Foundationless string pieced border: how-to
Step 1: cut some strips of fabric 2x+1” as wide as your desired border width. I wanted a 2.5” border strip (which will become a 2” border with seam allowance) so I cut 6” strips. Then use your rotary cutter to wonky cut them into strings. The more wonky you cut them, the more interesting the finished border, but if the angle is too steep it becomes hard to truly improv because you won’t get a straight border.
Randomly sew 12-14 of these strings together, first in pairs, then in 4s and so on. The only rule I followed was to put thin ends against thick ends so each piece ended up a rough rectangle rather than a bigger triangle. Press the seams to one side with your iron:
Wonky, but not too wonky. When I place my 6” ruler on you can see that 5” fits neatly in the middle:
Trim off the excess from each side to make a straight 5” wide rectangle:
Cut the rectangle in half to make two border strips:
To join the strips you will probably have to square the ends of each or you won’t get a straight line. To do this simply use the right angle of the ruler to trim each end and sew together:
Then join them! If you make several string rectangles at once you can alternate so it looks really random. You may have to re-press the seams on the back once your border strip is done.
I learned this technique from the books of Gwen Marston, in particular her inspiring Liberated String Quilts, which you should definitely check out of the library, it totally opened my eyes to all these techniques I had never even considered. Also check out Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again for more wild ideas.
