Friday 8 January 2010

Close Up...

I'm not really understanding why people are asking me for patterns to make scrappy crumb blocks... I promise you... you don't need patterns.... maybe is it because it is too easy?

All you do is take a few tiny scraps, any shape, and sew them together... nothing more...
after you've joined two, you trim/cut a straight line and sew on number 3 scrap to the unit, kind of 'log-cabin' style, but it really doesn't matter if you do it in a different way... no real rules...
as the block gets bigger you start to use strips....

if the scrap isn't long enough, don't worry, you can always sew on another bit to fill the gap...
you can see here that I had added tiny triangle bits to some corners, that's because the strips weren't long enough so I needed to fill... the resulting shape is a little wonky, this isn't a problem... trim it!
If I trim this particular block to the desired 9 1/2" I will have tiny thin strips on the edges... which complicates joining the blocks a bit...
here is a cunning trick, slash it in two, doesn't have to be level halves...
flip one side round and stitch it together again.. brings the whole thing closer to a square....
Next time I make a block, I'll take pictures of the process from 2 bits to 9 1/2" block, maybe that will help you see, it is all just too easy?

4 comments:

Birte said...

Hi my dear Angie
It always looks so easy when you do it. You know, I always need pattern pattern pattern.... and colour adwise....
But maybe I should close my eyes and just do it. We will see.
xxxx
Love Birte

SandyQuilts said...

Girl you've done it again ... great tutorial. thanks

Lois said...

I love your "happy houses" wallhanging along the right side of the blog. I just finished 30 houses and put them into a quilt top. It is a charming way to use scraps. Thanks for the insights about making crumbs.

Roslyn said...

I thought about crumb blocks a lot-thought that's it. Not going there, I'll make strip scrap but not crumbs!No patience.......