This is one of my favorite things to do. I love scrap quilts and using small cuts of fabric is the best way to get the scrappiest blocks. My favorite sizes to work with are 1 1/2″ and 2 1/2″ strips, fat 1/8s and fat 1/4s. I’ll share some of my scrap quilting tips for working with small pre-cuts here along with a little scrap quilting history.

Scrap & Strip Quilting

Most historians agree that strip quilting, scrap quilting or string quilting often gains popularity in times of economic downturns. Quilters who did not have the disposable income to purchase new fabric would cut up what they had and stored in their sewing baskets for future projects. New and old fabrics were used. Sometimes clothes that were no longer wearable.

They would sew together scraps and strips until they had created a larger piece of fabric. They used rulers or a specific template they wanted to use to make a block to judge the size of the fabric piece they needed. Once they reached the desired size, they cut their pieces or blocks from the scrappy piece. A lot of string quilts made in the past used strips of many different widths, not just uniform sizes. Some of the quilts of Gee’s Bend are good examples of this type of piecing.

Quilt Blocks from Strips

The most common way strips are used today is to make strip sets that are then cut up to make blocks. I use this method to make four-patch or nine-patch blocks that often become part of a scrappy block for one of my quilts or they may make up a border to use up leftovers.

First, what is a strip set? It’s when you sew strips together lengthwise like this:

This strip set above only has 2 strips, but you can have sets made up of 3 or 4 different strips. I like to use strips that are 20″ long as they are easier to handle and have less of a chance of warping during the stitching and pressing steps. Because of this, I often cut my strips from pre-cuts like fat quarters or fat eighths to get this length.

From these two-strip strip sets, you can make four-patch blocks. These are fun beginner blocks.

You can make these strips sets in several different color combinations and use them in a project like I did here:

The border of Constellations was made up of several assorted four-patch blocks made from strips sets from the leftover fabric from the star blocks.

To  make nine-patch blocks, you will need to make strips sets that contain 3 strips. If you want a nine-patch that has 5 color print and 4 tan print pieces, you will have to make two different strip sets as shown: 

Then, cut segments from each strip set and assemble as shown.

I used this nine-patch method to make the border on Blooming Star and for the blocks in Strips and Stars:

Strip sets of 3 or 4 strips can be used to make blocks like Rail Fence:

Above is a 4 strip Rail Fence that is the most common. This one is made from two different 4-strip strip sets.

Here’s my tips for making accurate strip sets, no matter how many strips you use. I use a  scant 1/4″ when stitching strips together.

When using a scant 1/4″for piecing these sets, each time you add a strip and press it open, you then trim up the set before adding the next strip.

Below are photos showing the first steps of joining 3 strips into a strip set measuring 3 1/2″ wide when done.  I’m beginning three 1 1/2″ wide strips:

 Instead of lining up the edge of my unit to be pieced with the edge of the 1/4″ foot, I move the strips a hair to the left (as shown in the last photo). Once these two strips are stitched, it’s time to trim the set to 2 1/2″ wide.

To achieve this I press the set open, place the ruler evenly on the strip set to trim it. The 1 1/4″ line of the ruler should rest on the center seam for trimming each side.

Finally, add on the next strip following using the scant 1/4″ when stitching and then trim that side:

Fat 1/8s and Fat 1/4s

Where do these fit in? I use these as the source of my strip collection. There are times I have extra fabric I can cut into strips when I am cutting out a project. But I also cut fats into strips because the 20″ strips are the best size to work with, like I mentioned above.

If you want to start a strip collection so you can make various scrap blocks, give it a try. I store my strips in tubs separated by size and color:

I use these strips to make the sets to make some of the blocks I mentioned above. I also use them to make log cabin blocks, one of my favorites.

I mainly cut 1 1/2″ and 2 1/2″ strips since those are the ones I use the most. You can even make the 4 1/2″ center stars in Cabin Stars using strips:

The centers of the stars can be cut from 2 1/2″ strips and the pieces that make the points are cut from 1 1/2″ strips. In fact, you can also make the outer log cabin borders with the strips. Collected strips can also be used for sashing and binding in a lot of your projects, so that’s another benefit to building a strip stash.

That’s it for this week! Have fun with your fabric collection. Look at it with a different eye and decide if a piece of fabric would work better in your strip collection to be used in scrappy blocks instead of used as a larger piece in a block. That’s what I often do with a fabric that I think would look better cut into strips and mixed with other fabrics. It helps me use it up!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne