Creating Quilts from Fabric Scraps
Jul 23rd, 2008 by admin
Origins of Patchwork
Originally patchwork quilts were made out of old clothing and old bedding, anything that could be used was used.
People were poor and times were hard, they couldn’t afford new bedding so bedclothes and quilts were made from the less used part of worn out clothing. During the depression, patchwork quilts were even made from old feed sacks!
A Beautiful Feed-Sack Quilt
Don’t Throw Your Favourites Away
These day, most quilts are made from new fabric especially designed for patchwork & quilting. However, often the most attractive quilts are made from odds and ends, little pieces of fabric new or old all sewn together to make what is often referred to as a ’scrappy quilt’.
Being Economical Too!
You don’t necessarily need to buy large quantities of fabric, if you have some fabric that you’d like to put to good use, or if you have two or smaller pieces of fabric that don’t quite work, then all you need to do is, buy small packs of co-ordinating or contrasting fabric to make up the necessary amount and to help blend the fabrics together.
You can buy packs of fat sixteenths from me ( 10 pieces of fabric each approximately 9″ x 11″), in various colours and designs.
Here is a pack of fat sixteenths in pastel florals
This quilt I made from a selection of scraps plus 2 fat sixteenth packs.
Inspiration Is All Around
There are many many quilts and wall hangings to be made from left over bits & pieces, so save them all up and when you have plenty lay them all out and I’m sure an idea will spring to mind!
Thank you for reminding us of a more economical way to quilt.I’m relatively new to quilting…. find it now very hard to even summon the time for cleaning my house as I have so many quilt projects I want to get on with. I do find there is a snobbery about using only certain materials and it can be a really expensive hobby.Would love to see how others have made use of scraps and recycled materials
Hi Jo,
I know the feeling it can be difficult to get on with more mundane things when a new quilting project is calling. I wouldn’t worry about which fabric you use for your quilts, I have seen some really stunning quilts made from left-over cushion and curtain fabric! The most important thing is that the fabric is strong and all the same weight. If you use varying weights of fabric the quilt won’t drape properly. Experiment! You might surprise yourself!