Sashing a Quilt: 15 Quilt Sashing Ideas You Can Try

Have you ever created a few quilt blocks and thought, “These just need a little something extra, but what?”

I know I have, and one of my favorite things to do is add sashing to my quilt blocks.

In this post, I’ll teach you why sashing can be helpful and how to add it to your quilts.

Finally, we’ll check out some beautiful examples of how other quilters have added sashing to their quilts for an extra design element.

What’s In This Post:

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What Is Quilt Sashing and Why Do You Need It?

Quilt sashing is the borders added between quilt blocks in some quilt pattern designs. Sashing can be as wide or as narrow as you would like and can add a lot of visual interest to a quilt.

Someone might want to add sashing to their quilt pattern for a few reasons. I’ll list the most common reasons you would like to use sashing on a quilt.

It adds length and width to your quilt.
It breaks up the quilt blocks, which you sometimes need depending on the block design.
It adds a nice frame around the quilt blocks.

How to Sew Sashing on a Quilt Block

There are a couple of ways to add sashing to a quilt block. You can use just sashing strips or a combination of sashing strips and cornerstone blocks. This tutorial will show you how to use sashing strips only to create a quilt with sashing.

Step One: Calculate the Length and Width of the Sashing Strips

You should decide what width you want your sashing strips to be. Most sashing is between 1 ½” to 3” wide. It’s totally up to you what width you want to use.

For this example, the illustrations will use 2” wide sashing. Don’t forget to add ½” for seam allowance. That means I need to cut my sashing strips 2 ½” wide.

Next, measure the vertical edge of your quilt block. My example block is 9 ½” tall, so I need to cut my strips at 2 ½” x 9 ½”.

Step Two: Cut the Vertical Sashing Strips

I will be using 16- 9 ½” blocks for this example.

Each row needs five vertical sashing strips. I need to cut 20- 9 ½” x 2 ½” strips.

Step Three: Add the Vertical Sashing Strips

Take the first block from the top row and sew a sashing strip on either side of the block using a ¼” seam allowance.

Add the next block in the row.

Add the next sashing strip.

Continue this process till you have completed your first row.

Repeat this process to create the three remaining rows.

Step Four: Cut the Horizontal Sashing Strips

Measure the length of the rows. My example quilt measures 46 ½”. I will cut five 2 ½” x 46 ½” horizontal sashing strips.

Note: If you are cutting the horizontal strips from yardage and the length is longer than the WOF (width of fabric), you will need to sew two strips together to make a longer strip.

Step Five: Add the Horizontal Sashing Strips

Sew two horizontal strips to the top row.

Add the next row.

Continue adding the horizontal sashing strips till you complete the quilt top.

Sashing a Quilt: 15 Quilt Sashing Ideas You Can Try

Now that you know how to add simple sashing to a quilt, let’s check out some fun sashing quilting designs. Many of these examples are perfect beginner-friendly sashing ideas.

1. Thin White Sashing

This gorgeous quilt features a super simple thin white sashing that breaks up each block to create a window frame design. The quilt maker also added small cornerstone squares in the center of each block, making it look like a flower. This is a great way to add visual interest to a seemingly simple quilt pattern.

2. Sashing with Cornerstones

Here is an excellent example of a quilt that uses sashing and cornerstones to break up the quilt blocks. The cornerstone blocks are the blue and green squares between each sashing strip. This is another common way to add sashing to a quilt.

3. Strawberry Quilt

Here’s a fun example of how you can use sashing so that you can barely see it. This is an excellent option if you want the quilt blocks to be the main focus of the quilt design, but you still need some space between the designs. Fabric selection is key and can drastically change the look of the quilt.

4. Mary’s Quilt

How cool is this quilt sashing? This free quilt pattern uses small HST (half square triangle) blocks to create eye-catching sashing. The sashing is also wider than the average sashing strip.

5. Floating Cornerstones

If you look closely, this quilt does have sashing, but the quilter chose to use the same fabric for the background of the quilt blocks for the sashing. They then used a bright yellow for the cornerstones, which makes it look like they are floating in the background. The cornerstones add a fun detail and break up the white background.

6. Two-Toned Sashing

How fun is this quilt sashing? The maker used two fabrics to create this modern sashing with a nine-patch quilt block as the cornerstone. She used three thin strips to make the sashing strips, which is such a great idea to add a fun little detail to your quilt.

7. Hourglass Block Sashing

With the added hourglass block sashing, this sweet pinwheel quilt looks even more adorable. Each sashing strip is made up of four hourglass quilt blocks. The large white square cornerstones allow the hourglass blocks to shine in the sashing.

8. Scrappy Sashing

This sashing is IMPRESSIVE! The maker used scraps for this entire quilt, but the sashing is an excellent way to use your fabric scraps. You could also use this technique to make quilt binding.

9. Contrasting Colors Sashing

This quilt features a striking cream diamond-shaped sashing on a navy blue background. This sashing makes a unique border around each of these sampler quilt blocks.

10. Star Sashing

Here is an excellent tutorial on making this adorable star sashing for any quilt. The star sashing adds a fun detail to any quilt design and is surprisingly easy to make. This is an excellent beginner sashing project.

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11. On Point Sashing

Here is a beautiful example of using dark fabric to make a statement with your quilt sashing. The design of this quilt is unique because the blocks are on point. This makes the sashing look like a fun lattice pattern and looks incredible using this dark blue fabric.

12. Patchwork Sashing

The sashing of this quilt was made using small squares in a patchwork design. The sashing makes a beautiful border for the star blocks and breaks up all the white backgrounds. This is another great way to use your fabric scraps.

13. Framed Sashing

Here is a modern take on sashing that features strips of fabric sewn together to make a colorful frame for the simple square blocks. This sashing can be used for all kinds of quilt patterns and is another excellent way to use up scraps or jelly roll strips.

14. Charm Pack Sashing

The sashing in this quilt pattern is charm-pack-friendly. The sashing is made by sewing strips and squares to make four patch cornerstones and strip quilt sashing. This is an excellent beginner quilt pattern.

15. Black Sashing

Black is rarely used for quilt backgrounds and sashing, but it looks striking compared to the scrappy blocks’ vibrant colors. This is another great beginner-friendly quilt project.

I hope you enjoyed checking out the quilts with sashing in this collection. There are endless possibilities for quilt sashing; no matter what you choose, it’ll add a fun design element to your quilts.