Another quilt, more border quilting ideas to come up with.

Borders come in all shapes and sizes, whether it’s a true pieced border or just negative space  around the center of your quilt.  

So what’s a quilter to do when they don’t know what to choose? 

Get some inspiration.  

Sometimes, when you are working on a quilt, you finally get to the quilting stage and find you just want to do a quilting design that’s quick and easy.  

Or you are brand new to quilting (Welcome!) and need an easy idea to get your feet wet that  still looks great.  

Walking foot quilting designs are some of my favorite quilting designs, simply because straight  angular lines give much more of a modern touch to your quilt.  

Not to mention they take away 60% of the work that comes with free motion quilting.  Quick, easy, and modern.  

So today I’m talking about walking quilting border ideas that are great for beginners and anyone else looking for a quick easy quilting motif.  

Tools for Success 

Other than the walking foot that likely came with your machine (if not you can find a good one  here) there’s really only one tool to turn your border quilting ideas into super clean and professional quilting on fabric.

Hera Marker 

A hera marker is really my only secret tool for amazing quilting. This notion allows you to mark  out all the lines you want to quilt while leaving no trace behind.  

Why do we care? 

To get clean professional quilting motifs, you DO NOT need a professional, fancy, expensive,  long arm quilting machine.  

The main difference between the “quality” of quilting a long arm and a domestic machine is simply being able to see where you are going, and getting there in a much more consistent manner.  

When working on a long arm, you aren’t wrestling with the bulk of a quilt, you can just focus on  getting from point A to point B and you can use rulers much more easily to ensure straight  lines.  

On a domestic machine we have a lot more to consider as we navigate the quilt through the  machine which has a tendency to take our focus off from staying on that straight line from A to  B when you are eyeballing it. 

Lines tend to end up wavy, jagged, pointed, squares end up lopsided, simply because we can’t  see the bigger picture around it.  

So while the walking foot takes care of the consistency problem of getting pretty stitches, using a Hera marker marks out the exact lines you want to make, and keeps you from having to focus so hard while coordinating all of the moving parts. 

Wrestle with the quilt all you need, just stay on your marked line and you’ll end up with a  beautiful straight line that ends exactly where you intended every time.  

Squares actually end up square, lines actually end up straight.  

If you don’t already mark out motifs before quilting them, or own a Hera marker, your quilting is about to get kicked up a notch and you’ll immediately regret not getting one sooner.  

So if you’re using one of these border quilting ideas, be sure to check out a Hera marker to make your  life 10 times easier.  

This is the one I use from Amazon.

My Top 10 Favorite Walking Foot Quilting Designs 

Hera marker in hand, shall we start quilting? 

Piano Keys 

This one is a classic, and is likely everywhere on the internet, I get that, but it’s so popular (and easy) that I had to include it.  

All it is is straight lines running perpendicular to make a “T” with the border you are quilting.  

I find it easier to start on the inner edge of the block and quilt out to the border edge so you  can drop your needle exactly where you want it. Instead of working your way in and putting strain on your eyes to try and figure out if you ended in the right spot. 

ProTip: To keep the lines straight use some sort of guide, whether it’s the edge of your walking  foot or a quilting guide for larger spaces. The one I use is universal to most walking feet.  

This is the only border quilting design on this list that can be adapted for borders that aren’t  straight lined; which is why it’s at the top of the list.  

My double wedding ring quilt is a great example of how versatile this simple design really is,  the rings are curved, but the straight lines around the edge of the quilt just follow the design  and end wherever it hits a ring. 

Related: 
A Modern Double Wedding Ring Quilt 

Triangles 

A very modern and geometric version of the piano keys, start by marking out triangles that zig  zag across your border. You may need to make a triangle bigger or smaller to make the corner  turn nicely. Then quilt your zigzag. 

Using those straight lines, follow the zigzag line, altering directions with each triangle piece.  Just be sure to reinforce stitching at the starts and stops! 

Related:
A Scrappy Quilt with Triangle Borders

Herringbone 

Everyone loves a good herringbone.  

This one is simple, whether you include a border like I did or not, mark a single line down the  center with the help of a ruler, the marking will help keep it perfectly centered as you stitch it.  

Go back with your ruler and Hera marker and mark out perfectly spaced chevron lines on each  side. To save time, it’s easiest to do this in bulk a side at a time. This way you know your  herringbone will have a consistently spaced chevron and both sides will end at the same point  to give you that great design.

Simple Squares 

Maybe you have squares in a pieced border, or maybe you just want to add some interest to a  solid color border.  

Either way this is a great, easy, and QUICK one.  

I like to start at one corner and just using the right angle of my ruler mark out two zig zags  across the border side that meet up to make the square!  

You may need to adjust towards the end so you don’t end up with a half square when you get  to the next corner, but the beauty of marking ahead is that you have all the time in the world to  play with it before committing.  

