It is time to finally finish this quilt top. I had lots of 2 inch squares cut out from scraps, so I sewed them into 4 patch blocks. H...
Improv Log Cabin quilt using red fabric scraps. A quick and easy method for using up scraps!
I love a good scrappy binding on a quilt. It's great for using leftover fabric from your project and great for making up in advance so you have no excuse not to bind that next
Fabric leftovers pile up, no matter your good intentions. Creating quilts from your scraps is always a great way to cut down on the piles (...
One of the projects that I have been exploring lately, is making letters of the alphabet using scraps. Read more »Katherine www.sewmesomethinggood.blogspot.com
My experiments a few years back on sewing letters of the alphabet using scraps , has received continued interest, which means I am not alo...
Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial
Welcome to the final week of the scrap vortex QAL! I'm thankful that so many of you have joined in and quilted along with me. It's been delightful to look through the #scrapvortexqal hashtag on Instagram. So many scraps are being put to good use! Hurray! Before we get on with today's post, I wanted to share a few quilt tops made by others! This one was made by Amanda of Material Girl Quilts. It measures about 46" x 63". This one was made by Linda of Flourishing Palms. It measures a whopping 89" x 91"! And this one was made by debpotteringabout. She used all of her scraps...ALL of them!!! How is that for a success story? Didn't they all do a great job on their quilts??? Many thanks to Amanda, Linda and Deb for letting me share their work here! Over the past few weeks, I've shown how to fit the pieces together based on the random sizes of your block. I would recommend using that method, if you are up for it. However, I would imagine that some of you may want to rely on a block format for construction. I've done a few quilt block mock ups to show a few options if the random layout isn't working for you. For this first mock up, you could use all 12" blocks. This isn't a bad option at all, just a bit more structured than the typical randomness of a scrap vortex quilt. When you start the assembly, at least you are guaranteed that your blocks will fit together! This second layout uses just 3 different block sizes: 12" squares, 12" x 18" rectangles and 6" x 12" rectangles. In this layout, you will lose the grid of the patchwork (which is a good thing) and it becomes more random, but it's still orderly and predictable. This isn't a bad option, either! These are just a few examples to illustrate my point. Of course, they can be sized up or down as desired. Completely random is good, too! As far as quilting goes, I would recommend doing spiral quilt (tutorial here) to keep with the vortex theme. A pieced back.... and scrappy binding are options that I would recommend as well! It just makes sense, right? :) Well, that's all I have for today! As always, if you any questions, I'll try to answer them in the comments! Thank you ALL for quilting along with me!!!
"Scrappy Trip Around the World" is a quilt pattern that, as far as I can tell, originates here. It uses a very unique piecing method involving unpicking seams (on purpose!). It's a great way to use scraps, and delightful to see how the different patterns emerge as you go. I am making a classic "Scrappy Trip" right now, you can see my progress on Instagram @woodberry_way (#marquittascrappytrip). I received a quilt order for twins this week that needed to be finished rather quickly, so I thought I'd use this method to save time, and it worked wonderfully. I've created this tutorial with very beginning quilters in mind. Supplies: 12 different 1/4 yard cuts in coordinating prints (I used Cottage Garden by The Quilted Fish, plus some blenders.) 1/2 yd for binding 1 1/2 yds for backing You will also need your trusty seam ripper:) 1. Cut strips to 4.5" by WOF. (You can technically make two of these quilts out of 1/4 yd cuts, if your cuts are very careful and straight.) You should have 12 strips, one of each print. 2. Arrange the the strips however you'd like. I do this on the ironing board because I have little fabric stompers at my house. You can blend the colors to achieve an ombre look, or go for high contrast with distinct stripes. The stripes you see here will be the same as the diagonal stripes in the end. Also, keep in mind that the top and bottom rows will touch eventually, so make sure you like the way they look together. You can see here I arranged the colors with two different results in mind- one with blended colors and one with contrasting. 3. Sew strips together. You'll have what could be a simple striped quilt top. Don't trim it yet! The fabric widths vary depending on manufacturer, and that's alright. 4. Press seams, alternating the direction on every row. This will ensure that your seams nest in the end, making it much easier to match up corners. 5. Fold in half, right sides together, and sew the top and bottom strip together. You will create a tube of strips. You can see I don't fuss about threads until the end. 6. Lay the "tube" flat, and cut perpendicularly into 4.5" strips. I fold it in half again for easier cutting, just make sure it's lined up! You should have 9 tube strips. 7. Take a tube strip and unpick one of the seams. Keep in mind that wherever you start unpicking will determine which print will start the pattern in the upper corner. Lay that strip flat. 8. Determine which seam needs to be unpicked in the second row by looking at the first two prints of your first flat strip. Unpick the seam between those two first prints. When you lay this one next to the first you will see that the prints have all shifted over one spot. Continue to do this, laying them out with the first color from the last row in the last spot on the next, and you will see the diagonal stripes emerge. (You can see I have highly qualified help!) *Note: You can't rotate the layout (like in the original Scrappy Trip block) unless you reduce the pattern to a 9 by 9 grid. It will only work with a square layout. I highly recommend trying that too, it's super fun! 9. Sew your strips together, "nesting" the seams as you go. As you put your strips right sides together to join them, you'll see that the seams you ironed will alternate, making them easy to tuck into each other as you go. This eliminates the need to pin, and you can feel that the seams are lined up perfectly, making perfect corner points. Press your rows all one direction and trim any threads. Voila! You have a lovely 36" by 48" quilt top ready to go- the perfect baby size. Layer, baste, and bind with your favorite method. There are lots of wonderful tutorials out there for these steps if you are still learning. Thank you for following along, have fun sewing!
