bk,

It's your quilt. You can do anything you want with it.

But if your blocks are 12 1/2" (is this finished or before you put them together?) times 3 wide that would make at least 36" wide. Then if you add 3" borders, that's another 6" (3" on either side) so you're up to 42".

Or, you can put in more than one border to make it whatever width you want, maybe a 1" and a 3" to accentuate the quilt top.

I forgot the border is on both sides. Bad math, huh?

bk

Jennifer, I still use graph paper, too.

BK, just for reference, I always cut my outside border 1/4 - 1/2 wider than I want it to finish up. When I quilt the fabric sometimes "creeps" and when I square it up I like to have the extra width.

As Jennifer said, an inner border also helps control size. You can make the inner and outer border any width you need to look good and yield the size you want.

I agree with making the outer border slightly bigger and trimming it after the quilting. I usually lay the quilt on the floor and snap a chalk line, baste outside the chalk line in what will be the seam allowance. It's hard on the knees but I do it anyway - I crawl around the quilt with my large mat. longest ruler and rotary cut the waste off.

I do the same, glass. Then have to roll to a chair to get up.

I was working on the design floor today and had to do as grammyp did, only I crawled over to the stairs and hauled myself up. Fun times!

Theresa

I've made dozens of the disappearing/altered nine patch. A quick way to use up charm packs (5"). I just lay mine out in a nine patch. Precut 5" squares are not always a true 5". When I'm done, I square mine up usually to 13.5 and then I cut 6.75 inches one way and don't move the block and cut the same 6.75 the other. Lay those blocks out so no seams matching up. It's a great pattern for those charm pack junkies like me!

Do you do pattern fabrics on all nine squares?

bk