I bought a YBR quilt quit at a trade show a bit ago, and now that I am ready to assemble it... I realize they did not send me enough fabric. I was supposed to have 3 1/2x9 in strips but all I have left is enough for 2 1/2 x
9 So all the squares that require that strip will be an inch short :( This trade show was way back in June sometime and I am not even sure which place I purchased from so going back to the shop for more fabric is not an option. So my question is, if I build these all then trim the side that will be short on those that wont be... how odd will it look? I realilze my quilt will be skinnier than intended, but will this work?
bla the entire thing is orange and pink... neither of which I own at all lol. I thought it would be a fun way to experiment with new colors. Thank you anyhow :)
awww I shall never give up :) I love this quilt. I have always loved the YBR pattern but this is my first try. And I love the fabric in it. I think the fabric they gave me was the right size, but they all had large selvage edges with the big white stripes on them... I think they forgot to account for that when they cut. I have done that myself hehe. Sewed a block together only to have the white edge poking out. grrrr I think I might try and find fat quarters in the same fabric before adding in diff ones though. I am a huge asian fabric fan and 99% of what I have in my stash belongs in that grouping. I also like dark colors and these are so bright and happy. Haha just a post ago I was asking for ways to use up my huge stash for some extra $$ and now I am considering adding to it. The irony of my addiction lol.
If you can take a digital picture of the pinks and oranges you have, and post it to a photo sharing site like Webshots.... or email a copy of the photos to me, then I'll look in my orange and pink and see if I have something similar. And I would bet other RCTQers would do the same. One of us will have something that works!
The short answer.... no, it won't work that way. Read on if you REALLY want to know why.
The YBR pattern design uses almost every bit of each fat quarter. (I have my pattern at home, so I am using my memory, such as it is, but I believe that the FIRST cut is (2) strips of 6 1/2 and (2) strips of 3 1/2 inch, for a total of TWENTY inches in width. This means that if you fold the FQ differently than they did.. or if the selvedges are particularly wide, you will not have the right width of fabric.)
Also, the order in which you cut the fabric is critical. After dealing with strips you will also be cutting rectangles and squares. The pattern is pure mathematical genius -- which also explains why there are 'extra' blocks when you finish. You can't cut fewer/more pieces from an FQ without mucking up some future combinations.
As to how to deal with your fabric shortage .... NO, you cannot use the narrower strips. With YBR you end up with blocks that finish nine inches square. The strips you are cutting (and I think they need to be 3-1/2 by
9-1/2) are mixed up and used in other blocks. They are the 'long' strips used by two of the three types of YBR blocks.
If you look at the picture on the cover of the pattern, the long strips are used with the block that has two 3-1/2 by 6-1/2 (unfinished) strips with two
3-1/2 (unfinished) squares {the first 4 blocks on the top, from right to left in the picture}, and also the block that has one 3-1/2 by 6-1/2 strip (unfinished) and one 6-1/2 inch (unfinished)square {the fourth block down on the right}
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Since the 9 inch blocks are meant to be interchanged and rotated to give 'a nice overall appearance', changing the block size for SOME of the blocks will really mess things up.
So, more/different fabric is the answer. Now, as the YBR is meant to look 'scrappy' it should be no problem. Think "strips" as opposed to "FQ's" and it will be easier to pick a few more fabrics from your stash.
As Jo suggested, if you can post a picture or two of the fabrics used, some of us here may be able to send a few 'coordinating' strips to you. OR it is even possible that we have the SAME fabrics in our stashes. I would be more than willing to look through my fabrics for you.
Thank you for the explaination :) I think that the problem was really wide salvege edges :( Oh well, its a nice pattern and I love the color choices. When you mentioned to think strips i remebered that a local quilt shop sells packs of strips, so I am going to go check them out and see what colors they have avaliable. When I get this done it will be pretty :) But mathematical genius I am not lol I should stay away from patterns that are hey. I love YBR though.
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