Small quilting projects to make with bits and pieces of leftover fabric

Yesterday, I showed you how to finish the Valentine’s Day wall quilt. As what usually happens with my projects, I have lots of leftover bits and pieces. Today, I’ll show you a couple of quick projects you can make using these scraps and leftovers – a Valentine’s Day card and a mug rug.

Valentine’s Day greeting card

Gather up some supplies and let’s get started! Here’s what you need.

• blank greeting card (5″ x 7″)
• white cardstock for the front of the card (4″ x 6″)
• white cardstock for the inside of the card (5″ x 7″)
• leftover hearts and circles with HeatnBond Featherlite fusible web on the back
• Oliso PRO TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron
• SCHMETZ Microtex (Sharp) Needles (size 10 or 12)
• UNIQUE Quilting Applique Pressing Sheet

Method

Glue the 4″ x 6″ piece of white cardstock on the front of the card.

For the front of the card, I used the same pressing techniques for the fabric as I did when making the wall quilt. Check out the instructions from my earlier posts this week: Using hand-dyed fabrics for a Valentine wall quilt

and Cutting out hearts and circles for applique for more details.

Set the Oliso PRO TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron to medium heat with no steam.

Place the card on the UNIQUE Quilting Applique Pressing Sheet. Press fabric shapes in place on the card front, holding the iron in place for about 2 seconds.

Trim off any excess fabric.

Machine-stitch the shapes in place on the card front. I used a straight stitch and the same open foot and SCHMETZ Microtex (Sharp) needle I used for the wall quilt.

Glue the 5″ x 7″ piece of white cardstock on the inside of the card to cover the stitches.

Add a personalized greeting on the inside (and some more fusible shapes if you wish), and you’re all finished!

Another quick project for using up the leftovers is this quilted mug rug or hot pad. You can make it any size you like. Mine is 5½” x 6½”. Here’s how to make one for yourself.

• Cut a square or rectangle of fabric for the front.
• Cut a piece of batting the same size.
• Cut a backing fabric 1″ larger all around than the front piece.
• Choose some leftover applique hearts or circles to create a design.

Use the Oliso PRO TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron set to medium heat (no steam) to fuse the applique shapes to the front square or rectangle.

• Center the appliqued front and batting on the backing fabric. Baste all layers together.

• Stitch shapes by hand or machine.
• Press, so all layers are flat.
• Trim backing fabric so it’s ¾” larger all around than the appliqued front.
• Fold the backing to the front, making a double-fold binding. Stitch the binding in place by hand or machine.

Another little project made and more leftovers used up!

I hope you enjoyed making these Valentine projects this week. In my next QUILTsocial blog post, I’ll be using a new collection of Gütermann threads. Be sure to check back for some exciting new projects!

This is part 5 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 4: Stitching heart and circle shapes to a quilted background | Applique