Ten tips to help you make the most of your charitable sewing - find reputable charities for donations, pace yourself, small contributions make a difference.
trying to get the postage stamp quilt finished!! i might be buried under this pile, somewhere . . . cross-eyed from all the patience + determination it took to piece these! mustfinishmustfinishmustfinish!
I love the ease that these Magic Number blocks come together. I’m thinking of going with the lilac color to bring the quilt to size. What do you think? I actually have it in my stash which is just amazing in itself. Looks like I should have another sample done today for Sunday’s Magic Number Workshop....Read More »
The crumb quilt project was a great scrap buster. I got 2 quilts out of that project. But for some reason, after all the mess all o...
Handy video from quilt designer Patrick Lose gives you an easy way to make perfect corners when you bind a quilt. #quiltbinding, #quiltingforbeginners
Good morning Scrappers! Today marks Week 6 and the final Scrap Elimination blog of the summer. It has been a busy summer making fun projects out of my scraps and I love the results. This last one is perhaps my favorite, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. This week we are going to be using up 1 1/2" strips. You could also make this project with 2 1/2" strips, you're block would just have larger strips. Here's what you will need to get started! Materials:1 1/2" strips at least 7" long
I love a good scrappy binding on a quilt. It's great for using leftover fabric from your project and great for making up in advance so you have no excuse not to bind that next
Hi, all! Hard to believe it, but it's already Wednesday! But I've been a good girl this week, playing with my scraps, and I've got some pretties to share with you - some of my own, and some inspiration! First up, I want to share the finished version of some scrappy sewing I shared back in September... These are the two pillow covers I made with the scraps from my major Artisan projects! I embellished them with some big stitching in perle cotton, and I just LOVE them! And also, this week I managed to not just work on Lilli's annual quilt, but I finished the top!! We had some beautiful sunshine this morning, so I was able to get a "stained glass" shot of this one. And yes, those are photographs in the centers of the larger blocks! I've had a lot of requests for a tutorial for this quilt, so I'm going to try to post a tutorial next Wednesday. This is a great scrap buster quilt, and really easy to personalize with photos printed on fabric! So keep your fingers crossed that I get that tutorial finished in time.... And now for some scrappy inspiration! Last Wednesday night when I walked into the "sweatshop" at church, I saw this on the wall... Isn't that just gorgeous? We had a huge box of 60's/70's vintage bark cloth donated to us in all those lovely fluorescent colors, and Rita decided to use some of them to make a rail fence quilt. I think we're going to have a lot of fun playing with these - there's a lot more where that came from! We're making quilts for our 2017 senior class this year and these fabrics are perfect for teenagers, don't you think? And I came across this beautiful scrappy quilt on Instagram this week. That grey background is the perfect foil for all those saturated colors! Now for some fresh inspiration from my Oh Scrap! Pinterest board... This is a great way to use the fabric from men's shirts - something my stash is overloaded with! And isn't this a great variation on string blocks? I can see using this one to move my string quilt along a little faster - I'd only need half as many string blocks! Oh my goodness, what a great disappearing nine-patch!! I love that the quilter used a solid red consistently as her center block - it gives the quilt some unity, even though it is completely scrappy! Also, notice how small those blocks are? I'm guessing the 9-patch blocks are made with 2.5" squares... Just imagine how much scrap this one could use up!! And this quilt just makes me smile!! I love the riot of color, the rectangular blocks, the rainbow-y-ness... It's perfect! You can find the original links for the last four quilts on my Pinterest board, Oh Scrap! So - - - I'm off to write a tutorial! I have a question for you - have you ever used photo fabric in a quilt? If so, what has your experience been? What product did you use? Hugs! Sarah
You've likely seen a Bento Box Block before. It's not a tricky block to sew, there's no curves or triangles to piece, but thi...
