Clip all stray threads on your top especially if they are dark and will shadow through on the light fabrics.

Press your quilt top well making sure that your seams are pressed to one side.

Check to see that your top lays flat when you lay it down on a table.

• To avoid wavy borders, which are very difficult to quilt, measure through the middle of the quilt to get your border length or width, and then cut the borders this length. Use pins to apply the border and ease in any fullness. Measuring and then using pins takes a few extra minutes but the results are well worth it.

• Consider applying borders cut on the length of the fabric. There is a lot less stretching during the application as well as the quilting when this is done and there are no seams in your border.

Make sure that the seams on the outer edge of the quilt are secured.

If there are bias edges on the outside of the quilt, stay stitch 1/8″ in from the edge to stabilize.