Mitered Corners Made Easy

There’s no doubt about it, mitered corners can give any pieced project a professional and polished finish. Even though some consider this to be a basic quilting technique, many a quilter has struggled to create the perfect miter, whether it’s for a border or for binding.

If you’re new to quilting and want to learn how to sew a quilt with mitered borders or if you’ve been sewing for a while, but are still looking for an easy mitered corner method these tips from Amy Ellis are for you.

How to Miter Corners

1. Cut the border fabrics the length of the center piece’s edges plus twice the width of the strip. For example,  a 2 ½” wide border needs at least 5” of extra length to make the miter.
2. Center a border strip on the center rectangle. Sew the border fabric to the center rectangle, starting 1/4″ away from the edge, and stopping 1/4″ away from the end. Repeat on all four sides. Press the borders away from the center.
3. Working with one corner at a time, fold the center rectangle diagonally, right sides together, so two borders line up. Pin the unsewn fabric ends in place using 5–6 pins so that nothing will shift when you move to the sewing machine. Line up the 45° line of the square ruler along the border edge and the straight edge on the center rectangle fold. Mark a diagonal line on the unsewn fabric, drawing the line from the center rectangle to the outer edge.
4. Sew on the marked line, starting at the center rectangle and working out, backstitching at the start and stop. Check your work before pressing and trimming away the excess fabric in the corner. Repeat with each of the remaining corners.
5. If the mitered corner doesn’t lay flat when you open it, check your work before trimming and redo the seam, if needed. Now is the time to get it right!

Mitered Corners Quilt Video Available

If you learn better by watching, order or download Amy’s Quilting Arts Workshop Accurate Machine Piecing: Time Saving Sewing Techniques. In addition to showing you each step you need to know to make perfect mitered corners, Amy also shares piecing techniques for accurate half square triangles, flying geese, and curves.

If you want to learn more from Amy, sign up for her online class where she teaches everything you need to know about finishing your quilt on a home sewing machine.