How to make quilt with scraps and no pattern?

hi Judy in Florida, :) scraps of that size can be fun to play with and thats just what i'd do to find a nice layout. they could join up by short ends or long sides, with/without sashing between rows of those.

they could lay long sides together but slightly offset using a plain or tone on tone wee bits on one end of each so they step back and forth and then add the same sashing between rows (sorry if this makes little sense, i just cant get my brain into proper splaining mode today). theres a design called 'chinese coins' that is like the first layout i spoke about.

google images can be a good friend with the right wording, lol. maybe someone else could do a better explanation or find a good pix of either of those for ya. i'm not fully awake/coherent yet today. maybe a second cup of java will fix me up. cheers from WV, jeanne

Just Judy wrote:

Just Judy wrote:

I once saw Mary Ellen Whatsername (is it Hopkins? can't remember but she's that tiny little woman who is in the *more mature* age range) do a quilt with exactly the types of fabric you have. She just tossed ALL her scraps in a BIG bag (you could use a new plastic trash bag) and pulled them out one at a time and sewed them short end to short end until she had a strip of pieced fabric as long as the length required for the quilt. She only worried about the color or print of the fabric piece if it was exactly the same as the one she had just used. DO NOT worry about having the pieces look good together because it really won't matter in the long run!!! Every other strip she made had the top and bottom pieces HALF the length as the rest of the pieces. This way, when sewing the strips together, you don't have to worry about matching any seams. The quilt ends up looking VERY scrappy but is quite lovely. She had one to show that had fabrics that REALLY looked like they would clash but it worked anyway because it was so obviously scrappy -- I think it was the randomness of the fabrics that worked so well. Some of the quilts had an outer border but not all and each one looked just as nice as the other! If you don't use a border, just add a binding (I prefer a neutral fabric but you can use pieced strips of the quilt fabrics) and you're finished. This is a VERY easy way to make a scrappy quilt and can be finished quite quickly since there are NO SEAMS to match :-)! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I'd pair them off- light and dark- sew them along the 6 inch lines. Then I'd hack off enough of the edge to make them all squares the same size. I'd save the hacked bit for Jill or making a string quilt. But I'd take all the squares and spread them out and play with light/dark patterns turning them about until I found something appealing. Squares are easier to find patterns in than rectangles, in my opinion. No real pattern, no math. I'd probably sew the squares together into strips with a -|-|-| pattern, and stagger it. It would make lovely odd diagonals.

-georg

Well, Judy, if these pieces are actually cut accurately, I had a thought for which you would need to do no extra work at all!!: divide them into two piles - light and dark (arbitrarily decide on whether mediums are dark or light!). Sew a light to a dark, then take pairs of these, turn them so the light of one is next to the dark of the other, sew those, and you'll have a rectangular four patch! You could sew them on the long or the short side, as long as you were consistent.

Otherwise, Jeanne mentioned Chinese Coins. It really is a great pattern, and perfect for what you have. You'll be able to find a picture of one on Google, Images. If you have any difficult, come back here and ask. It is easy to explain, but you might prefer to see a picture. . In message , Just Judy writes

Your scraps are perfect for a brick quilt. No math involved. And brick quilts are a type of charm quilt, using as many different prints as possible.

Row 1--Join a line of 3 1/2 X 6 inch rectangles by sewing along the short sides. You want this line to be as wide as you want the quilt to become.

Row 2-- Join another line of rectangles the same way, but add one more rectangle.

Continue making rows, as many as you will need. All odd numbered rows are made like row 1, and all even numbered rows are made like row 2.

To join rows mark the center of each row and match the center points. This should make a little bit of row 2 extend beyond each end of row

1. After sewing the rows together you can trim the excess off of each long row.

Add a border if you want to. Then quilt and bind. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Chinese coins or a braid come to mind... we had a speaker at my new guild this month who does scrappy. Some of her stuff (including a chinese coins kinda quilt) is on the guild gallery pages under October about halfway down

this might take you to it...

if not try

gallery, picture trail album, october and then go halfway down the list of pics :) Prairie braid examples , i think you just start with a square and then add on in a log cabin like manner only making strips not squares... then trim the corners....?? never made one but always liked em

Kellie

Oooh, I like the idea of a scrappy quilt and off-setting the seams! Perfect for a beginner like me. No seams to match up, yay! I think I'm going to try one of those; I've got a bunch of scraps that were given to me.

Mary Anna

All straight seams, and no points to worry about either. Have fun sewing. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Hi Judy,nice to "see" you again. How about just joining them in a random mix of colours in one gigantic long strip.Then chop off at the required length and add another strip to the 1st, then add another to the 2 already joined and then add...etc till you get the required width. Probably as clear as mud,but no maths needed.Hope it works out anyhow!

Do you mean a bar quilt similar to these:

in VA See my quilts at

Debra in VA

Hiya backatcha,

(To all, please forgive my delay in responding; I am buried under scraps of fabric, and only was able to work myself free today.)

You are correct; scraps are fun. After reading all the posts in reply to mine, I decided, "Damn the fabric, full speed ahead!" and that's exactly what I've done. I have piles of what I fabric scraps altered to be 3-1/2 x 5 inches which I believe were a more attractive alternative to my original size pieces, and I grab them as they appeal to me.

I'm making all the rows and then I lay them out on my bed and grab a row that won't have close-repeats of fabric. There is absolutely no pattern here, except that when creating the rows, I did try to keep the dark from the light. However, when the rows are laid alongside each other, frequently there is dark/dark or light/light, but, overall, I have to say, this quilt is going to be a smashing success!

When I'm finished, I'll put up a picture in case you want to see how a real amateur does a quilt.

(What is sashing between the rows? I think I might like that, and will incorporate it into the next quilt.)

Thanks,

Wow, Kelly; this person obviously has a real clue. Unfortunately, the pictured quilts require thinking, something I'd like to avoid.

Thanks,

This is exactly the reaction I have had to this hodge-podge of fabric scraps sewn together. It doesn't matter. ;) Life is truly good.

Yes, the randomness is exactly what I am loving about the result I'm achieving. I'm a bit surprised at my reaction, but I'm happy to enjoy the result.

Absolutely; that's been my experience with this quilt. I'm a no-math kinda gal.

Thanks,

Ahh, Patti, that's something I hadn't considered doing, and it's too late now, but there will be another patchwork quilt made for more of these scraps I have, so I'll print your post, and put it in my container of scraps so I'll see it next time around. Thanks for the suggestion. ;)

Oh, Debra, I am sorry you took the time and patience to give such an informed suggestion. Unfortunately, when I look at your post, I see numbers jumping out off the monitor, and my brain does it's usual total shutdown. :( Thank goodness I can read and spell, or I wouldn't be able to thank you for your effort that, I'm confident, will be of great use to some math-inclined quilter. :)

Your quilts are absoposilutely gorgeous!

Thanks again,

I'll show you mine, if you show me yours, Mary Anna. ;)

Good luck,

Hey, Estelle. I remember you. ;)

Hmmm, this is another post that I'm gonna print and toss into the scrap bucket so I'll have it ready for the next quilt. Yay, I learn so much here; thanks, ma'am.