Featured Products Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Nordic Star | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Patchwork Chore Coat PDF Pattern $20.00 Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 1 customer rating Add to cart Latest from the blog Star Wars Quilt | May the Fourth Modern Designs!May the Fourth be with you! Happy Star Wars day! I thought it would be fun to share how I have made a modern Star Wars quilt. I love a challenge, and for me, using character prints in a way that felt fresh and modern was definitely that challenge. I love how both these quilts turned out! Just a quick note, I made both these quilts a while back and I’m just now getting around to sharing them. So, fabrics used may or may not be easy to find anymore. Modern Irish Chain Star Wars Quilt: First up is a modern Irish Chain quilt using mainly Star Wars fabrics. This is the Celtic Crossing pattern by Lo & Behold Stitchery. I lengthened it to make a twin sized quilt. For this quilt, I used all black, white and grey fabrics for a very literal light side/dark side Star Wars quilt. In addition to quite a few Star Wars prints, I added in blenders that added to the “feel” of Star Wars. Most of these are old Cotton & Steel prints. There’s the Sprinkle print in black, Sprinkle print in a light grey, and a white dot on grey fabric that I don’t know the name of. And we can’t forget Bowties in black – I love this print because it looks like a bunch of Tie Fighters to me! I quilted this quilt with my walking foot in a motif that felt very ‘star-like’ to me. I love walking foot quilting because you can create such amazing designs at home! This quilt took forever to quilt, because it is so big, but I’m really glad that I decided to go for it. I used a flannel Star Wars print for the backing and two layers of batting to make this quilt extra cozy. It is super heavy and warm, perfect for an extra layer in our Wisconsin winters! My favorite thing about this quilt? The Darth Vader fabric glows in the dark! Ha! I’m really happy with how this quilt turned out and the use of so many novelty fabrics. Perfect for upcoming Star Wars movie nights! Modern Gingham Star Wars Quilt I made this modern gingham Star Wars quilt for a friend, so I have just two pictures to share with you. This quilt was a pretty simple design made of squares. I decided to swap out some of the solid squares for novelty Star Wars fabrics while still keeping the gingham feel. The hardest part of this gingham quilt was trying to match the solid grey fabric and the novelty grey fabrics. Grey tones can vary widely between being almost-taupe to almost-blue, so finding one that worked well with the print fabrics I had was a bit of a challenge. I backed this Star Wars quilt in flannel as well, and it is a fairly large throw. I quilted in the ditch around all the squares on the quilt top for a simple finish, but signed my name using free-motion quilting in the corner! Future Quilt: I still have quite the collection of Star Wars fabric! There’s enough of the white flannel print for another throw quilt, and definitely enough prints for a quilt top. I just need to decide on a design for the next Star Wars quilt and get sewing! Since there’s quite a few blue fabrics and I haven’t made a Star Wars quilt with blue yet, I’m leaning towards those. You might also like: No related posts.... Read more...Spyglass Patchwork Chore CoatI made Riley’s quilt coat back in the fall, and I did it with the intention of making myself a matching one. But I didn’t have enough background fabric, and it took a while for me to sit down and do some calculations and order it! During that time, I started developing the Patchwork Chore Coat, so I switched gears and decided to use my coat pattern for this quilt coat instead of my original plans. This Spyglass Patchwork Chore Coat turned out so well, and it has me itching to make another quilt coat! I knew that I wanted it to be longer than the Patchwork Chore Coat pattern specifies, and I was curious to see if I could swap a zipper for the buttons. (spoiler alert! Works great!) I wrote a blog post to walk you through this hack, so you can make this version as well! For the back of the quilt coat, I started by making a baby sized Spyglass quilt. I love the pieced triangles in Spyglass, they add some really nice interest! Shop Related Products: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Spyglass calls for 8 fabrics plus backing, but since I was trying to match Riley’s coat as closely as possible, I only used 4 fabrics. I simply doubled the fabric requirements for each fabric (using a 1/2 yard instead of a FQ of each). When laying out the blocks, I worked to get a nice randomized pattern where not one fabric was overly