Quilt-Along 5: Recovering from a Cutting Mishap

Thank you all for your incredibly kind comments on my last post.  My goal truly was not to fish for compliments, but It's reassuring to know that the cutting directions are working for most of you.  Although it makes perfect sense, I hadn't considered how widely fat quarter cuts vary and, as a designer, I'm thankful to have that information for future reference!  If anyone is still having trouble with cutting, please e-mail me and we'll try to figure out what's going wrong.

 

One really excellent point made in the comments was that off-grain cuts get incredibly wonky in the wash.  Additionally, if you're cutting your pieces properly, on the grain, using off-grain cuts will usually mean that you don't have enough fabric to work with.  If you notice that the store where you buy your fabric is consistently cutting off-grain, and finding a new store isn't an option, you might consider just buying an extra 1/8 yard every time and then fixing the cuts yourself when you get home.  (As an example, I buy an extra 1/8 yard of anything I ever buy at JoAnn.)

 

I know that some of you are dealing with fabric shortages, so I wanted to talk a little about using your scraps to make replacement pieces.  In the example above, I've sewn some of my scraps together to make a 4.5" x 8.5" piece for Block A.

 

This pattern is pretty busy, so I didn't make any effort to match it.  In the close-up above, you can see that it doesn't match up, but I don't think it would be obvious on a finished quilt.

 

When I'm working with a more regular pattern (checks, stripes, dots, etc.) I try to be a little more exact.  In this case, I'm lengthening a 4.5" x 8.5" piece that ended up being too short.  Here's what I do to make it the right size.

 

Take a piece of scrap fabric and lay it on top of your piece.  Notice how, in this case, I've lined up the pattern.

 

Because I want the pattern to match up, I then use my ruler and a disappearing ink marker to draw a sewing line through the center of one of the rows of large dots.

 

I then stitch along the ink line and then trim to about a quarter inch seam allowance.  I also cut any excess scrap fabric to within about a quarter inch, as shown above.

 

I always press my seams open and would recommend doing so here even if you're someone who usually presses to the side.  It will make your piece flatter and the seam less obvious.

 

You can see that my matching job wasn't perfect, but I think it's good enough to not be noticed in a finished quilt.

 

Once I'm done pressing, I trim to 4.5" x 8.5".  Et voila! 

 

If you don't have enough scraps left to piece together, or if you just don't like the idea of doing that, the easiest thing is probably to just add some additional prints to the mix.  The above quilt is an example of this.  I used my Mixtape pattern, but didn't have enough of a couple of the prints I wanted to use.  As a result, three of the fabric "pairs" used in this quilt are really trios.  

If you're going to bring in backup fabrics but want to avoid a scrappy look, these are my recommendations:

• Choose replacement fabrics that are visually similar to the fabric they're replacing.

• Don't use the same replacement fabric in more than one set of blocks.

• If you bring in a replacement fabric, use it in two or three blocks in the set (even if this means replacing some of the pieces you've already cut).

• Don't use more than two fabrics in each block.  If you're replacing a fabric, replace all of it in the block.

Again, these are just my suggestions for keeping the composition balanced.  Scrappy quilts are awesome too! 

Actually, if you're having trouble narrowing your fabric selection, using the above guidelines to make fabric trios instead of pairs may be a good way to incorporate your extra prints.

Comments

[kim]

I haven't started yet... You're doing a fabulous job & i'm SO lookin' forward to your quilt-a-long, just gotta finish up another project :) going to make blue & red for my son's room, maybe flannel? Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

[Valerie]

Wow, I'd have never thought of using my cutting scraps to put together a piece like that, you make it so obvious, I'll be able to use that little hint in many other projects, of that I'm certain. Thank you!!

[Jo]

This information is wonderful - thank you for being so generous with your time and knowledge. I am learning so much about quilting. You have an air of calm order and control about your posts - no question seems to throw you and you always have the solution for us!

[kristie]

that picture of the on-grain vs. off-grain? SO what I needed to see....such a simple concept, but one I struggle with. That was an aha moment for me :) thanks!

I am a brand new sewer and JUST started my very first quilt a couple weeks ago....and am now contemplating putting it aside to do this quilt-a-long instead...so much more fun!

