Gingham Leaf Designs

After quilting, it's time to 'Square-up' the piece.

• Machine baste 1/4" from the edges of the top fabric, to stabilize all the layers. 
• Use both a horizontal and a vertical seam line for alignment with your straight edge. 
• trim only on the right outer edge of your straight edge, turning the quilt to work on all four sides. 

 It's very important to note: if you use the edge of the quilt top fabric to align your straight edge, you are only cutting off the excess fabrics and not 'Squaring-up' your work.

To illustrate, this photo shows that your fabrics sometime shift a little in the quilting process. But 'Squaring-up' helps to correct the alignment of the entire quilt. Adding the binding usually covers most of your 'corrected' areas.