Most quilters discover very early on in their quilting careers that they have a great need to manage fabric....most specifically SCRAPS! Larger pieces, even fat quarters, fold up nicely to be stored in bins or on shelves. But what about the smaller pieces? How do you keep them from being crumpled up in the bottom of a basket with creases that make pressing and cutting a dreadful chore?
What has worked well for me is to cut my scraps up into commonly used sized. This was a huge endeavor when I first decided to do it, but I just picked away at it until the project was done.
The sizes I cut are:
4 1/2 inch squares
2 1/2 X 4 1/2 inch rectanges
2 1/2 inch squares
(Any pieces narrower than 2 1/2 inches do go into a basket for log cabins and other strip quilts....nothing gets thrown away!)
It's amazing how many blocks can be made from just these three pieces! I have been cutting my scraps up this way for years manually, but I'm thrilled now that I can cut these with the Accucut machine!
When I started this, 5 inch charm packs didn't exist. Perhaps if I had seen that craze coming, I would have made my largest square 5 inches. You can do this with any size large square. I have listed some common sizes below.
4 inch square, 2 1/4 X 4 inch rectangle, 2 1/4 inch square
5 inch square, 2 3/4 X 5 inch rectangle, 2 3/4 inch square
6 inch square, 3 1/4 X 6 inch rectangle, 3 1/4 inch square
One of the reasons I love this idea is that I always have pieces cut and ready to sew. Check back often....I will be sharing some of the blocks I've designed for using these shapes. It doesn't matter which size you use....the blocks will still work.
About Me
- Bigfork Bay Cotton Company
- Bigfork, Montana, USA
- Bigfork Bay Cotton Company is a full service, brick and mortar quilt shop, as well as a retail/wholesale pattern business. You can view our pattern line on our website, but on a more personal level, we'd like to invite you into our shop and share with you the joy of quilting in our corner of the world!
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1 comment:
Great idea!! My daughter asked why I had a pile of ends from bindings that I was saving and I said they are all 2 1/2" so they are perfect for scrap quilts and there are so many patterns out I could use them for.
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