Tiffany Haney
Adding a piano key border to a quilt is a great way to widen the quilt top. It may look like a lot of work, but it is a quick and easy way to make a gorgeous piano key border. Piano key borders can be made with scrap fabric or with repeated fabrics using strip sets. The first step is to cut white pieces to the length and width of your quilt. Then, sew the white pieces together and draw a line 2.5 from the edge of the white keys to help keep the edges even. Stitch the piano keys to the body of the quilt and stay stitch around the edges to keep the keys from separating.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of border | Piano key |
| Materials | Fabric, thread |
| Tools | Sewing machine, scissors, marker |
| Steps | Cut fabric to size, sew strips together, attach to quilt, stitch edges |
| Tips | Measure and mark fabric before cutting, press seams in the same direction, add a narrow inner border to hide seams |
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What You'll Learn
Measure and cut white pieces for the piano key border
To create a piano key border, you will need to cut white pieces of fabric to the desired size. This process can be tricky, so here is a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
First, measure the length and width of your quilt. This will give you an idea of how many white pieces you will need to cut. For example, if your quilt measures 63 inches by 45 inches, you will need to cut enough white pieces to cover this distance.
Next, decide on the width of your piano key border. This is a personal preference, but a common choice is to cut 1.5-inch wide strips for the white keys. Using our example measurements, you would cut 63 x 2 and 45 x 2 pieces of 1.5-inch wide strips. This ensures that the white pieces cover the entire length and width of the quilt.
When cutting your white pieces, it is important to maintain consistency in the width of the strips. Any slight variations in width may result in an uneven border. It is also recommended to cut the strips longer than needed, as you can always trim them down later if necessary.
After cutting your white pieces, you will need to sew them together end-to-end to create the piano key border. Press the seams in the same direction to prevent the strips from developing a curve. You can then attach this border to your quilt, pressing it towards the body of the quilt.
By following these steps, you will be well on your way to creating a beautiful and precise piano key border for your quilt. Remember to take your time and measure twice to cut once!
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Sew white keys together in a strip
To sew white keys together in a strip, you can follow these steps:
- Cut out white pieces that are 6.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. The number of pieces you cut out should correspond to the length of your quilt in inches. For example, if your quilt is 63 inches long, cut out 63 pieces.
- Sew the white pieces together to create one continuous keyboard for each side of the quilt. For a 63-inch quilt, you would sew 63 pieces together for each side.
- Repeat this process for the top and bottom of the quilt. For a 45-inch quilt, you would sew 45 pieces together for the top and bottom.
- Press each of the seams open using your fingers or a hot iron.
- Draw a line 2.5 inches from one edge of the white keys to give yourself a guide for sewing on the black keys.
- Sew black ribbon pieces onto the white keys, centering the ribbon in the middle of two white keys, just like on a real piano keyboard.
- Continue adding black keys to the white strip, following the pattern of two black keys, then one blank, then three black keys, and so on.
- Fold the ends of the keys under to hide any raw edges, and line them up with the line you drew in step 5.
By following these steps, you can create a piano key border for your quilt, giving it a musical and unique touch.
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Cut piano key strips and attach to the quilt
To create piano key strips for a quilt, the first step is to measure the quilt to determine the length needed for the top, bottom, and side borders. This will help you decide how many strips to cut and what length they should be. For example, if your quilt is 66" long, you will need 66 white keys.
When cutting the strips, it is recommended to keep the width under 20 inches, as anything longer may become unwieldy. You can cut the strips to your desired width, such as 1.5" or 2". For the length, cut the strips to the required length for your quilt, keeping in mind that the finished keys will be slightly smaller than the original strip length. For example, 6.5” long strips will result in 6" long keys.
After cutting the strips, sew them together end-to-end to create a continuous border. If you are creating a piano key design with both white and black keys, you will sew the black ribbon pieces onto the white keys first, centering them in the middle of two white keys, just like on a real piano keyboard. Fold the ends of the keys under to hide any raw edges.
Finally, attach the completed piano key border to the quilt, pressing towards the body of the quilt. If desired, you can add a narrow inner border to conceal the seam between the quilt and the piano key border.
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Stitch the piano keys to the quilt
To stitch piano keys to a quilt, you will need to cut and measure your fabric, sew the pieces together, and then stitch the piano keys to the body of the quilt.
First, determine the length and width of your quilt. Cut white pieces that are 6.5” long and 1.5” wide, equivalent to the length and width of your quilt in inches. For example, if your quilt is 63” long and 45” wide, cut 63x2 and 45x2 pieces of 1.5"x 6.5" white strips for the piano keys. You will need as many white keys as your quilt is long since they finish at 1". So, if your quilt is 66" long, you will require 66 white keys. Cut the black keys about 5.5" long and 5/8" wide.
Next, sew the white pieces together to create one continuous keyboard for each of the two sides, and the top and bottom. For example, if your quilt is 63” long and 45” wide, sew 65 pieces of 1.5" x 6.5” white pieces and 45 pieces of 1.5"x6” pieces together. Press each of the seams open by finger-pressing before using a hot iron.
Now, sew black ribbon pieces onto the white keys, centering the ribbon in the middle of two white keys just as on a real keyboard. Use black thread and sew close to the edge of the black ribbon. Place two black keys, then leave one blank, and add three black keys. Repeat this pattern down the strip of white strips. Fold the ends of the keys under to avoid any raw edges.
Finally, stitch the piano keys to the body of the quilt along the long sides. Put the keys next to the body of the quilt and stay stitch around the edges to prevent the keys from separating while you work with the binding.
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Avoid wavy or curved strip sets
If you want to avoid wavy or curved strip sets, there are a few things you can do. Firstly, it's important to measure your quilt accurately. Measure the quilt from top to bottom through the vertical centre, and also measure at both side edges. Add these three measurements together and divide by three to get the average width of your border strips. Cut two border strips that match this measurement exactly. This will ensure that your border is not too long or too short, which can cause waviness or tightness in the quilt.
Another tip is to mark the centre and quarter marks on both the borders and the quilt top. These marks will help you line up the pieces accurately and distribute any extra fullness along the edge of the quilt top. Rather than measuring, you can simply fold the quilt top and border pieces in half, finger-press at that point, and mark with a pencil. If your quilt top is very wavy, you may want to mark and pin points in between as well.
When sewing the border to the quilt top, place the quilt top on the bottom as you sew. This way, the feed dogs will help ease in any extra fullness. Make sure that all seams are facing the way they have been pressed. An awl or long pin can be useful for this step.
If you are joining strips to get the desired measurement, press seams open or use a bias seam to reduce bulk, then cut to size. It is also recommended to add the top and bottom borders first to avoid the need for piecing the border strips. Measure horizontally and start at the short sides, then follow the same method of marking the centre and quarter points and sewing from the bottom.
By following these steps, you can help ensure that your quilt borders are straight and flat, avoiding any waviness or curvature.
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Frequently asked questions
A piano key border is a decorative border that is added to quilts. It is made up of strips of fabric sewn together to resemble piano keys.
To make a piano key border, you will need to cut and join strips of fabric to the desired length and width. You can use any colour or pattern of fabric, but typically, piano key borders feature white and black "keys". Once you have your strips, sew them together end-to-end and then attach the border to your quilt.
When creating a piano key border, it is important to measure your quilt accurately to ensure the border fits properly. You may also want to consider adding a narrow border between the quilt and the piano key border if you are concerned about the seam showing. Additionally, pressing the seams in the same direction can help to avoid wavy or curved strip sets.
