Jo, I hope I understood your request. I will be explaining the process I use and it's absolutely foolproof and works for any size 'flange'- *if* this is what you want??? The tiny black 'flange' on this mini is a perfect
1/8 inch wide and is stitched flat in place- it will not lift up.
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I wanted a 1/8 in. flange, so I added: 1/4 in. for the seam allowance plus
1/8 in. for the flange. That will put the sewing line for the flange at
3/8 in. from the edge. To cut the flange fabric strip I doubled that to
3/4 in. for the black fabric strip. I placed the black strip right sides together on the edge of the mini quilt and sewed it at 3/8 in. seam allowance- sewing the flange fabric on one side of the quilt, then the opposite side. Fold the black fabric back to match the raw edge to the raw edge of the quilt, press and there you go! Then stitch the other two sides, fold the black back and press. Then I added the binding using a 1/4 in. seam and that left 1/8 in. of the black flange exposed. (One tip- when the flange fabric strip is this narrow you can cut it wider and trim the excess flange fabric after it's folded back and pressed.)
If I had wanted a 1 in. flange: add 1/4 in. for the seam allowance plus 1 in. for the flange. The stitching line/seam allowance for the flange would be at 1-1/4 in. Cut the strip for the flange at double that or 2-1/2 in. Lay the flange fabric right side to right side with the quilt (or fabric for the quilt top or block or whatever you are making) and stitch the flange with a 1-1/4 in. seam allowance, sewing opposite sides as above. When you fold back the flange fabric there will be 1-1/4 in. of flange fabric stitched down and exposed.*** When the next fabric or binding is stitched with a 1/4 in. seam allowance then 1 in. of flange fabric will remain exposed- and sewn in place so it won?t flop around.
***When using this width the flange fabric can be trimmed from the 1-1/4 in. seam allowance to a 1/4 in. seam allowance to remove excess bulk, if desired. Trying to avoid the excess fabric- and waste when trimming- by placing the edge of the flange fabric one inch from the edge of the quilt and then sewing the flange with a 1/4 in. seam allowance is
*not* a good idea- it's too easy to not get the flange fabric exactly in position and sewing the seam allowance exactly right. Trim only the flange fabric and not the quilt top or block as you will lose the stability and possibly cause the flange fabric to 'wobble' when the next fabric is sewn on the edge. Wasting that bit of fabric is an excellent trade-off for the perfect accuracy of this method. And I never trim no matter how wide the flange may be. ;-)
I hope this is what you wanted! ;-)
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
I am not sure I can explain this well, but I am putting a "flange" onto a cushion cover that will have mitred corners. That is, it will look like a French pillow, in that hit has a flat bit of fabric all around it... I've not done this before, but thought it would be a nice effect and might make the cushion lie flatter than sort of puffing out as they usually do. I want to use a striped fabric for this flange border, so I would like to do mitred corners in order to enhance the striped fabric.
What is the best way to do this? I have had several ideas, but the front and the back of the cushion cover are finished, button holes made, etc and I just want to get on and FINISH this project.
Please help!
I read about how they recommend doing a mitre on a border in my "The Art of Classic Quiltmaking" and they want me to mess about with pressing a
45 degree angle on one of the border pieces, taping it in place.. it seems horribly complicated and I think there must be an easier way, possibly with links and/or pictures?
I could just whack on some straight-set borders, but it wouldn't look as nice. :( Darn it all for new techniques, tempting me.
-- Jo in Scotland