I made this improv quilt in 2012. Here’s how I made it: How to make the blocks improv / free form quilt block number 1 improv / free form quilt block number 2 improv / free form quilt block n…
I’ve been having so much fun making improv blocks that I thought I’d share with you a tutorial on the process I use.…
If you want to make your own improv quilt but you're not sure where to start, I've put together the improv prompts that I used to make my Quarantine Improv
Make the most of your small fabric scraps by turning them into crumb quilt blocks! You can combine blocks to make a full crumb quilt top!
Improv Wavy Strips Tutorial is my method for sewing improv wavy strips together in a simple, easy method. Take a look!
stack improv curves tutorial
The products featured in this post were given to me by Aurifil, OLFA, and Michael Miller. I'm excited to share that I'm today's stop for the final 2020 installment of the Aurifil Slice and Stitch Challenge. Way back in November of 2019 I signed up as one of the Aurifil Artisans to participate. I was ...continue reading →
Another finish! I really, really like this quilt. It started with a bundle of solid fabric I was given for a guild challenge. I added ...
Improv Wavy Strips Tutorial is my method for sewing improv wavy strips together in a simple, easy method. Take a look!
learn this fun and easy way to explore improv quilting with your scraps. Use interfacing to support your improv quilt block shapes
This easy introduction to improv quilting with precuts is a modern approach to quilting that will quickly invigorate your quilting enthusiasm.
Learn everything you'd like to know about getting started with improv quilting with our comprehensive guide.
Wonky improv curves are a much easier and faster quilting technique than you might think! Learn how to sew free pieced curves to use in your quilt designs.
I am making a improv block in this tutorial. I have made a few predetermined decisions before I started this block or mini quilt. I wanted it to be a wonky log cabin style with inserts of thin oran…
My improv pieced curve quilt is finished. In my bid to practice sewing pieced curves, I got out a bunch of 5" squares that I had left over from a previous project and took to them with my rotary cutter. It was a little scary at the beginning, but I'm so glad that I made it... and finished it. I learned a lot about curved piecing along the way - the right ways of doing it, and the wrong. After watching a bunch of YouTube videos, it seems that I sewed my curves together the 'wrong' way. I had the concave and convex curves in the opposite order when I made these blocks, but hey, they worked just fine. I finished off my quilt with a cute backing fabric print and spiral quilting. I even added a hanging sleeve to the back, but just need some dowel from the hardware store. I'm counting this as my OMG finish for February 2020. Yay!!
My improv piecing comes with a plan, and often a set of rules that I'm following for construction. As I work, I choose whether to follow or break my rules. Today I'm sharing my process for creating improv triangles on the corners. Along the way, I'll point out times for you to make design decisions ...continue reading →
Hello group, This month I'm asking for trees to go through a woodland quilt, specifically Aspen so I hope you still have some black and white. This is my inspiration photo but I'm going for more of a fall theme so I'll be laying the trunks out over some fabrics from the Through the Woods line rather than a green background. I'm asking that you send Aspen branches/trunks anywhere from 10-15" long and 2-5" wide. (I have a layer cake of the background so they'll be spanning 10" blocks) Fabrics needed: Selection of whites (solids, blenders, white on white, white with gray, white with black) Selection of blacks/black and whites. Please stay away from things with writing or novelty characters if possible. Here's an example of some stuff I pulled. These trees are essentially crumb quilts so little scraps work great! If your black and white have little pops of color in them that's fine but please try to keep it to the autumn forest theme (aka no hot pink). I'll be using this autumn leaf fabric on the back as another reference for the fall tones. How To: There's a great tutorial on improv trees here from 3rd Story Workshop My technique was pretty straightforward. I cut smaller rectangles/triangles of black and sewed them to white pieces. Then joined those together into strips. Sometimes the darker segments go all the way across the "tree" sometime's I added sections of white on one or both sides. I kept it really free-form, essentially just doing crumb quilting until my strips were 10-15" long. You can see I kept them heavier on white to mimic the Aspen trunks. Here is a mini layout with a few chunkier trunks laid out against the background fabrics. Some more inspiration pics of different quilted tree trunks. And some inspiration pictures of pretty trees
This is how I made a modern scrap quilt without a pattern. This is a quick controlled improv style quilt you can make in less than a week!
