Most quilters can’t bear to part with scraps of favorite fabrics and tend to keep them in little bins and boxes for future use. Crumb quilting, although not a new idea, is enjoying a resurgence now as we try to use up all those bits of fabric we’ve been saving. Basically, it’s sewing small pieces of fabric together to make new fabric which can be cut up to make blocks, borders, sashing and more.
This week on QUILTsocial, I’ll be using the Brother Innov-ís BQ3050 machine to do some crumb quilting using batik fabrics from my scrap bucket.
Here’s a video you might like to watch for an introduction to the crumb quilting technique.
Although I can just grab pieces from my scrap bin and start sewing them together, I decided to sort my batik scraps into light and dark values for 2 different projects.
Let’s start with the light fabric first!
Take 2 scraps of fabric and sew them together. The pieces don’t have to be the same size. As long as there is one straight edge on each scrap, I can sew them together.
Sew several pairs of scraps together. This is a good time to use either the ¼” foot with guide or the ¼” foot without the guide.
If some pieces end up too large, just cut them in half with either a straight or diagonal line.
Sometimes I’ll have a long strip of fabric to use. Sew several small pieces along one edge of the strip. Then cut the strip into smaller sections.
Start sewing the pairs together to make 4 patches. Again, the pieces don’t have to be the same size. Look for straight edges to sew together. I can always trim one side so it’s straight if necessary.
Sew the 4 patches together to make a piece with 8 patches.
Keep sewing sections together until you have a piece the size you need.
Sometimes there are multiple seams to stitch over. I love the way the Brother Innov-ís BQ3050 machine, with it’s automatic fabric sensor system, allows me to do this so easily. Make sure this key in the on position!
I’m cutting my crumbfabric into 6½” squares using a 6½” square ruler. I’ll use that measurement as a guide to let me know how big to make my new fabric.
After I cut the 6½” squares, I’ll have some fabric leftover, so I can continue to add crumb pieces until I have a piece big enough to cut another 6½” square.
Come back to QUILTsocial tomorrow and I’ll show how I used my 6½” crumb blocks!
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