I have completed quite a few quilts now, and of course have built up my 'scraps' as I don't like to throw the off cuts away. A while ago I began organising these scraps into manageable lots. I have boxes of strips in varying widths, and collections of squares and triangles. I did make one 'scrappy' quilt and used up quite a bit of these 'left over' fabric pieces, but I realised that I need to get creative and focus on making a big dent into these 'scraps' before I do any more big quilt projects. I am of course still doing my 365 block a day challenge, but I have plenty of time left in the day to do some more piecing. Whilst searching the internet I came across various scrappy quilts using the 'string piecing' method. The technique seems to show various strips sewn onto a square of paper - but I wanted to avoid the hassle of cutting loads of paper, sewing fabric strips onto it...then having to remove the paper when the block is trimmed.
My method was to utilise mainly 1.5" and 2" strips and to work out the lengths I would need, then sort out my scrap strips into piles of the various lengths. My middle strip needed to be 14", next 13", 11", 9", 7.5" and a final wider strip or Triangle about 5" in length. The strips could be a bit longer for the specific lengths, but not shorter of course. I have now made piles of strips that meet those measurements. I then make my selection for a block, using a light middle strip, then 2 of each of the remaining lengths. I fold each strip in half lengthways and give a light press. This means that when I sew the strips together I line up the crease line and hey presto my strips form an on-point square ready for trimming. You can see in the picture to the right where I have used a triangle for the last strip.
My method was to utilise mainly 1.5" and 2" strips and to work out the lengths I would need, then sort out my scrap strips into piles of the various lengths. My middle strip needed to be 14", next 13", 11", 9", 7.5" and a final wider strip or Triangle about 5" in length. The strips could be a bit longer for the specific lengths, but not shorter of course. I have now made piles of strips that meet those measurements. I then make my selection for a block, using a light middle strip, then 2 of each of the remaining lengths. I fold each strip in half lengthways and give a light press. This means that when I sew the strips together I line up the crease line and hey presto my strips form an on-point square ready for trimming. You can see in the picture to the right where I have used a triangle for the last strip.
By having the strips pre-cut to the approximate length I have found the selection and sewing together of the strips very quick by using the crease to line up and position the strips. No need for a paper template at all. Obviously I have to spend some time sorting strips into the appropriate lengths - but I find that quite quick really.
Lining up to trim to size is fast too, and there is very little waste from the final trim, especially if the final piece of fabric is a triangle. The block will finish 9" square. You can see the piles of strips ready for more blocks on the left, and some more strips ready for sorting in some drawers on the right.