Finding inspiration for our abstract quilt making can be fun but overwhelming when you don’t have a full and finished quilt pattern in mind; which is what improv quilting is all about of course! Inspiration can come from anywhere, of course. The word inspiration means ‘to inhale’, so it’s taking in
One of the things I love about collaborative projects is the things you learn and share. Case in point, a lovely (and slightly irreverent) discussion about piecing, specifically curved piecing that happened with Bee Sewcialites at QuiltCon over Chinese food. It's remarkable how many ways you can put a curve together and there are so many wonderful, detailed tutorials out there. For me, I have tried many of these, and have had great success with most of them. But since I'm a garment sewer first and had a few skills from that, I realized that perhaps some of the techniques used to inset sleeve scythes might be helpful when tackling exaggerated pieced curves in quilting. March's prompt for our Bee Sewcial (#beesewcial/ #inspiredbybeesewcial on IG), was "Layers". A word rich in meaning and potential. One of the things I have thought about, especially after making a fun baby quilt for a friend, was all the different ways maps have influenced civilization, and all the different types of maps that exist. I used a special "map" (flight path map) in the quilting of "Flight Path". Flight Path photo compliments of Nathalie Bearden But, one type of map has been calling to me, A topographical map or topo map. But instead of quilting a topo map and while keeping in mind this months prompt, I tackled piecing one. Bee Sewcial March Topo block for Hillary, Entropy Always Wins To do that, you need to have a confident handle on curves. I use a mixed skill base for that, and because I dislike using throwaway materials (paper/freezer paper), have developed a modified technique that works, I think, rather well. Felicity (@felicityquilts), also used this technique in her months Bee Sewcial block and it prompted a discussion of the steps in construction of dramatic curves. So, here goes….. (disclaimer: I'm a visual person, so I learn most by studying pictures. I read directions only when necessary, and I follow them as needed. I have included both in this discussion, pick what works for you, BUT the only way you'll become comfortable with curves is to actually practice making them). Materials: Fabrics for project Marking pencil or pen Sharp scissors (very important) Hot iron Sewing machine with 1/4" foot, thread Water solvable glue (I use Elmers, but any fabric glue that you can was wash out works). 1. Choose a starting fabric. If you have a finished size in mind, have your starting fabric several inches larger in all directions since you'll be trimming to size at the end. 2. If you have a design in mind, and are a planner, great. Just going for it is great too. 3. On the right side of your fabric, using your marking pencil/pen, draw out a curved line. drawn curve in faint white with making pencil 4. Cut away the fabric leaving a 1/4" seam allowance. 5. Using your sharp scissors, clip the curves with tiny, closely spaced v's. DON'T clip past your drawn curve. Continue along the length of your curve. 6. Turn your fabric to the wrong side and press the seam to the back of the fabric, using the drawn seam line as a guide and ease the curve with your fingers, carefully folding back the fabric and pressing as you do. Do not worry if you press back more than 1/4". The clipped v's aid in the pressing especially around dramatic curves. Concave curves press easier than convex ones. You may have to overlap some of the v's and press slowly on the convex portions. You can use Flatter, starch or just water to help you at this point. Go slow and use a hot iron. Try to keep the pressed curves smooth. Having many tiny cut v's make smoother curves. 7. Flip fabric to right side, tuck any unruly clipped curves to the back, press. 8. Select your next fabric and lay out on your pressing surface right sides up. Place your prepped, ironed fabric right sides up on top and adjust to your satisfaction. Press through both fabrics tucking back any unruly clipped seams. fabric to be added at bottom. pieced curves with clipped pressed seams at top 9. Carefully lift the top fabric at one end and add dots or a thin bead of glue part way along the clipped edge. Keep glue restricted to the clipped edge only. Gently place the fabric back in place and iron to set. Keep lifting, gluing and ironing until the entire curved edge is set in place. I use Elmer Glue in a glue dispensing bottle Occasionally glue gets on the front. Don't fret , it washes out. 10. Flip to back side and gently trim using the clipped edge as your guild for the trimming. Be careful here to not cut your recently pieced fabric. 11. Using the clipped and now trimmed edge, as your guide, clip the areas of the added fabric using the already clipped and glued v's as your guide. make sure your v's are clipped before sewing 12. Sew, in the pressed seam along the crease created by ironing. Go slowly around the curves easing the fabric out of the way, especially around the dramatic curves. I use a 1/4" foot not for measuring but so that I can see what I'm doing. sew carefully along the pressed crease 13. Go back to your ironing board, pressing the seam to one side. Your fabric will fall to one side or the other. Press to that side. 14. Admire your work. 15. Repeat these steps as many times as necessary to complete your design. I use this method for inset circles and circuloid shapes (the blue portion of the Topo block) and for the pupil in my other "Layers" March Bee Sewcial block. Pupil added with identical method. Even with many pieced seams this method works well. Have fun with curves!!!
Improv quilting. The modern scrap quilt?