dominant in any part of the quilt. Quilt fabrics: Add it Up in Glow (Cotton & Steel)Add it Up in Sea Glass (Cotton & Steel)Kona EvergladeModa Bella ScarletBackground is Kona Navy For the lining/backing of the quilt, I chose to use a really cute and comfy flannel. This is actually a flannel bedsheet! If you’re new to using bedsheets for quilt backs, check out my post on the subject! Not only did I use this fabric for Riley’s lining (I mean, we are making matching coats here!) but I knew I’d appreciate the extra warmth. For the coat, I used the Patchwork Chore Coat pattern in size Small. I lengthened it 5″ and added a zipper instead of a button closure. I’m wrote a blog post that details all the changes. I love the three piece hood that comes with the Patchwork Chore Coat pattern! A three piece hood always fits so much nicer than a two piece hood and lays nicely against the back of the coat. I chose to keep the front and sleeves of the coat a single fabric with no embellishments. I wanted the back of the coat to be the focal point and star of the show. However, I couldn’t help but add contrasting binding and I really love that pop of red! The Patchwork Chore Coat comes with really long sleeves, which is intentional! The pattern has instructions on how to shorten the sleeves (or lengthen) but personally, I love cuffing them to show a peek at the lining inside. Simply cannot deal with the fact that Riley and I match!!! With hoods! It is hard to pick a favorite Patchwork Chore Coat version because they’re all slightly different, but I really really love this Spyglass Patchwork Chore Coat. It is more fitted than my other two versions (which are both size Medium) but not constrictive, and the flannel lining adds warmth, as does the extra length. I do live in Wisconsin, after all! Warmth is an important factor! The entire coat has bound seams for both comfort and to keep the inside of the coat neat and tidy! I bound all the inner seams with the same red fabric as the outer binding, and that pop of red makes me smile every time I put on the coat! My zipper is not reversible, however, so this particular jacket isn’t reversible (although the pattern does have a reversible option). You could definitely make it reversible by using a reversible zipper. Shop Spyglass Patchwork Chore Coat products: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart See more Patchwork Chore Coats: Harvest Star Quilt CoatModern Crossing Quilt CoatCirrus Quilt CoatMisty Mountains Quilt CoatLone Star Quilt Coat You might also like: Cirrus Quilt Coat Zipper Patchwork Chore Coat Hack Harvest Star Quilt Coat Patchwork Chore Coat | A Quilt Coat Pattern... Read more...Modern Crossing Baby Quilt | FlutterI made two baby quilts for PBS Fabrics’s 2020 Quiltcon booth, and in the rush to get these made I never created blog posts about them! This Modern Crossing baby quilt was made with the Flutter collection by Ampersand Studios for PBS Fabrics. Want to see the second quilt I made for the PBS Fabrics booth? Check out the Etoile Baby Quilt here! I love the Modern Crossing quilt pattern because it has so many possibilities! The pattern comes with directions for a 2-color version, a 3-color version, and a scrappy version! I made this Modern Crossing baby quilt using the scrappy instructions. I’ve made quite a few Modern Crossing quilts in baby and throw size! See them all here. Using the scrappy instructions allowed me to showcase more of the collection’s prints. I love the bold butterfly motifs in the Flutter collection. I chose the main print in green as the backing of this quilt so that you’d be able to see more of it than the little snippets on the front. It is too pretty not to showcase in full! I chose to hand-quilt this baby quilt using light yellow 12 weight thread. I followed around all of the pluses and the chain in the pattern. The quilting is very subtle but adds a great feel and drape to the finished quilt. One of my favorite things about this baby quilt is that it doesn’t feel too “baby”. I can picture this quilt being used past toddlerhood and into childhood. The prints are fun and whimsical but have a classic quality to them and therefore don’t feel too childish. The Modern Crossing baby quilt is sized at 39″ square, so it is definitely a quilt that can grow with the child it was intended for! Shop Related Products: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart You might also like: Modern Crossing | A Finished Quilt Scrappy Bear Path Quilt Whole Cloth Hand Quilted Quilt Hand Quilted Mug Rug – Kaffe Fabrics... Read more...Etoile Baby Quilt | CircusPBS Fabrics reached out to me about making some baby quilts for their 2020 Quiltcon booth. These quilts never got their own blog post, which is a shame! So, better late than never ;). Let’s start with this Etoile baby quilt! Want to see the second quilt I made for the PBS Fabrics booth? Check out the Modern Crossing Baby Quilt here! This baby quilt was made with the Step Right Up collection by Suzy Ultman for PBS Fabrics. The collection is bright and fun! I love the main circus print, the illustrations are darling. For this baby quilt, I decided to use the Etoile quilt pattern. I thought that the large bold design would work well with the prints in the collection. Because the pieces are larger, it allowed the main print to be the focus of the quilt. I’ve made quite a few Etoile quilts, probably because this pattern is so fast! You can see all the other versions I’ve made, including scrappy and thrifted ones, here! I couldn’t help but use the cotton candy print for the backing, because I love cotton candy. I even own a cotton candy machine! Ha! I did some simple walking foot line quilting on this Etoile baby quilt in a light pink color. When planning out this quilt, I did quite a few mock-ups. Because most prints are quite busy, I wanted to create a quilt that allowed for the prints of the collection to be the focus without overwhelming the eyes. For that reason, I ended up using a solid blue color for the background. I love how well the prints in this collection play with each other. You can see the solid blue color in the food print and the bird print above. This made for a really cohesive look. I used a polka dot fabric for the binding to add a little playfulness. I really loved making this quilt! Shop Related Products: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart You might also like: Etoile Quilt | Scrappy Version Etoile Quilt | Farmhouse Version Etoile Quilt | Baby Version Modern Crossing Baby Quilt | Flutter... Read more...Etoile Quilt | Made with Thrifted MaterialsI made a different type of quilt recently when I made a sustainable quilt with all thrifted and upcycled materials! This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while and with Earth Day around the corner I had the motivation to get this done! Why use upcycled materials? I wanted to challenge myself to create a quilt out of all upcycled materials for a couple of reasons. The first reason, simply, I like a challenge! I have been championing my use of scraps for years now, and I try to be mindful to be a good steward of my resources. This was that next step – using pre-loved materials to create something new. It would be great to use my own pre-loved clothing for this quilt, but without having enough myself, I chose the next best route – the thrift store. I’m super excited about the Chambray Mickey shirt! What a find! A big reason to use all thrifted materials is the amount of materials available at your local thrift store! We like to think that when we donate to a thrift store, that clothing ends up happy in someone else’s home. But unfortunately, that’s not always the case. People donate to thrift stores more than they purchase from them, so thrift stores end up triaging donations and managing their lifecycle. For example, if an item doesn’t sell in a Goodwill store after 4 weeks, it moves on to the Goodwill Outlet where it is sold by the pound, and after a rotation there, will end up most likely getting sold overseas. So, there’s a lot of materials in thrift stores to sort through and use with really fast turnaround. There’s also good quality materials. With costs rising in what feels like all aspects of our lives recently, I challenge you to try making a quilt from upcycled materials and see what you think! My Sustainable Quilt For my project, I decided to use my Etoile Quilt pattern. The clothing I had sourced had some bigger pieces, so to maximize what I had I chose a quilt pattern with bigger fabric cuts. I was able to make the entire throw-sized Etoile quilt, PLUS a scrappy improv backing with just the fabric I bought! I still have a few scraps leftover and I’m brainstorming how to use them up. To keep this quilt authentic, I chose to go to a single thrift shop and challenge myself to find everything I needed in that one trip. I wanted to see if it would be possible to find enough fabrics that coordinated to create a quilt from one trip and one thrift store. If you were going to make a quilt from upcycled fabrics, you could certainly amass them over time and multiple thrifting trips. Good fabrics to look for are chambray and lighter denim shirts and dresses. You can find a variety of hues. A Misty Mountains quilt made from all chambray and denim would be amazing! I wanted to stray away from making a quilt using dress shirts and try to create something different to what I had seen. I came home from my trip with: A chambray shirt (cotton)Two hand embroidered table runners (cotton)Two