cool idea! It sure beats the trial and error that I have used in the past (without much success). Great idea. Congrats to Kate. Good job.

  • Patricia in Iowa
    October 11, 2014

    I had to think through the process by following the pictures carefully. It seems fool-proof, once I understood the steps.

  • Linda
    October 11, 2014

    Thank you, you make it look so simple,I’ll have to try this.

  • kma
    October 11, 2014

    Adding to my Wish list… Buying gifts for my parents and inlaws was always so stressful; I like to have something to mention when my kids ask if I have any gift ideas for myself. I have always wondered why this method is not shown very often, and thought it had to do with the Quilt Police. And the lack of a good tool.

  • Karen
    October 11, 2014

    This looks like these make a quilt look professionally finished. Does Nancy have a video demonstrating this?

  • (another) Marianne
    October 11, 2014

    I’ve used this technique many times for flannel/cotton receiving blankets without batting. The ‘trick’ is cutting off the ‘right triangle’ at the correct place: a seam allowance width beyond desired finished blanket size. That being said, these nifty (little) templates will achieve!

    Manufacturing suggestion: put a hole in each and ‘string’ them together so the (one I need) won’t get ~lost~

    Process suggestion: Cut fabrics/batting an extra inch or so larger than needed for desired ‘binding’ width. Do all quilting or tying before squaring and exact cutting batting & backing.

  • DonnaRae
    October 11, 2014

    Got to have it! Mitering can be such a chore to get it right. This appears to be (as another reader wrote) foolproof!

  • Jo D
    October 11, 2014

    Say what? Doesn’t ‘seam’ possibke. Had to read it twice — No, 3 times. I would love to win this Template Set. It is amazing the techniques that are made easy.

  • Pat O.
    October 11, 2014

    Love this new tool for mitering corners. My friend, LP, might even need one too.

  • Starla
    October 11, 2014

    My gosh! This will make cornering a lot easier for me!

  • Lydia
    October 11, 2014

    Now why didn’t I think of this !! LOL Thanks this is awesome

  • Jan
    October 11, 2014

    I love these tools. Thank you!!! You make everything simpler and nicer!!!

  • Rosemary
    October 11, 2014

    Wow! Any little tool to make quilting easier is fantastic. Hmmm, my birthday is coming up. Sounds like something I can put on my “wish list.” Thanks for the idea!

  • Terri Burton
    October 11, 2014

    Appears to be a good tool, but I would trim the borders and batting after quilting due to the distortion heavy quilting could cause.

  • Lori M.
    October 11, 2014

    Oh, now this is going on my Christmas list…..Thank you for another time saving, and quilting easier tool……..

  • Kathleen Falk
    October 11, 2014

    Doesn’t look like NO MATH involved to me, add l/2 inch to this 1 1/2″ to that, subtract whatever here and there. I don’t think so.

  • Marie
    October 11, 2014

    …definitely on my to-get list…. I’d prefer to finish a quilt this way than adding binding all around…

  • CarolKE
    October 11, 2014

    Our church sewing group finishes most of our quilts this way. The templates would make a big difference.

  • CJ
    October 11, 2014

    This would certainly make life easier. 🙂

  • Allen
    October 11, 2014

    Wow, I would love to use these after the quilting process!

  • Janice King
    October 11, 2014

    Very efficient idea. And I really like having the backing used for the borders.

  • Natalie
    October 11, 2014

    If you’re only adding 1/4″ to the border measurements, how does that give you a 1/2″ seam allowance?

  • Kim M. Harrington
    October 12, 2014

    Best idea yet for this technique! Takes out all the fear and anxiety of miters. Looks very professional too!

  • Marty
    October 12, 2014

    New to making a larger project so never tried a mitered corner previously; this looks likes a great way to begin! 🙂

  • Joyce
    October 12, 2014

    Love to make it EASY to do miters !!!!

  • Joyce
    October 12, 2014

    Love to make it EASY to do miters!!

  • Jody
    October 12, 2014

    This looks like something I would like to try!

  • Eileen
    October 12, 2014

    Looks great—wish it wasn’t so expensive!

  • Diana Grindel
    October 13, 2014

    Looks like something to add to the “tool collection”

  • Anne Z.
    October 13, 2014

    Amazing!!!! Looks like an easy way to make perfect miters everytime and that will make sewing more fun.

  • Carrie S.
    October 14, 2014

    OMG! it looks so much easier and perfect corners all the time!!!

  • Rita Sheloff
    October 17, 2014

    I’m confused! In the photo where you outlined the template, it looks like the line touches the corner of the batting. In the next photo under it, it clearly shows there’s a space between where the batting is and the fabric was cut away – presumably on the line that was just drawn. Please explain…

  • Carol Jansen
    October 20, 2014

    Dear Nancy
    I love these templates. They would make miters so much easier. Thanks Nancy

  • Oscar Jackson
    October 22, 2014

    need to get the video of the strip borders have 5 tops but would like to have the video to watch again.. thanks

Post a Comment