Make a Scrappy Quilt in One Day (or Two!)
Use Strips of Varying Widths You Already Have on Hand!
This charming quilt was made entirely from scraps. It’s nicely sized for display on a table or wall, can be used as a lap quilt, or can be given for use as a play mat or baby quilt.
Plus it’s super easy to make and goes together quickly. The designer, Beth Shibley, sewed the top together in a morning and feels she could have completed it in the afternoon (or the next day).
Beth took a freeform approach in making this quilt, basing it on the Courthouse Steps block. Nothing was measured and the only specifications she provides are that she used strips from 1 1/2″ – 3″ wide.
However, Beth created a video showing how she put the quilt together. We watched carefully and determined that she used strips of the following sizes to create the quilt. While we may not have it exactly right these dimensions should produce a quilt that looks very similar.
- Starting Square – 4 1/2″
- Round 1 – Red – 1 1/2″ strips
- Trimmed to 6 1/2″ square
- Round 2 – Blue – 2″ strips
- Round 3 – White – 3″ strips
- Trimmed to 14″ square
- Round 4 – Gold – 1 1/2″ strips
- Round 5 – Red – 3″ strips
- Round 6 – Green – 3″ strips
- Round 7 – White – 3″ strips
Strips of various widths were sewn into strip sets and sub-cut to 8″ for the border (7 1/2″ finished border width). To complete the quilt, square it up, layer it, and bind it as you normally would. The finished quilt is roughly 46″ square.
Watch how Beth constructs the quilt in the following video. Notice how she trimmed the border sections to fit after sewing them on, just as she did with the previous rounds of strips.
Click here to watch the video at YouTube if it doesn’t play on your device.
Part of the fun of this quilt is that you can use the same idea and vary the width of the strips to fit what you have on hand. The overall look of the quilt may change a bit but it’s sure to be just as nice.
You can also add more rounds and increase the width of the border to make the quilt larger – or use narrower strips and borders for a smaller quilt.
Also, notice how the white rounds provide definition for the overall design and give the eye a place to rest. Another contrasting solid color can do that as well. Either way, don’t be tempted to skip them. Play with their placement, if you want, to change the design.