scraps of red polka dot fabric (cotton)A woven checkered shirt (cotton)A light denim dress (cotton)A pair of white pants (linen)A pair of navy pants (55% linen, 45% cotton)An olive green blazer (55% linen, 45% cotton) Total fabric cost: $24 The entire thrift store haul. I did end up having to piece together some of the pieces for the Etoile quilt, since some of the fabrics weren’t big enough as-is. But I think it adds to the charm of the quilt. Plus, because the front was all solid fabrics, you can’t tell too much that there are pieces sewn together unless you’re really close to the quilt itself. For the backing, I went completely scrappy and improv. I used bigger pieces as-is and pieced together odd-angled scraps from underarm and collar seams. The fabrics that didn’t make it on the front of the quilt (the checkered shirt, denim dress, and embroidered linens) took prominence on the back. I chose to only use one embroidered linen motif, so the others will have to wait for a future project! I used frankenbatting for the batting of this quilt, using up scraps instead of new batting! I quilted this quilt with my walking foot and white 50 weight Aurifil thread. I plan to add in some hand quilting for additional interest before this quilt gets bound, washed, and snuggled. Want to make your own? Read on for some tips and tricks on making a sustainable quilt. What should I consider before attempting a sustainable quilt like this? First, determine the fabrics you’re willing to use in your quilt and stick to your guns! It can be tempting while in a thrift store to pick up the floral shirt with the super cute print, but if it is made entirely of nylon it won’t be fun to quilt. I stick to cotton and linen (and a blend of both!) for my upcycling projects. These are natural materials that wash well and quilt well with staying power so the item I make will last for a long time to come. Keep an eye all over the store for materials to use! You can find quality materials in: Arts & Crafts Section (fabric, trim, etc.)Kitchen Goods (table runners, table cloths, napkins)Home Goods (curtains, pillowcases, bedsheets)Clothing (dresses, shirts, pants, blazers, outerwear in men’s, women’s, and kid’s sections) Once home, items go immediately from the bag they were purchased in to the washing machine, cutting off price tags as I go. I wash everything on warm with a mild detergent and tumble dry. That way, everything is clean and ready to use once I’m ready to make my quilt. Once you have your clothing washed and dried, it is time to think about what kind of quilt to make with it. This will depend on the amount of materials that you have and the size of each piece. If your clothing is on the larger side, you’ll need less fabrics and be able to make a quilt with a larger scale pattern. Large scale patterns for a sustainable quilt: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart If you find yourself with a lot of smaller cuts, you’ll be in a better position to make a quilt that requires smaller pieces! Cotton sheets in a lower thread count work well as backgrounds. Learn more about using sheets in quilting. Inkling or Modern Crossing would be really fun quilts to use upcycled fabrics in. For example, each cross in Modern Crossing could be made with upcycled materials! There’s also no rule that says a quilt must be made from only upcycled materials. You could choose to mix upcycled materials and new fabrics. Just be sure to pre-wash your new fabrics if you’re using any. Small scale patterns for a sustainable quilt: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart To prep your fabrics, you’ll need to first cut out all the seams so you have flat pieces to work with. Remove all buttons and zippers and save for a future use. Press and starch your fabrics. Starching is especially helpful for linen fabrics! This part is a bit tedious but once all your fabrics are cut and flat, you’ll be able to get started with the quilt pattern of your choice. So what do you think? Have you ever made a quilt out of all thrifted materials before? You might also like: Etoile Quilt | Scrappy Version Unruly Nature Nordic Star Quilt Zero Waste Quilting & Scrap Management Creating Coordinating Quilts... Read more...Unruly Nature Nordic Star QuiltThis Unruly Nature Nordic Star quilt came out of my partnership with Ruby Star Society. They featured Nordic Star in this new Unruly Nature fabric collection in their lookbook, and I was able to actually sew one up! Unruly Nature was designed by RSS Guest Designer Jen Hewett. The collection is soft, beautiful, and complex. For my Nordic Star quilt, I selected fabrics from the yellow, peach, and pink colorways. It reminds me of pink strawberry lemonade on a summer night. I love that this Unruly Nature