Applique help needed

[Starlover]

Hi quilters I've been making quilts for several years, but have never branched out into table runners or applique. Decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and made a Fall table runner with pumpkins, flowers, vines, and leaves. As hard as I tried to avoid it, the piece ended up puckering. I'm ready to sew on the borders, but the top and bottom of the main block measure 3/8 of an inch longer than the center. Once it's quilted and bound, I'd prefer it to lay flat on the table instead of rippling on the edges.
Any tips on whether I should ease in the edges to match the center length, or is it better to cut the border to the end lengths and let the quilting ease some of the excess?

Thanks from a stuck quilter.

[purrfect-lady]

When you appique, you should make your block bigger than called for because the applique process causes the fabric to pull in a little bit. Then after the applique is all on, you square up the block. is it possible to take that block out and resquare it? It will be a little smaller than other blocks in the runner so can they be trimmed a bit, too? I not, could you add a narrow border on your applique'd block? 3/8" is a lot of fabric to ease in with quilting. I don't know if I've helped any but hope one way or another you find a solution. Good luck with it!