My experiments a few years back on sewing letters of the alphabet using scraps , has received continued interest, which means I am not alo...
Le visible mending, réparation visible en français, consiste à raccommoder ses vêtements en laissant les coutures apparentes.
Great Ideas for Memory Quilts, Keepsake Quilts and for Recycling Men’s Shirts! Men’s shirts have a lot of usable fabric for creative quilters to work into quilts. Recycling is always a great idea, plus men’s shirts provide the ideal fabric for more masculine quilts. All-cotton shirts, besides being more comfortable to wear, are perfect for …
It was such a privilege to make this Dacha quilt for RJR's "What Shade Are You?" blog. Working with all of these bright fabrics was so much fun! Don't you just love the way that they stand out against the freshly fallen snow? You can find the original blog post HERE on the Quilt With Love blog. I've had several people ask me if I was going to make a pattern for this quilt. That wasn't my original plan, but I decided to throw together a quick tutorial, for those who might be interested in making something similar. Although I love this quilt in solids, I can also imagine this as a scrappy quilt, so I'll give directions for an individual house block, and will also include basic guidelines for making the quilt as it is shown. For each house block you will need the following pieces: House One (1) - 3.5" x 6.5" One (1) - 2" x 2.5" Two (2) - 5.5" x 2.5" Door One (1) - 4" x 2.5" Background Two (2) - 3.5" x 3.5" To make the roof, draw a diagonal line on the back of each background square. Sew on the line, as shown below. Press back to make sure your blocks is square, then trim. Repeat on the other side to make one flying geese...or is the one flying goose? Haha. Sew the small house piece to the top of the door piece. Assemble the block as shown below. Block size is 6" x 8" (finished). You will need 49 blocks to make the quilt as shown. It measures approximately 57" x 72". For this design, I selected the 12 house colors from primary, secondary, and tertiary colors of the color wheel, in deep saturated shades. I used RJR Cotton Supreme Solids, which are listed on the Quilt With Love blog. IMPORTANT: You will need 1/4 yard of each fabric. Please note that 1/4 yard will allow enough to make 4 houses. If you do the math, you'll realize that only gives you 48 houses, so make sure that you have a little extra of one of the colors to make the 49th house. The cutting requirements for the house fabrics are pretty tight, so be mindful that you have a full nine (9) inches from which to cut. FABRIC REQUIREMENTS: HOUSE FABRICS - 1/4 yard - 12 different colors From each solid, cut the following. One (1) 3.5" strip, subcut into: Four (4) 6.5" x 3.5" (roof) Two (2) 2.5" strips, subcut into: Eight (8) 5.5" x 2.5" (house) Four (4) 2" x 2.5" (house) Four (4) 4" x 2.5" (door) BACKGROUND FABRIC - 2.5 yards Nine (9) 3.5" strips, subcut into: Ninety-eight (98) 3.5" squares Nine (9) 1.5" strips, subcut into: Forty-nine (49) 6.5" x 1.5" (horizontal sashing) Eight (8) 1.5" strips (vertical sashing) Note: you may be able to get by with only seven (7) cuts, if you use leftovers from the horizontal sashing. Cut and piece together to fit Seven (7) 4" strips (borders) BINDING - 1/2 yard I hope that you find this tutorial helpful. If you make your own Dacha quilt, please use the hashtag #dachaquilt and tag me on Instagram (@kairleoaks). I'd love to see your work! Quilted by Utah Valley Quilting.
Here are free patterns for bargello quilts ! The bargello technique can be used to create backgrounds for applique, to showcase landscape pr...
I joined Amanda's Nine Patch a Day quilt along last April and finished the first half of the blocks in May and the second half of the blocks in June. I finally got around to piecing the top of the...
Scrappy Trip Around the World Quilt Tutorial, free quilt block tutorial with step by step directions and photographs
Happy Monday everyone! Last month when I shared my spool pattern for the Good Neighbors Pincushion party , I started to get the itch to make more (and bigger) spool blocks. I get a lot of emails about my spool block mini quilt that I made back in 2011. At that time, I was just learning paper p
Whip up a quilt in no time with these quick and easy patterns that make fabulous last-minute gifts or one-hour scrap-busting projects. They are so easy, you might want to make one of each!