Nordic Star quilt is a perfect counterpart to the cover quilt which was created in blues and teals. I now have a warm and a cool version of Nordic Star! (And a holiday version too). Shop Related Products: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart If you want to make one too, here’s what you’ll need. This is included in the paper version but not the pdf of Nordic Star: Nordic Star is SO much fun to put together. The blocks are more effort than some of my other patterns, but seeing every single one come together is such a joy. I love the breathing space that the background provides to the star, and how the borders of the block create a secondary design within the quilt. I finished my Unruly Nature Nordic Star quilt top in record time but I’ll admit quilting it has taken longer. I wanted to hand quilt it to maintain the soft and organic feel of this quilt. Other projects crept up and the half-quilted quilt…sat. I finally finished it recently and it is a real beauty! Every Nordic Star quilt can make a second quilt, Wonderie! Instructions for both quilts are in the quilt pattern. Lots of HST trimming later, I was ready to make Wonderie! I had some extra fabric, so I decided to make 6 extra Wonderie blocks. I wanted the quilt to be a little wider, a little bigger. 6 extra blocks seemed like a simple solution to achieve it! You can see in the images below the original on the left, and my wider version on the right. I played around with the ombre to decide what colors to create the additional blocks. I ended up making (1) Color 1, (1) Color 2, (2) Color 5, (2) Color 6 extra. I’m really pleased I made it wider! I gave this Wonderie quilt for my mom to hand quilt. I am a huge fan of companion quilts and this one feels especially special. Both quilts are made from the same fabrics. Both quilts have the same fabric design as the backing, but in two different colorways. Both quilts were bound in the same color, and both were hand quilted. The Nordic Star quilt was quilting with Aurifil 12 weight in #5003 and the Wonderie quilt used #2840. I’ll have to do another post soon with final quilt pictures! More Nordic Star Blog Posts: All About Nordic Star quilt patternCreating the perfect ombre for Nordic Star Holiday Version Using Fat Quarters for Nordic Star You might also like: Creating Coordinating Quilts Nordic Star Ombre Quilt Creating an Ombre Nordic Star Quilt Zero Waste Quilting & Scrap Management... Read more...Scrappy Half Square Triangles TutorialThese scrappy Half Square Triangles are a great way to use up scraps and you can incorporate them into your next quilting project. Or check out these fun tutorials: Scrap Heart Quilt BlockScrappy Throw PillowsMini Heart Block Tutorial Today we’re going to use the 2-at-a-time method to create 5.5” finished half square triangles. Finished size is the size when they’re sewn into your project. If you’d like to make a different size, or use a different method, I have a handy calculator that determines what size squares you need. I’ll show you three different ideas for creating scrappy HSTs, but feel free to get creative with the scraps you have around! I’ll show you a stripy HST, a courthouse-steps-inspired HST, and a full improv HST. Each of these is made with one scrappy square and one solid background square. This helps to break up the scrappiness with some breathing room. You’ll need your background fabric and a whole bunch of scraps that coordinate to get started. You’ll also need a ruler, rotary cutter, cutting mat, iron, and sewing machine. You can watch the whole tutorial or keep scrolling for the text version! https://youtu.be/wWzBQalIcgc Scrappy Half Square Triangles How-To: How much background fabric you need is dependent on how many HSTs you want to make. With the size we’re making today, you’ll get 12 half square triangles from one width of fabric strip. We’ll start by prepping our background fabric. Cut out a 6.5” x WOF strip and subcut it into 6.5” squares. Then use a hera marker or water soluble marker to draw a line diagonally from corner to corner on the back of each background square. Once our background squares are ready, we’ll set those aside and start on our scrappy pieces! The Striped HST: Dig through your scraps and find a whole bunch of long, skinny pieces. you can decide if you want them all to be the same width or varying widths, or perhaps your scraps will dictate that for you. You’ll need all your strips to be at least 6.5” long. If your strips are not straight, you can trim them to be even, or embrace the wonk. To make an evenly striped block… Sew all 6 rectangles together and press seams open to form a 6.5″ block. The Courthouse Steps Inspired HST: For this block, we’re going to need specific pieces. Look through your scraps and