Get on top of your quilting scraps! Make mini scrappy blocks with the scraps from other projects - great way to use up small offcuts!
This is how I made a modern scrap quilt without a pattern. This is a quick controlled improv style quilt you can make in less than a week!
stack improv curves tutorial
Kawandi is a style of quilt created by the Siddi people of India, traditionally done by hand. It is truly scrappy and improvisational. While I like doing hand work, I was also intrigued by faster machine methods. I've listed some resources at the end of this tutorial if you are interested in creating Kawandi by hand, want to see another machine tutorial, want to see some footage of Siddi creating Kawandi by hand, and a discussion of creating Kawandi in your own style. This tutorial describes a new way of creating Kawandi by machine. These are NOT traditional Kawandi, but inspired by the joy and movement of Kawandi-style. I started with a background piece of fabric approximately 8x10", a piece of batting of the same size, and many scraps of batiks or quilting cottons. 1) Place the background over the batting, right side up (this is a quilt as you go technique, so the batting is incorporated from the beginning. 2) Place 4 scraps in the corners, right side DOWN - NOTE I'm using batiks in these examples, so its hard to tell that these pieces are upside down. In this image, you are looking at what will be the WRONG side of those scrap corners. 3) Begin UNDERLAPPING adjoining scraps into the corners. Fold approximately 1/4 inch on the side that will go UNDER the corner. Again, the scraps are placed upside down. Pin the piece in place along the edge. This will be machine sewn. 4) When you get to the next corner, fold the 1/4 inch on both sides of the scrap because it will go under 2 pieces of fabric. 5) Continue folding and underlapping scraps, pinning along the outer edge until you get the entire edge filled. Notice that it doesn't matter if you use short scraps, or long scraps. And again, its impossible to tell from this image because I'm using batiks, but you are looking at the right side of the background, and the WRONG side of the colorful scraps. 6) Sew 1/4 in seam all the way around the edge, removing pins as you come to them. 7) Clip the 4 corners close to the seam, being careful not to cut the thread. 8) Turn right side out by flipping each scrap over the seam. Use a tool to poke out or pull out the corners. There should be no raw edges of fabric along the edge of the piece because they are either in the seam OR they are folded under. 9) Carefully press the outer edge - taking care not to press the batting, as it might melt depending on fiber content. 10) The result is a piece with finished edges like this: 11) Top stitch close to the edge, This will secure all the folded under edges of each scrap. 12) When you are on the 4th side, approaching the beginning of your stitch line, turn the corner about 1/4" or 3/8" before you get there, to start the 'spiral' of stitching. The next steps are done just like Kawandi by hand, but you continue sewing on the machine. 13) To place the next piece, fold under 2 edges. Finger press or iron as necessary. Overlap the unfinished edges of previous scraps. 14) to place a color into a long strip, fold under 3 edges, staying aware of where you will place another scrap to overlap. 15) To keep a small scrap straight as you sew over the edge, it may be necessary to use long tweezers or stiletto. 16) Continue placing scraps and sewing in concentric rectangles, into the center. Note: this picture is from another project than the ones above. 17) Prepare the final scrap by folding under all 4 sides, and sewing the ever smaller rectangles/squares of stitching. 18) For the piece made of batiks, I decided the center "squares" looked better on the diagonal. Although not traditional at all, I've already broken so many 'rules', that I just decided to make this mine. Also, I'm aware that traditional Kawandi have 'folded flowers' in the 4 corners. Include them if you wish. Make it yours! Paula RESOURCES: How to make a Kawandi by hand by Kieren Dutcher https://youtu.be/yFd0xEfKeto How to make a Kawandi by machine (with binding) by Mel Beach https://pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com/2019/03/modern-kawandi-making.html Margaret Fabrizio travels to India to learn Kawandi from Siddi quilters: https://youtu.be/WqdIswL96q4 Margaret Fabrizio shows her own Kawandi quilts, and talks about making them in her own style. https://youtu.be/4NRxqOqp_UA
This one I finally finished this year! No catchy name so far… Do you have a suggestion? I started this one WAY back in 2019. I loved Nicholas Ball’s (@quiltsfromtheattic) improv triangl…
