DIY | Random Quilting
Last summer I was lucky enough for my Grandma to pass on this amazing quilt that she had made from all of her scraps back in the day.
I love it. When I spied it in the closet of blankets I was instantly drawn to its randomness, carefree attitude and whimsy. It's such a happy piece and filled with so many happy memories in each of the fabrics and what the larger section of them was crafted into.
Costumes, outfits, doll clothes, curtains, etc. It's all there. I've been studying the quilt, trying to figure out how I could replicate it. The other night I had the sudden urge and motivation to dive into my scraps bin and just roll with it. Now I'm a little bit addicted.
This random, piece it together as you go, no measuring style of sewing has been one of the most liberating and fun sewing experiences I've had!
All I did was grab a handfull from my stash and ironed each piece out. Then I sat my pile next to my machine, grabbed two pieces and placed them good sides facing with edges together and sewed a seam. Then I would grab another piece and do the same thing. Every few pieces I'd quickly run the iron over them to flatten it all out and then keep going. So fun!
Once I got to a piece about this size I'd stop and start again with a new section to keep it manageable on my table.
If I had a piece that wasn't lining up great and puckering a bit I would just iron the "pucker" down and sew a top stitch over it. Viola - easy fix!
Once I'd have a few pieces all ending at the same place roughly I'd lay a strip along them all and sew it.
Then you flip it over and it looks like this. (I didn't sew this, just folded for the picture.)
I learned as I continued that in order to not just have a bunch of strips I would at times need to lay a piece of fabric along a section diagonally and sew the seam and then just cut the excess of the underlaying fabric.
As you can see it's a big mess on the backside but who cares - it'll be covered!
I couldn't believe how fast the process was. After only a couple of hours I had 4 or 5 large sections done and when I put them all together it's a big chunk of what I hope will be a quilt.
It's such a gratifying project because it moves quickly and you get to use all the pretty fabrics that you love and piece them all together into something new and unique. The smash up of fabrics makes me super happy to look at and evokes a whole new set of memories and fondness.
I love it. When I spied it in the closet of blankets I was instantly drawn to its randomness, carefree attitude and whimsy. It's such a happy piece and filled with so many happy memories in each of the fabrics and what the larger section of them was crafted into.
Costumes, outfits, doll clothes, curtains, etc. It's all there. I've been studying the quilt, trying to figure out how I could replicate it. The other night I had the sudden urge and motivation to dive into my scraps bin and just roll with it. Now I'm a little bit addicted.
This random, piece it together as you go, no measuring style of sewing has been one of the most liberating and fun sewing experiences I've had!
All I did was grab a handfull from my stash and ironed each piece out. Then I sat my pile next to my machine, grabbed two pieces and placed them good sides facing with edges together and sewed a seam. Then I would grab another piece and do the same thing. Every few pieces I'd quickly run the iron over them to flatten it all out and then keep going. So fun!
Once I got to a piece about this size I'd stop and start again with a new section to keep it manageable on my table.
If I had a piece that wasn't lining up great and puckering a bit I would just iron the "pucker" down and sew a top stitch over it. Viola - easy fix!
Once I'd have a few pieces all ending at the same place roughly I'd lay a strip along them all and sew it.
Then you flip it over and it looks like this. (I didn't sew this, just folded for the picture.)
I learned as I continued that in order to not just have a bunch of strips I would at times need to lay a piece of fabric along a section diagonally and sew the seam and then just cut the excess of the underlaying fabric.
As you can see it's a big mess on the backside but who cares - it'll be covered!
I couldn't believe how fast the process was. After only a couple of hours I had 4 or 5 large sections done and when I put them all together it's a big chunk of what I hope will be a quilt.
It's such a gratifying project because it moves quickly and you get to use all the pretty fabrics that you love and piece them all together into something new and unique. The smash up of fabrics makes me super happy to look at and evokes a whole new set of memories and fondness.
Already there are bits of Elsie, the kids room, vintage sheets, my bedroom pillows, little boy aprons and little girl skirts.
Happy, happy, happy.
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