Scallops Anyone?

I love scalloped borders. I use them quite a bit to finish my applique quilts. I think the soft curves complement the shapes of the applique. This quilt is from my book Geese in the Rose Garden. It is called Rose Parade. My applique group just made a twin size version for the silent auction at our quilt show. When it was time to scallop the borders and put on the binding, they passed the quilt to me. No one wanted to do it. Seems there is another nasty rumor going around. Scalloped borders are NOT hard, quilters.
There are couple of things to keep in mind and then it is smooth sailing.

1. The quilt needs to be quilted first.

2. Mark the scallops on the border. If you are using a pattern, you can trace the template on freezer paper and then use it to mark the scallops. Also, Darlene Zimmerman makes a tool called Easy Scallops that you can use to mark the scallops if you don't have a template.

3.Now you can sew on the binding. Use bias binding and DO NOT cut the scallops. Your quilt will still have a complete border. Line the raw edges of your binding to the drawn scallop line and sew with a 1/4" seam.

4. When you get to the bottom of the valley don't stop right on the line. Remember this line is for the edge of the binding. You are sewing a 1/4" from that, so you need to sew a few stitches past the line and stop with your needle down and turn.

5. Sew out of the valley and continue on. The scallops are very gentle curves and the bias binding has give making it very easy to sew.

6. After the binding is all sewn on, cut away the excess border and turn the binding to the back and hand sew just like you would for any quilt.

7. See- very easy!

Happy Quilting, Dawn