Emily Bailey - Crumb Quilts: Scrap Quilting the Zero Waste Way

CRUMB QUILTS

SCRAP QUILTING THE ZERO WASTE WAY

EMILY BAILEY

INTRODUCTION

Quilters are thrifty, resourceful and creative. Crumb quilts appeal to all of these qualities. They are the ideal way to use up all your lovely scraps and express your artistic nature through beautiful quilts and they are economical to make, too.

Canny quilters realize that, yard for yard, tiny scraps are just as valuable as the larger pieces in their stashes. Throwing them away would be a shame. But crumb quilts allow the imaginative quilter to find ingenious ways to use even the tiniest leftovers which otherwise might be wasted. Sewing them together to form one-of-a-kind fabrics, which are cleverly incorporated into your projects, produces gorgeous original quilts full of interest and memories. And using fabrics you have already purchased is totally guilt-free, leaving you with extra pennies to spend on more fabric and other quilting goodies.

Gaining inspiration from the past, both from previous generations of quilt-makers and fabrics left over from your own earlier projects, crumb quilting is a great way to create truly personal designs. A perfect remix of your previous makes, crumb quilts showcase your particular style, colour preferences and eye for beauty.

So embrace the crumb quilting method and use your super-powers to bring joy, beauty and comfort into a world in need of them all.

Cutting tools

A lot of your success in quilt-making will come from precision in cutting. Having the right tools makes accuracy much easier.

Cutting mats

I like to use a 24 x 36in self-healing cutting mat for cutting out my background and crumb fabric pieces. I prefer a 12in square self-healing cutting mat when making crumb fabric, as the smaller size means I can keep the mat next to my sewing machine so I can trim off uneven edges as I go.

Quilting rulers

Gridded acrylic rulers for quilting come in many sizes. Use a 6 x 24in ruler for cutting pieces for your quilts. When making crumb fabric I like to use a smaller ruler a 4 x 8in ruler is my favourite as it is small enough to use next to my sewing machine but long enough to allow me to make a good-sized chunk of crumb fabric.

I have found that a flying geese ruler really cuts down on waste when cutting up my crumb fabric. Squares, half-square triangles and quarter-square triangles can all be cut from a strip of fabric. (Cutting instructions for using a flying geese ruler are given in the projects where I have found this ruler most useful.)

Rotary cutters

Choose a rotary cutter that fits comfortably in your hand. Using a sharp blade will save time, making cutting easier and more accurate (uncut threads or untrimmed sections can cause crumb fabric to distort your work). If you need to go over the fabric more than once to cut it, its time for a new blade. Trust me, taking time to replace a blade is well worth it.

Scissors

It is useful to keep a small pair of scissors or snippers near your sewing machine for cutting threads and tidying up bulk around the edges of your crumb fabric as you make it. A seam ripper is also handy, as when things dont go together as planned a little unpicking may be in order.

Sewing tools

The right tools make things easier and help with accuracy. The following will help you be successful in creating your quilts.

Sewing machine

Your sewing machine does not need to be fancy. As long as you can sew a straight in seam then you are good to go. Zigzag and other decorative stitches are a bonus, but not necessary. If you wish to free-motion quilt, you will need a machine that allows you to drop the feed dogs.

Presser feet

I recommend using a in presser foot to help with accuracy when piecing. But a strip of masking (painter's) tape lined up in from your needle will also work. I like to use an open presser foot when doing appliquas it gives me a better view of where Im stitching as I sew around motifs. A walking foot is necessary for straight-line quilting and a darning foot is required for free-motion quilting. Personally, as I like my quilting to be more organic, I dont use a walking foot, finding a darning foot to be sufficient.

Machine needles

Universal needles in size 80/12 or size 75/11 work well for piecing and quilting. With sewing machine needles, the larger the number the thicker the shaft. If you are experiencing broken needles, try using a larger needle. Its a good idea to change your needle after 68 hours of sewing as they do get blunt, and change immediately if you nick a pin, or your needle bends or breaks. Skipped stitches and puckering can occur when your needle is dull, bent or the wrong size.

Pins and clips

Long straight pins, with a ball or flat head, that are sharp and designed for quilting are useful when matching up seams and points. As well as evenly applying borders and longer sections in your quilts, dividing up long seams and pinning them will help to eliminate wavy, ruffling edges.

Safety pins are my favourite tool for basting quilt layers together. Use the large curved pins designed for quilting, not standard safety pins. The curve makes it easier to get the pin down through the quilt layers and then back up to the quilt front. You will need at least one hundred pins to baste a quilt.

Binding clips are perfect for holding your binding in place while sewing it on. A less expensive option is little girls' hairclips, which you can often find in discount stores. You can also buy quilters clips in a range of sizes the smaller ones can be used in place of pins for some jobs.

Pressing

A standard iron and ironing board are ideal for quilt-making. When making crumb fabric, use steam and spray starch to get a clean finish and make cutting later easier. Remember to press and not iron. Pressing is putting the iron down and holding it. Ironing is moving the iron around, which can distort your fabric.

Marking tools

From time to time you will need to mark on your quilt tops, such as marking a quilting pattern. Water-soluble markers are a good choice, as is tailors chalk. Choose what will show up best on your fabric and will be easy to remove later. I sometimes use a Hera marker a plastic tool that creates sharp light creases which I find particularly useful for marking out straight guidelines for quilting.

Design wall

A design wall is a great asset when it comes to arranging your crumb quilts. Essentially, it is a giant flannel board where you can lay out your quilt. Quilt blocks and fabric pieces stick to it without pins, allowing you to step back and get the big picture on how your colour and design elements are coming together, so you can get a feel for what your quilt will look like before sewing it together. While it doesnt always eliminate kissing cousins (two of the same fabric touching), it does help. You can use a flannel-backed tablecloth pinned to the wall or make your own wall from foam-core board and flannel.