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There is always more than one way to make a quilt. Rae's pattern suggests sewing squares together and cutting your sashing to match the length of your squares. Get Rae’s pattern here.

I cut my sashing and borders to the length that my sewn quilt squares *should* be, and then pin in the middle of the sashing and the sewn squares, both ends, and in between as needed.

If you are using 5’’ x 5’’ squares and want to pre-cut your borders, here are the dimensions I used:

(2) 2-3/4’’ x 9-1/2’’ strips

(2) 2-3/4’’ x 14’’ strips

(2) 2-3/4’’ x 23-1/2’’ strips

(2) 2-3/4’’ x 28’’ strips

(2) 2-3/4’’ x 37’’ strips **

(2) 2.75 x 41 inch strips **

**I cut my outer 2-3/4’’ border strips at 3-1/2’’ inches. This gave me room to trim the border down to my desired size after quilting. It isn't necessary, just a personal preference

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Tips & Tricks: Chain Piecing

Chain piecing is another word for assembly line piecing. Instead of sewing two blocks together, cutting the threads and putting them in a pile, you sew multiple pairs of blocks together in a row, without cutting the threads between them. This speeds up your piecing, and if your machine tends to sputter or catch threads if the needle isn't on the fabric when you start sewing, this helps that problem.

Typically, when I sew sashing/borders to quilts, I find the middle of both the border and the quilt/block (A), and pin. Next, I match and pin the ends together (B). If there are seams to match (C), then I pin on both sides of the seam, and then anywhere else I need to. If there aren't seams to match, then I just fill in with pins where necessary, and sew the two pieces together.

I think this quilt pattern would look great with a non-neutral solid border. It also lends itself to different sizes. Perhaps you are using larger squares, or you don't want to have to piece your quilt back--I made this one out of charm packs we cut at our DC Modern meeting from various members' stashes to see what it would look like without an outside border. I think it works well, and yes, my quilt holder was thrilled to be holding the quilt. Wish you could see his happy face. Ha!

If you have any questions, you can ask them in the 100 Quilts for Kids flickr group. Thanks, and happy sewing! The quilt along posts will continue on September 7 with a discussion (and lots of great pictures) of pieced quilt backs.