Scrap Quilt 2 – working with 3” x 3” fabric scraps

Welcome back! Yesterday I showed you a cheerful scrappy quilt design I made using primarily 2” x 2” scrap fabric squares. The result is indeed a colorful quilt.

 

For today’s scrappy quilt of the week, I’m diving into my 3” x 3” scrap fabric bin for a different scrappy quilt design. Let’s get to it!

 

The fun with OLFA rulers is they’re easy rulers to use with all possible black line markings that quilters need. Although I have most of the OLFA rulers, my favorite is the OLFA 6″ x 12″ Frosted Acrylic Ruler. I can do so much with this ruler!

Same as for yesterday’s scrappy quilt, all seams will be ¼” seams. Today’s quilt will measure 60½” x 60½” before quilting.

A word about threads… Anyone who knows me, knows I love threads of all colors and weights. I love using colored threads when quilting and I sometimes love the texture a heavier-weight thread can give when quilting or when using decorative stitches. When it comes to piecing, I typically only use a 50wt gray or tan colored threads such as the Gütermann Cotton 50wt Thread 250m – Lt. Slate or the Gütermann Cotton 50wt Thread 250m – Ivory. I find these colors blend so well with all fabric colors.

From the 3” x 3” bin, I searched for pairs of the same fabric to make today’s quilt. 182 Pairs are needed.

Also required for this design is ¾ yards of light gray fabric for the quilt’s sashing.

1.    From the gray fabric cut 20 – 2” x 30½” strips.

2.    From the remaining fabrics cut 90 – 2” x 5½” rectangles.

3.    With the gray fabric cut, find 182 pairs of 3” squares from the bin.

4.    Sew two pairs together. Don’t overthink this step just take two pairs, ensure there is a contrast and sew them together,           even if they don’t match. Remember this is a scrap quilt, just enjoy and sew. In the end, it will look great!

5.    With all the pairs sewn, make four patch blocks. The total amount of four patch blocks, 81.

6.    Sew a 2” x 5½” rectangles to each of the 81 four-patch blocks.

7.     In quantities of nine, sew the four patch blocks with the gray rectangles into rows. There’ll be a total of nine rows when          completed.

8.     At the end of each row sew the remaining nine 2” x 5½” rectangles.

9.    Pair all the gray 2” x 30½” strips and sew end to end. Center seam with the center of the row of blocks. Then sew it to             the row. As shown in the next photo.

10.   Once all the gray rows have been sewn to the row of blocks sew all the rows together.

Note: There will be one last gray row, sew to a row of blocks that do not have one.

With all the quilt rows sewn, the quilt top can be quilted and bound.

Remember when selecting sewing thread only purchase quality threads. Thread will be one of the most important parts of the quilt as it holds everything together. That is why I love using Gütermann 50wt threads. I always have my favorite neutral colors on hand, Gütermann Cotton 50wt Thread 250m – Lt. Slate and Gütermann Cotton 50wt Thread 250m – Ivory.

Join me tomorrow, I’m making a scrap quilt using 1½” squares, lots, and lots of them!

This is part 3 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 2: Scrap Quilt 1 – working with 2” x 2” fabric scraps

Go to part 4: Scrap Quilt 3 – working with 1½” x 1½” fabric scraps