When you quilt it, quilt it like a zig zag (half at a time) instead of a square, you’ll keep moving and you won’t  have to push and pull the quilt so much.  

Interlocking squares 

The interlocking squares build off the concept of the simple squares and makes it a little more  fancy. To quilt, instead of marking the middle of the width of the border, make marks at the 1/3 and 2/3 points and run them the full length of the border. Do not quilt these lines, they are for reference only.  

Instead of marking from one edge of the border all the way to the other edge like in the simple  squares, mark from an outer edge, across the first 1/3 reference line, and stop at the second.  

Make your 90 degree angle, and mark all the way back out to the outer edge of the border.  

Do the same thing on the inner side of the border, crossing the closer 1/3 reference line and  stopping at the second.  

Other than that it’s just a zig zag!  

The Knot  

Even fancier still, but no more difficult to do, this knot design is created by making two  interlocking square designs that are offset from each other.  

To start, make the interlocking squares from above. 

Now repeat the two zig zags, on top of the original two, using those same 1/3 reference lines.  Except this time, off set them from the first set so where the original set made a big square, the  new lines will cross for the small square.  

I love that this design is as simple as four zig zag lines. 

The Fan 

This border quilt idea is fun as it kind of gives you an unexpected triangle design that you really don’t see  often.  

This design uses an “entry level” dot to dot technique, and if you’ve never heard of “dot to dot” before, all it means is that it uses geometric shapes, whether they are from the quilting or the piecing and uses corners of the shapes as “dots”. 

Make different shapes connecting them between “dots” and fill them in after!  

To get this design, mark out your zig zag and quilt it first. Then go back in and start at the  point where the zigzag turns, quilt 5 lines out to the opposite edge of the border, fanning your  lines as you go! 

Repeat the process for each turn in your zig zag.  

BONUS border quilting ideas!  

This one uses both the walking foot and the free motion quilting foot. So be sure to have both  handy.  

Starting with your Hera marker, mark out two zig zags that parallel each other the full length of the border. This will create a zig zag gap that separates the two halves of the border. Depending on how wide the border is you can play around with how much space is between the two lines, the wider the border the more space you’ll want. 

Before taking your walking foot off, go ahead and quilt your straight lines on the outer edge all  the way around the quilt, stopping whenever you get to the first zig zag line.  

Once you’ve finished, change out your foot to the free motion quilting foot and drop your feed dogs.

What you should be left with is empty triangles on one side of the zig zags. 

Make three to four smaller triangle shapes to fill in the empty portions of the border, following the edges of the triangles that is made by the underside of the zig zag, each shape returning back to the same starting point.  

And if your shapes are a little too large or you like a little extra detail, feel free to throw a little echo line inside the shape like mine.

Repeat the process all the way around the inside of the border and you’re done! 

The First Baby Steps to FMQ

So maybe you are loving that last bonus border option but are hesitant to jump in. Free motion can often seem like TOO much freedom when you first get started and you are nervous you’ll end with a quilt with scribbles all over it.

The best way I’ve found to get started with FMQ is actually by using a pantograph quilting design!

A pantograph is an all over pattern that ignores the piecing of the quilt top. It repeats the pattern in rows across the quilt and when you quilt multiple rows you’ll get an all over texture, similar to the straight line quilting but, with more interest. 

Typically you see these designs done by computerized long arm sewing machines but you are totally capable of quilting those same designs on your own domestic machine at home too!

I like starting with pantographs for a few reasons:

1. Half the battle of custom designs is deciding WHAT to quilt before you even learn HOW. Since pantographs ignore the quilt top piecing, you don’t have to decide on whats going to go in the borders, or each block which simplifies the process. Just get used to stitching with free motion before complicating it with different designs.
   
2. To get consistent spacing, it’s best to mark out your pantograph before getting started. Although it keeps your shapes on track, it also forces you to automate one of the hardest things to multitask when FMQ: always knowing where to go. Just follow your line, and you’re good to go.
   
3. Many basic pantographs can be completed by either a walking foot OR a free motion foot. If you find after a row or two the free motion foot isn’t really working out, you always have the option to switch out to your walking foot to finish the rest, WITHOUT ripping stitches and starting from scratch. This is a great way to practice free motion quilting with low risk to your finished quilt!

I was looking to get away from my usual straight line quilting but I just wasn’t in the mood for a full custom FMQ design, so instead I created a pantograph template that I immediately found myself using over and over again!

This geometrical designs is versatile across any quilt you will make and is a great easy way to dip your toes into free motion quilting since it can be done with either a walking for OR a free motion foot.

I figured that if I used it all the time, you might like it too so I made a downloadable PDF version that you can grab for free!

Click here to grab your free machine quilting template!

Being good at free motion quilting takes time and practice, so challenge yourself to tackle it head on and I’ll be cheering you on every step of the way!