find pieces that are bigger than the measurements listed. We’re going to cut them down to size, then assemble. Sew the (2) 2″ x 3.5″ rectangles on each side of the 3.5″ square. Press seams open. Sew the (2) 6.5″ x 2″ rectangles, one on top and one on the bottom of the block and press seams open. The Improv HST: This one is my favorite. I’m going to dig through my stash and find a whole lot of pieces that I like, and just start sewing them together! I’m going to keep going until my block is at least 6.5” square. Scrappy Half Square Triangles Assembly: With all the scrappy blocks made, it is time to make our half square triangles! Place one scrappy square right sides together with the background square, and sew on both sides of the drawn line, 1/4” away from the line. Cut on the drawn line, trim, and press the seam. If you need help creating HSTs, check out this post. For trimming HSTs, you can do that either with a square ruler or a slotted trimmers ruler. Check out the two methods here! You can press your HSTs open, being careful with the scrappy seam to keep it from unraveling too much, or towards the background fabric. And there you have it, three scrappy Half Square Triangles to try to make! Go dig in your scrap bin and see what you can come up with! You might also like: How to Make Fabric Tape Mini Heart Quilt Block | Free Pattern & Tutorial Scrap Heart Quilt Block | Free Pattern and Tutorial Scrap Throw Pillows | Free Pattern!... Read more...Zero Waste Quilting & Scrap ManagementSomeone recently tagged me in an Instagram post about Zero Waste quilting, and I thought the subject would be a fun one to elaborate on in a blog post, specifically about how I approach zero waste quilting and scrap management in my own quilting practice here at Patchwork & Poodles. What is Zero Waste Quilting? Zero waste quilting is the concept that everything gets used – from the fabric to the thread – and nothing gets added to landfills. Zero waste quilting really isn’t a new concept, back when cloth was expensive, people used to make quilts out of old clothes that were no longer serviceable as clothes. Then when the quilt was too tattered to be mended, it sometimes became the batting to a “new” quilt. When quilts were created for the purpose of keeping you warm, every layer mattered. This idea of using up everything is still able to be put into practice today. You can continue using your fabric and making projects, using smaller and smaller scraps, until the leftover “fabric confetti” is then used to stuff a pouf or dog bed. However, many of us make quilts for fun or as gifts, with new fabrics which are changing every month. Shiny penny syndrome takes over and we hop from one new project to the next. I cannot be the only quilter with an overflowing scrap bin and a set of patterns to “someday” use to tackle the mountain of scraps. So several years ago, I changed my practice. Instead of adding the waste and scraps from a quilt to the scrap box, I brainstorm ways to use them up right now so they don’t end up in the scrap bin in the first place. My goal is that in sharing my ideas with you, you might be inspired to try it out and see if it is a method that works for you as well. Here’s some ways I use up my scraps and keep them out of the scrap bin: Make a second quilt: Nordic Star is the perfect example of a zero waste quilting pattern. Instead of putting all your offcuts into your scrap bin, the pattern comes with instructions for a second quilt! I’ve found that as I’m sewing up the first, I sew up the scraps for the second quilt, so that once I’m done with Nordic Star, I’m actually done with Wonderie too! The fabric requirements for Nordic Star include Wonderie, so when you’re purchasing your fabrics, you end up having enough for both quilts. The throw size Nordic Star quilt makes a lap size Wonderie quilt so you end up with two decent size quilts! Graffiti Hearts is another example of this! The offcuts created in making the blocks allows you to make a whole second set of blocks, which you can use in a second quilt. You can use the scraps to make an improv backing, another quilt, or a pillow. You’ll need additional fabric to complete the second set of blocks, so check out this post for more information. Make an improv quilt: In a desire to use up an entire fat quarter bundle of a collection I absolutely loved, I decided to create a super scrappy backing for my Inkling quilt. I pulled out all my coordinating solid scraps and set to work creating an improv quilt back. However, once finished, I thought that it was so cool it deserved to be its own quilt and not the back of a quilt! so this improv quilt, which was supposed to be the back of my Inkling quilt, and instead became the front of a whole new quilt! Ha! Make a