Scalloped Borders Design Workbook: How to Plan Border Quilts

Quick answer

Plan scalloped quilt borders by sketching the full border on paper first, testing the curve against your quilt's dimensions, and refining the motif before you cut fabric. The Let's Stitch Scalloped Borders Design Workbook gives you 12 designs with three pages each for exactly that kind of trial-and-error planning.

Five steps to plan a scalloped border quilt

1. Measure and outline the quilt top: Record the finished width and height of your quilt top, then sketch a rectangle to scale on one of the workbook's open note pages. Mark where each border will sit. Common mistake: sketching the border alone without the quilt body, which hides proportion problems until the fabric is cut. Write the dimensions at the top of every sketch page so you never compare drawings made at different scales.
2. Choose two or three designs to test: Flip through the workbook's 12 designs and pick two or three that suit your quilt's size and style. Use the three pages per design to draw each one at full border length, not just a single repeat. Checkpoint: if a design needs more repeats than you can count comfortably, it may be too busy for the border width. Test at least one design you would not normally choose; the workbook's page space makes it cheap to compare.
3. Work out the corner treatment: Draw the corner where two scalloped borders meet, at the same scale as your border sketch. Decide whether the scallop turns the corner, stops short, or is replaced by a motif. Common mistake: planning the straight run beautifully and leaving the corner as an afterthought, which forces a redesign later. Sketch every corner, including the ones that will be less visible, so the border reads consistently from all sides.
4. Annotate spacing and notes on the sketch: Use the open space beside each design to note the number of scallops, the spacing between them, and any adjustments you made between the first and second page. If you are quilting by machine, note the direction you plan to stitch each scallop. Checkpoint: if your notes do not let someone else redraw the border, they are too vague. Date each page so you can tell your first attempt from your final decision.
5. Select the final page and mark it clearly: Circle or tab the page that shows your chosen design at full scale with corners and notes complete. Keep the earlier trial pages—they document why you rejected the alternatives. Common mistake: tearing out the trial pages, which makes it harder to explain the design if you quilt it again or teach it to someone else. Before cutting fabric, compare the final sketch against your measured quilt top one last time.

Product facts

• Let's Stitch Scalloped Borders Design Workbook: The workbook contains 12 designs, each with 3 pages for sketching your own machine quilting motifs. Three pages per design lets you try a curve, adjust it, and keep a clean final version without starting over on a new sheet.

  

• Let's Stitch Scalloped Borders Design Workbook: It is a companion to Natalia Bonner's online class Let's Stitch - Scalloped Borders. If you are taking the class, the workbook follows the same designs, so your paper practice reinforces the video lessons.
• Let's Stitch Scalloped Borders Design Workbook: It is available in Paper or PDF format. The PDF lets you reprint a design page as many times as you need, while the paper version keeps your sketches in one bound place.