Hi Everyone I have just made a short video on how I made my little house quilt and posted it on my Facebook page. It is also on my website. Please comment. I appreciate your feedback. Here are some more...
This Scrappy September, we want you to raid your fabric stash and sew up something beautiful with all that's left of your other projects. We knew that quilters end up with lots of leftover fabrics and that inspired us to get scrappy with our September sewing! This September, we are challenging you to make a new quilt entirely from your scrap stash. Are you up for it?
I have received many requests for a pattern for this quilt. You can make this quilt by using this patchwork quilt pattern found here. Between Amy Sinbaldi and Alisse Courter, I was in some kind of…
My Scrappy Sunshine quilt is about a quarter there. I’m randomly piecing it using ‘magic numbers.’ I often teach in my improvisational classes about using magic numbers for construction. Magic numbers can make improvisational quilt construction that seems impossible a little more within reach. I had a lot of inquiries so I thought I would...Read More »
I was a busy girl last week. I'm dealing with my fair share (or more) of health issues, so that takes up quite a bit of my time. Add in my five little learners and I'm a busy girl. And sleep. I like sleep. But being organized has allowed me to get some things done, and that makes this mama happy! My goals last week: Complete the bodies of my 5 Hobbes softies - didn't happen Piece some quilt backs (oooh, how exciting!) - DONE! Piece Valentine's Mini - didn't happen Cut scraps. Lots of scraps - didn't happen I'm struggling with the scraps. I started pressing the pieces of fabric, and while I'm pressing them I'm thinking of the doll clothes I could make with them, or little zipper bags, or . . . . So the scraps didn't get cut. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I just don't have it in me. I'm thinking if it's something very specific, like this apple quilt: Something manageable, but still using up at least my red, pink, green, orange (a smidge) and grey (or black and white) scraps. It might make a dent. Or maybe a strawberry quilt? (Scrappy Strawberry quilt from Farm Girl Vintage) (Strawberry Social quilt found here at Tamarack Shack) I'll get right on it, right? So here's what I'll get done this week, I hope: Sew Valentine's Pillows Cut fabric for new quilt patterns Cut Feed Co. Weekender stuff Work on Valentine's Mini And anything else I can think of. Probably going to sort out my red, pink and green scraps so I can get started on one of these cute quilts.
Blogged Inspired by this quilt.
Click here to sign up for more fun and free quilt alongs!! Today I will show you two different ways to make a pieced quilt backing: (1) All from one fabric, or (2) from scraps and chunks. I have a …
Scrap buster log cabin quilt block tutorial. A great way to use up favorite quilt scraps in this modern improv log cabin quilt variation. Beginner friendly.
Photo above © Bonnie K HunterThis quilting pattern / tutorial is available for free... Full Post: Strip Twist
The More Fabrics the Merrier for This Wonderful Quilt! Dig into your scrap bag for this eye-catching quilt and have fun selecting bits of this and that to add variety to the quilt. Fat quarters and fat eighths can be used to round out the scraps you have on hand. Select a fabric for the …
Scrappy Letter Quilt - pattern by quiltsandnicestuff.com. A fun modern and fun quilt design and a perfect stash buster.
Here at last, the Lego Tutorial. I love playing with bitty pieces, fitting them together like a puzzle and that is reflected in my write-up. This is just one way of many that you could go about doing a quilt like this. First off, here is the amazing antique quilt that provided the inspiration, courtesy of Lucy of Quilting with the Past: Go check out her post with all the details and close-up photos. I have studied this quilt over and over again, I truly love it. The strip widths in this are small (only 5/8" finished), as are the blocks (6.5" finished). It's very color-coordinated with lots of cream, brown, navy, red and pink with a few hints of gold and lavender. I wanted to use every fabric that came my way, no matter the color, and most of my fabrics are far far busier, so I increased the strip and block size. Let's get started. Cut strips and scraps 1.5" wide. Cut randomly to lengths measuring between 1.5" (aka a square) and 10.5". My quilt is super scrappy and I quickly discovered I did not need many pieces of any one fabric. I strongly recommend that you include solids, near solids, and blenders, especially if you are going to be using lots of busy/novelty fabric. Include lots of different sizes and kinds of patterns. Include dull fabrics AND bright ones. The more of a mix you have, the better. I didn't use more than one strip (42") of a fabric. For an eye-catching fabric, cut three or more pieces. Ugly fabric or something you just can't stand? Cut short pieces. Not that you necessarily need it, but I give you permission to fussy-cut the heck out of your fabric. I bought this fabric because it was Elvis and never use it cuz it is ugly. Instead of cutting a 1.5" strip off, I cut a wider chunk and then selectively cut it up to get pieces I liked (the name and face). Okay, more waste that