[nanci]

Excellent tutorials. I love the mixing of all the rectangles and doing one vertical and the next horizontal. I have trouble with all the colour combinations at times. Thanks for these posts.

[Helen Yoo]

Hi,

Your quilt along posts have been very interesting as I am fairly a new quilter.

I find that fabric sellers tend to cut with a rotary cutter and often if is not cut on grain. when I visited Japan and Korea last year, I noticed that all fabric is just torn from the bolt. They would snip a tiny bit with a pair of scissors and then they would jut rip. At first I was a little shocked but the beautiful fabric I just bought was just ripped off but then I noticed that it was a lot straighter. Since then, taking design and sewing classes, my teachers all advise us to rip and that's the true way to get a straight piece of fabric. when I was purchasing fabric at Liberty in London, they also tore fabric from the bolt.

When I pre washed some of my fabric, I realize that the fabric that has been "torn" washed much better in that I didn't have all the mess with the edges of the fabric and the ones where a rotary cutter was used...a big mess. I decided that I would tell sellers to rip if it was possible and at the Purlsoho store, they did. When I ordered on-line and asked the same, they said that they couldn't.

I wish all venders would just rip fabric - it would make cutting later a lot easier and probably save a lot of bits and ends.

Thanks for all the posts!

[Robyn]

Just got my fabric in the mail today! I'm excited to get started.

[Regina]

I am so excited to get to the assembly part. :)

[Liz B]

Just started cutting this evening and everything is fantastic! Amazing instructions. I am also in awe of your camera's macro setting!
I put my fabrics together from my stash. My budget is 0 right now and at first I was disappointed not to find enough fabrics in my stash to make a quilt I would like. Then it occurred to me that I could purge some stash that had been aging because it just wasn't "me" anymore. I put together pinks and greens, and some of the pinks are Pink Ribbon prints, so if it comes out ok I will donate it to the local Relay for Life chapter for their fundraiser.
The paper organizers are brilliant. You should win some sort of prize. :P

[Sarah S]

Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for another great post! I have a question for you, do you wash you linen/cotton fabric the same way you would your cotton prints? I just got the Essex Putty (I LOVE it, by the way) and I'm nervous to wash. Any suggestions?

Also, I totally spaced on cutting on the grain...got a little too excited! I basically just rotary cut off the selvedge and used that as my straight-edge. Do you think this is going to make a huge difference in my final product?

Thanks again! Can't WAIT to get piecing!

[Maria]

Thank you so much especially for some of us who don't have enough fabric....thanks.

[Sarah]

Great tutorial, and really nice site, thanks

[Miss Butterfly]

I'm more impressed at every post ! Everything is so clear and make senses !!! Still waiting for my fabrics to arrive....can't wait to start !!!

[JulieFrick]

I started cutting last night- didn't realize how long it would take, and only got through two fq's, but have decided that taking the time will be part of the fun! I did run into problems with one of my fq's, but am somewhat glad about it because:
a) I'm totally going to email the etsy seller I bought these fq's from and give her a polite piece of my mind about the cutting
-and-
b) I got to practice my creative problem-solving skillz! The piece I had the trouble with was # 5/6 from the non-dominant fabric. That was the cut that really required the full length of the fabric. Mine hadn't been cut on grain, so I had squared it off to begin with, which meant I sacrificed length from the start. However, given the amount of leftover fabric, I had no problem at all making 5 and 6 separate cuts.

Onward, and thank you SO MUCH for doing this! Off to check Etsy for your Mix-Tape pattern.

[seedless grape]

Ha, this post explains a lot--I really like that blue/brown Mix Tape quilt that uses the mermaids from Heather Ross, but I couldn't figure out why I could identify so many different fabrics in the quilt!!! Now I know! And it's totally smart.

I'll chime in with the rest to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for this quilt along. Your instructions are SO useful. Thank you so much!

[Spotty]

Thank you for making the time to explain about the grain in fabrics. It's wonderful to find someone prepared to do this! I'm constantly getting into trouble from so-called teachers for 'helping' out the new quilters in the classes I attend by explaining how the grain line runs and how it affects the way the fabric stretches! I wish more of the experienced quilters could do this for the newbies - it would certainly make my life more enjoyable!