Crisp borders

I've been turning some of the samples from the Karina Thompson workshop at this year's Contemporary Quilt summer school into Little Gems.

To get a crisp edge, I used lengths of firm cord. The photo shows them "betwixt and between" - I started by pinning an A4-sized piece of paper onto the fabric, then placing a cord along an edge and zigzagging it with a narrow, open stitch. Leave at least 2" ends - these are for grabbing onto later. When I got to the corner I left the needle in the fabric, turned the cloth, and added a cord along the next edge - till all edges were done. Remove the paper and carefully trim the excess fabric. Then change the stitch to a wide, close stitch, and go round all the edges. The ends of the cord will help you do those tricky, bulky corners. Cut off the cords once the edge has been stitched.Here are three of the finished "layer and slash" Little Gems -
Recognise the fabric in the middle one?