pillow: I used the scraps from my Inkling quilt I made in Posy fabric to make a coordinating throw pillow. Those little flying geese were made from HSTs that were sewn from the leftovers when making stitch & flip blocks. They are definitely tiny, but they work so well on a pillow like this! I even used the scraps from making a pillow front for the pillow back! I’m definitely team use-all-the-scraps! Use the scraps on the back: Although I usually go with straight yardage for backings since it is a little more time efficient, I sometimes go the scrap route and use up the leftovers from a project on the back! I feel particularly inspired to do this when I don’t have enough of the backing I want to use. Here’s some improv backs I’ve created from scraps: I wanted to use the light blue flower print on the back of this Celtic Crossing quilt but I didn’t have enough, so I used some scraps from the front to piece together a backing. Scrappy backings don’t have to be overly scrappy or complicated! This one is fairly simple but was effective to stretch the blue fabric I wanted to use: In an effort to use all the scraps, this baby Bear Path quilt got quite the scrappy backing! This will be a common theme, but I really wanted to use the grey print as a backing on this Misty Mountains quilt. I didn’t have enough so I used scraps from the front as well as a few other coordinating prints to create a log-cabin style backing: For this Etoile quilt, I didn’t have enough of either print for the back, so I used both! Use the scraps in small projects: Pillows are fun for coordinating with a quilt, but so is a tote bag! The Every Adventure tote is a fun and free pattern and a great way to use the scraps leftover from your quilt! The first tote bag pictured was made with scraps from my Bear Path quilt. The second was made with the scraps from my Zesty quilt, and the final one was an orphan block I turned into a tote bag! If you’re left with just a few small pieces that aren’t even enough for a pillow, you can use them in a small zipper pouch or a set of coasters. I like making quilt-as-you-go zipper pouches for odd-shaped scraps. If you have a lot of small squares leftover, this scrappy zipper pouch would be the perfect project! Plus, it is a FREE tutorial! And don’t forget about batting! Batting scraps can be used as stuffing, for small projects, or sewn together into frankenbatting. My goal in my quilting practice is to use every fabric scrap that is larger than a square inch and every batting scrap wider than 5″. Smaller pieces get thrown out or donated to someone locally who uses them in making dog beds for shelter dogs. Whenever I make a quilt, I try to use up as much of the fabric as possible in that time, and then anything that doesn’t get used ends up in the scrap bin. However, this cuts down dramatically on what I’m putting into the scrap bin in the first place and ensures that much more of my fabric ends up getting used. I did create a scrap-friendly pattern specifically for you to search through your stash. Starlite uses little cuts of fabric and comes with three versions – yardage, FQ, and scrap friendly. The scrap friendly version is all scraps, even the background, so that you can use up all the little pieces in your stash! Looking for more scrap sewing? You might be interested in… Oh Scrap! 9 (fun) ways to use up scrapsFrankenbattingFabric Tape DIY You might also like: Unruly Nature Nordic Star Quilt Mini Quilted Zipper Pouch Tutorial Scrappy Half Square Triangles Tutorial Etoile Quilt | Made with Thrifted Materials... Read more...Fat Quarter Friendly PatternsGot a fat quarter bundle and you’re not sure how to use it? There’s plenty of Patchwork & Poodles patterns that are fat quarter friendly! Keep reading below to see how many fat quarters you’ll need to sew up your favorite throw size P&P pattern! 8 Fat Quarters Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart The throw sizes of Zippy, Spyglass, Zesty, and Modern Crossing all use 8 fat quarters! Related Blog Posts: Scrappy Modern Crossing QuiltZippy QuiltZippy Quilt – Golden HourSpyglass QuiltZesty Quilt 12 Fat Quarters Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart The small throw size of Inkling, and the throw sizes of Starlite and Etoile use 12 fat quarters. Related Blog Posts: Scrappy Etoile QuiltInkling Quilt – Whatnot FabricInkling Quilt – Posy FabricInkling Quilt – Cover VersionStarlite Quilt – Scrappy VersionStarlite Quilt – Cover Version 16 Fat Quarters Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart The large throw size of Inkling uses 16 fat quarters. This pattern is great because it uses minimal background fabric and really focuses on the fat quarters, letting them shine! Related Blog Posts: Inkling Quilt – Whatnot