placement of the border stars

[denise-nh]

Help!!! I have placed, moved, replaced, shifted , redone,undone...and I can't settle on a good way to place my stars, I have even thought about putting them in a paper sack and sewing whatever comes out next (which I could never do as I am far to anal.) Any tricks or good advice?? I was going to get this done before Jan 1, but...it isn't looking good now that I have messed with the placement for an entire day!

[denise-nh]

Well, let me tell you. I had three of the four sawtooth rows in place before I noticed that I should have been looking at the center square along with the star points. So when you see mine you will see some with the same centers right next to each other. I decided not the fret it. So, my suggestion is, anal or not, put it in a bag and start sewing. :wink:

[ajclapp]

If you used the same fabrics on each group of 4 as I did, place one of each on each side of the quilt. Then take a digital picture if possible. If any of them pop out or look out of place trade with one of the same fabrics on a different side of the quilt until they blend together. I actually replaced a fabric in several of my blocks to get them to blend because I was using a different arrangement, but you don't need to do that.

[Margo]

I find it helps a lot to put the quilt top on a design wall and arrange the border stars around the outside, then stand back with a reducing glass (or peep-hole from the hardware store!) to see how it reads. A digital photo will also give a good perspective. I always do this before I start sewing borders together!

[Margo]

Thank you for the help ladies! Margo, I heeded your advice and went to the hardware store for a peephole, double sided taped my blocks on the wall, split my pairs up and the combination of the three worked!! A million thanks! You saved my sanity!