Tuesday 27 May 2014

String "Quilt" Patchwork Tutorial


As promised in my last post, here's how I used up some of my scraps to make this set of cushions for my granddaughter.

Sort out the scraps of fabric you are going to use and cut them into strips. They don't have to be uniform, the width doesn't matter, in fact using a variety of different widths is both interesting and enables you to use up a variety of sizes of scraps. You don't want the strips too wide however, I think a maximum of 2" is probably about right.


Begin with a piece of paper the size that you want your finished block to be. In true recycling fashion I used squares cut from an old Argos catalogue as the base of each of my blocks. 


Choose your first strip, one that will fit across your paper backing from corner to corner and lay it across the backing paper, right side up.


Choose a second strip (ensuring it is long enough to cover both sides of the backing paper) and place it right side down on top of the first strip. Machine stitch it to the first strip.


Fold back and iron it flat. Add another strip in the same way.


Agin fold it back and iron. In this case the whole of one side of the paper backing is covered. As the width of strips vary you may need to repeat this until the backing is covered.


Repeat on the opposite side of the first strip.



Repeat until the whole of the backing paper is covered. As you can see the strips really don't have to be uniform, I personally think that it looks better with a more random selection of widths.


Turn the whole thing over. (Ooops! As you can see my sewing is far from perfect, but it still seems to work ok, it's a very forgiving method.)



Line up a ruler with the side of the paper backing.


Use a rotary cutter to trim off the excess fabric.


Back view.


Front View


Turn to the back and tear off the paper backing.


Give it a final press with the iron.


Et Voila - Your first block!

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial, it is a brilliant way to reuse and recycle. If you have any questions please leave a comment and I will try and answer as best I can.

Linda xxx

2 comments:

  1. Dear Linda
    What a great idea and the finished block looks lovely. I have always been a little worried about patchwork, but this looks like my kind of project (and it would build up quite quickly, I think. Thank you for this.
    Best wishes
    Ellie

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great tutorial, I am just learning patchwork techniques and I have a bit of time to myself this week so thanks for the idea.I love crafts which are quite forgiving

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