The reason I started this blog was to help others learn about different crafts. In this instance, it’s my mistakes that will guide us.
While I looked through my large scrap fabric pile, I wanted a quick way to use all (or most) of it. I decided that making a quilt out of it would be the best option, and decided to give the “quilt as you go” technique a try.
Now I am one of those people with the “how hard could it be?” mindset. And when coupled with “yeah, I saw a tutorial one time” can be a dangerous combination. (Hence this post is about how NOT to do it)
So without further ado, let the learning begin.
Step 1: Do NOT cut too many blocks at one time.
The first thing I did was decide how big I wanted my final quilt to be. Since I had a lot of longer cuts of fabric, I decided to go with 10″ squares. I found this chart on Pinterest and decided to go for a Double which would need 56 total blocks.
I got to work cutting my batting into squares, and here is where we encounter my first mistake. To save time, I folded the batting over multiple times to cut as many squares at a time as I could.
Don’t do that. The more layers you add, the harder it is to keep your ruler guide from slipping. Resulting in some squares not being the correct measurement. (This will affect piecing together the quilt later on.)
Step 2: Do NOT cut your scrap strips too thin
As I began to cut my scrap fabric into strips, I aimed for the length to be around 10.5″ long. I also decided to cut the strips to different widths, depending on how much fabric of each pattern I had.
What I didn’t take into consideration was seam allowance when the strips would be sewn onto the batting. I had some strips that I cut 1″ wide, and didn’t think that only 1/2″ of those strips would be visible after 1/4″ seam allowance on each side. This brings us to the next step…
Step 3: Do NOT forget about seam allowance.
So what is ‘seam allowance’? Seam allowance is the area between the fabric edge and the stitching line on two pieces of material being sewn together. I typically use a 1/4″ seam allowance because that lines up with the edge of the presser foot on my sewing machine.
Where I failed was in figuring out how many strips I needed to fill all 56 of my squares. About halfway through cutting my scrap strips I tried to count how many squares worth of strips I had. So, I laid strips next to each other till they filled up 10 inches until I counted through all the strips I had. I then figured how many more 10″ squares I would need, cut them out of fabric and then proceeded to cut those to smaller strips (between 2″-4″ wide).
Because I didn’t account for the seam allowance taking a total of 1/2″ of width off each strip, I ended up running out of scrap stripes with 10 squares to go. At this point I decided just to pivot and adjust, so moved forward with the plan of making a 5 by 9 square quilt (using 45 squares) instead of the originally planned 7 by 8 square quilt. More on that later.
Step 4: Do NOT not pin your pieces down.
Now this is something I have always struggled with, and will probably go to the grave still doing. I am notorious for not pinning pieces together before sewing them, and then being surprised when they end up crooked.
When I was finally ready to add my strips together I started by laying down a square of batting. I would then place two strips of fabric right sides together on top, starting at one end of the square (see image below).
In my impatience, I told myself that I can hold the fabric in place while moving it over to the sewing machine to stitch into place. Doing this drives my attention to focus on holding the fabric and not to sewing a straight line. When the seams are not a straight line the strips don’t end up laying flat, resulting in puffy looking strips.
Step 5: Do NOT not iron each seam down.
A few squares in, I began to get annoyed with how tedious the process was of sewing each strip onto the batting. (Yet another reason for step 2.) So I decided to skip the step of ironing down each seam and simply pressing them with my fingers. This also makes it easier for the strips to not lay flat (again, step 4) resulting in more puffy strips. (Using my Cricut EasyPress Mini was a great alternative to keeping my iron out.)
Step 6: Do NOT cut too many blocks at one time.
Yes, I know this is Step 1, but here is where it came back to bite me in the booty.
When it was time to trim up my squares, I realized some of my batting squares were under 10″ on one or both sides. Thankfully, because I made sure the scrap strips extended over the edges of the batting squares, I was able to compensate when I trimmed.
Click here for Part 2, where I will teach you how not to assemble the completed squares.