I’m not asking you about your reaction to the State of the Union address, or the things that may be stressing you out in life. Nope, I’m talking about using those magnificent little borders or “placeholder” strips in your quilts that make everything fit together, perfectly.
Now while my basic motto has always been “If it’s too big, cut some off; If it’s too small, sew some on,” it is nice to have everything fit together perfectly. Plus, coping strips can make almost any panel pattern work with a panel that is close (0″ to 4″ in either direction) in size. Since we all love the stunning panels produced by Hoffman California Fabrics, it’s a good idea to know a bit about coping strips.
As a pattern designer, I’m often working with digital panel images—not the fabric panel. It’s not until I get the actual panel in my hands to make a sample that I may have an “Oh No!” moment. Hence coping strips and borders. You or your customers may have had a similar experience. Maybe the panel is just a tiny bit smaller than the pattern calls for, or it got pre-washed and shrunk a bit too much. As a shop owner, you’re supposed to know how to fix all the problems!
The basic premise is simple, but you do have to work backwards a bit. For example, if the panel is surrounded by 6″ finished blocks, you know (ok, use a calculator) that seven 6″ finished blocks can frame a 42″ finished size panel. That’s easy. But if you really want to use all 43″ of the finished panel height, you’re going to need to add some coping strips either between the blocks, or at the top and bottom to make up 1″ in height. That’s awkward. Go the other way and make eight blocks. Eight 6″ blocks mean you need the panel “hole” to be 48″ tall. Adding a 2 ½” finished size strip at the top and bottom of the panel (43″ + 2 ½” + 2 ½”) makes it the perfect size. Notice that I’m always working in finished sizes. It’s easier to calculate everything that way, but don’t forget to add ½” to the finished size for cutting. In this case, you’d cut 3″ strips.
If you’re not so hot on the math, there’s an easier way. White Pine Lane, is a new pattern featuring Hoffman California Fabrics՚ Whispering Ferns collection. It has a pieced medallion center, and on point, no less. The center is framed by a coping border, and while I wish everyone, including me, sewed perfectly, the best instructions I could give were to measure the pieced center medallion and then cut the coping border strips wider (or narrower) than the specified width if necessary. The unit can be trimmed to the correct size after the borders are added. Problem solved, and on to the next step!
BTW, coping borders do not have to be from just one fabric, and they do not need to be the same width on all four sides. And last but not least, you don’t have to have a coping border, even if it is of different widths, on all four sides. Yes, I know, that last one is a bit paralyzing for those that like to play by the rules.
So go ahead, and cope with whatever comes your way! Until next time, Karen