FabricInkling Quilt – Posy FabricInkling Quilt – Cover Version 18 Fat Quarters Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart The lap size Woven Hearts uses 18 fat quarters, as does the small throw Harvest Star. For Woven Hearts, 9 of the fabrics only need a fat eighth. Related Blog Posts: Stay Gold Woven HeartsScrappy Woven HeartsHarvest Star Quilt – Spirited FabricsHarvest Star Quilt – Cover QuiltHarvest Star Quilt – Farmhouse Fabrics Honorable Mention: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart In the pattern, Nordic Star is written for yardage. However, you can use fat quarters with a few modifications. Read this blog post to learn about how to modify Nordic Star to use fat quarters. The throw size needs 20 fat quarters. Don’t forget! You can always refine your shopping experience to only show fat quarter friendly patterns as well as other pre-cuts, pattern sizes, and skill level when shopping on Patchwork & Poodles! You might also like: Using Accuquilt for the Harvest Star Quilt Using Fat Quarters for the Nordic Star Quilt Creating Coordinating Quilts... Read more...Using Fat Quarters for the Nordic Star QuiltOne of the questions I field the most is whether Nordic Star is fat quarter friendly. The short answer is no. The long answer is, yes, you can use fat quarters for the Nordic Star quilt, but it’s complicated. Nordic Star was written to use yardage. The ombre version is a gradient and each color gets used more than once. So as written, the pattern is not fat quarter friendly. However, if you wanted to use one fabric per block, you could make it FQ friendly! You’ll just need to alter it slightly. Let’s dive into how to use fat quarters for the Nordic Star quilt. Block Construction: When constructing Nordic Star, you make 4 HSTs per block (A), and then 8 units that are created using the stitch and flip method (B & C). In order to get all your cuts out of a fat quarter, you will not cut out the pieces needed for the HSTs. DO NOT CUT A PIECES. Instead, you’ll use the offcuts from the stitch and flip pieces to construct the HSTs needed for the corners of the block. Doing this means you won’t have enough fabric leftover to make the bonus quilt Wonderie. However, you can use the remaining offcuts to make a smaller bonus quilt, throw pillows, or save them for another project in the future. Here’s what your FQ cutting diagram will look like. Please reference your pattern for the size of each of the pieces: Skip the instructions for constructing the HSTs and head straight to the information on how to make the stitch & flip units. Use the offcuts from sewing pieces B to create the HSTs needed for the corners of the block. You’ll have 4 extra HSTs for another project. There’s very little trimming on these units so make sure you’re sewing an accurate seam allowance! If your seam allowance is too large, your HSTs won’t be big enough. Although Nordic Star is written for a single fabric per block, you could choose to mix and match your fabrics across you blocks for an extra scrappy look. Here’s what a super scrappy Nordic Star quilt could look like. For this look, you’d need the same number of fat quarters as you have blocks. For example, the throw size has 20 blocks and would need 20 fat quarters. Simply divide out your fabrics between three blocks instead of sewing them all in one block! You can also use this technique to make an ombre Nordic Star quilt that uses one fat quarter per block, like my Rifle Paper Holiday version. I used half yards for this quilt because I wanted to make the bonus Wonderie quilt, but it can be done with fat quarters instead (and omit Wonderie). So, that’s how you can use fat quarters for the Nordic Star quilt. Using fat quarters opens up the possibilities for this pattern. I can’t wait to see what you make! Find Nordic Star in my shop: Ice Cream [Inside Your Heart] | Fanny Pack 04 $67.95 Read more Pandamonium | Fanny Pack 02 $67.95 Read more Cool Cats [and kittens] | Fanny Pack 03 $67.95 Read more Tiger Queen | Fanny Pack 10 $67.95 Read more Wild Cats | Fanny Pack 09 $67.95 Read more Vintage Flair | Fanny Pack 08 $52.95 Add to cart Beary Cute | Fanny Pack 01 $67.95 Read more Slow Your Roll | Fanny Pack 07 $67.95 Read more Linear | Fanny Pack 06 $52.95 Add to cart Misty Mountains | Fanny Pack 05 $52.95 Read more Graffiti Hearts | PDF $12.00 Add to cart Graffiti Hearts | Set of 5 $30.00 Add to cart Love Fat Quarters? Check out all the FQ Friendly Patchwork & Poodles patterns! You might also like: All About the Nordic Star Quilt! Creating an Ombre Nordic Star Quilt Unruly Nature Nordic Star Quilt Nordic Star Ombre Quilt... 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Graffiti Hearts | PDF$12.00
Nordic Star | PDF$12.00
Patchwork Chore Coat PDF Pattern$20.00