way, but it's getting used! If there are boring or strange bits of the right width, they get thrown in too. The little snowman face is a lot cuter than just his hat would have been To avoid a murky quilt, include light lights - I used white-on-whites and several fabrics with a lot of white background. and dark darks. I used black but a good navy, for example, would be excellent. Start joining the pieces up. I divide my fabric into light, medium and dark piles and pick randomly. (I might pick it, but that doesn't mean I have to use it). I chain a whole big bunch at one time and then iron after every join. And yes I said iron. Forget delicate pressing, I'm ironing the heck out of this, with STEAM. Rows that are long enough get cut to size. Theoretically that should be 10.5" since I'm making 10.5" unfinished blocks, but it's less stress to cut them a tad bit longer (I add an 1/8" but a quarter or half inch would work too). And yay, leftover bits longer than or equal to a square get thrown back in to the piles o' legos. I don't know how ya'all piece, but I can't sew a straight row. Some come out even curvier than others: Occasionally I use my rotary cutter and slice off bits that are sticking out (I'm especially eager to do it when it's a fabric I hate) otherwise I leave them as is - no seam ripping. Oh, and I'm sure these things would lay flatter etc if I pressed the seams open. But I don't. It takes too long and I burn my fingers. Plus that would probably make it less wonky, which is not a goal. I make a few rows that are only two pieces. The longer the piece, the more attention it will draw to itself. Here are a few rows made with three legos. I initially had a much bigger piece of the bright blue with red dots and discovered that it was waaaay too dominating. Might not have been bad if I had lots of that fabric to use all over the quilt, but I've only got a bit of it. Even more rows that are four. And five: And a few with six: I really enjoy the process of making the rows. I can play with adding a dull fabric next to a neon to see if that will tone it down (it usually does). Do I like this color combination? It's easy to divide a fabric if it isn't working. Notice that each row is a bit different. I think of it as morse code: dots and dashes. Some rows are dot dash dot dash and others are dot dot daaaaash dot, etc. I do occasionally throw in a single fabric but geeze it draws so much more attention, even when it's a quiet nondescript fabric. How easily can you spot the one here? So where were we? Rows. I keep them together and definitely do NOT sort them by how many pieces are in each. I grab the first two off the pile and audition. I find two rows that look good together and then another two. I'm not working on bigger blocks, just concentrating on two rows at a time. There are always a few rows that don't play well together and get set aside for the moment. I pin before I sew the rows together. Probably completely unnecessary, but I do it anyway. I make sets of 4 and a few with 3. Three? I know, I know. Using 1.5" strips to make a block that finishes at 10" I should only need 10 rows. Don't ask me, but my first block was too small, so I decided not to stress and just sew on that extra 11th row. That gives me more room to slice here and there making some rows thinner. But usually my blocks come out a bit big. I just cut them down to size. ***Use a steam iron or mist with a spray bottle first and iron (or press) the block flat before trimming *** I love using a big square ruler although it would be better if it was the exact size of my unfinished block. This is a Creative Grids ruler and it is awesome. Only once did my block come up too small even with the 11 rows. I trimmed a wee bit and threw in a shim of solid fabric. It's narrow and pretty unnoticeable (it's the 7th row down). I love how wonky the legos are in that area. This is a section from the border. One of the wonderful things about this project is that I've learned that some fabrics work sooo wonderfully with just about anything. That gray with the orange polka dots? fabulous. And some styles are atrocious such as busy prints that mimic patchwork - the cherries mixed with black and white dots and houndstooth for instance (2nd row from the bottom). *shudder* Really busy stripes are horrible too. The bright yellow with red flowers 70's print is an eye-catcher. I think the other fabrics with red, yellow and orange help to balance it out. The blocks in the middle of the quilt are set with one block's rows going up and down and the next block's rows side to side (think Rail Fence). The top and bottom borders rows all run up and down. The side borders go side to side. My quilt isn't finished yet, but this is how a quilt would look set 7 x 7. I still can't decide if I'm going to go for it and make it king-sized or go for a more manageable (and washable!) smaller size. I said there are other ways to go about it. Chawne makes a big long strip instead of separate rows. She explains her method here. And hey, I just found the wonderful Scrapbuster Random Railfence Tutorial Riel wrote up months ago. She's uses 2.5" wide pieces and makes one big strip too. I love how she used these blocks to make this wonderful scrappy quilt with a unifying sashing. Lily says, have fun and get to work! Any questions? Just ask.