When I blogged about my scrappy improv blocks, I had several people mention that they were afraid to try it with their own scraps, since there really isn't a true plan for sewing. It does take some time to get used to sewing with reckless abandon in an improv style, but I thought that a few guidelines might help some of you take the plunge. Once you get the hang of it, this method of sewing is so much fun, and it's a great way to use whatever fabric you happen to have. The first thing you need to decide is how big you want your blocks to be. I use a 12.5 inch square ruler, and I find it makes things much easier. If you would rather use a regular quilting ruler, that's fine too! Get all of your fabric ready and divided in whatever way works for you. I have my scrap baskets divided into cool, warm, and neutrals. I also don't distinguish between scraps and strings. They all go in together, and you'll love using both with improv piecing. Start by sewing two pieces of fabric together. It's helpful if the sides you're sewing are similar in length, but not necessary. When you're finished sewing, just take your scissors and trim the excess. Add another piece to any side you choose. I always try not to sew around the first piece in a regular way, so that it doesn't end up looking too much like a log cabin block. If you don't come across a piece that is long enough to cover the side, or if you just want some variety, piece a couple of scraps together to make them long enough. As your sides get longer, you will have to piece smaller scraps to get enough length. Try to avoid sewing too many long strips on the sides or your block might end up looking like a log cabin instead of an improv block. I don't press my block until the end when I'm sewing like this, but you can if you choose. Continue adding to your sides until you have a block that is about 3-4 inches bigger than your square template. I know you're wondering why you are making blocks that are too big, but just trust me. The part that will make your blocks really special is coming up. Give your block a press and take it to your cutting mat. Line up your template along one edge of your block. Check our those extra side strips! Cut them off with care and don't throw them away. You'll need them later! I know when I look at quilts that are improv pieced I'm always impressed by the tiny little strips and fabric bits that seem so perfectly placed within the blocks. Well, you can get those neat little pieces without actually sewing teeny tiny pieces. We're going to use those fabulous little trimmed strips in your next blocks! One or two of those strips can really add a lot of interest to a block full of bigger pieces. If you really get on a roll, you can always make a really big improv block and cut several blocks from it! This also gives you the freedom to use pieces that are a little bigger, because there is a good chance that they will get cut when you cut your blocks out. You can do improv piecing with a planned color palette as well! If you choose to use scraps though, just remember that the beauty of a scrap quilt isn't fully realized until all of the blocks are together. In my opinion, that's when scrap quilts really show their wow factor! I really encourage you to try some improv piecing. Once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun, and I think it's really great for getting your creativity and sewjo going! Editied 8/25 to add- Here's a picture of the finished quilt, just in case you're wondering how it looks when the blocks are all put together! You can check out the post with more pics of the finished quilt HERE!
Quilts by Paula Fleischer, political and otherwise
An easy improv round log cabin block
Making an improv log cabin quilt was a fun challenge. In my newest Island Batik challenge, I combined two themes to create an improv log cabin wall hanging–here’s the tutorial showing how I did it. Cozy Log Cabins is the first challenge theme that I used! Log cabins are a great traditional pattern and I […]
I finished this improv piece of raw edge/crumb quilting/whatever this may be called if it’s already got a name. It’s 10″ x 10″ and I quite liked the process. I…
Expert quilter Virginia Cole is here with a fantastic tutorial on how to sew a modern improv quilt for beginners — it's sew simple and cute!
My improv pieced curve quilt is finished. In my bid to practice sewing pieced curves, I got out a bunch of 5" squares that I had left over from a previous project and took to them with my rotary cutter. It was a little scary at the beginning, but I'm so glad that I made it... and finished it. I learned a lot about curved piecing along the way - the right ways of doing it, and the wrong. After watching a bunch of YouTube videos, it seems that I sewed my curves together the 'wrong' way. I had the concave and convex curves in the opposite order when I made these blocks, but hey, they worked just fine. I finished off my quilt with a cute backing fabric print and spiral quilting. I even added a hanging sleeve to the back, but just need some dowel from the hardware store. I'm counting this as my OMG finish for February 2020. Yay!!
Learn everything you'd like to know about getting started with improv quilting with our comprehensive guide.
Fun with strip piecing for your improv quilt starts with letting go of what you know! Put aside your notions of ‘perfection’. Don’t worry about the width of your strips (crooked strips work too) …and don’t worry about the perfect ¼” seam. Give it a try, and see how liberating improv quilting is. Free tutorial, free quilt pattern
Expert quilter Virginia Cole is here with a fantastic tutorial on how to sew a modern improv quilt for beginners — it's sew simple and cute!
I’ve had so many requests to explain how I mount my small art quilts on painted black canvas that I decided it was time to write a tutorial! There is a step-by-step description of my process …
This is the fifth block in a series of 6. The blocks will be used to make a quilted bedhead (or wall hanging). See improv / free form quilt block number 1 improv / free form quilt block number 2 im…
Learn all about improvisational curved piecing including improv circles in this article with half circles and quarter circles.
