Scrappy How-To

I thought today I would give you some insight into how I make a scrap quilt. But first, I have to post a walloping disclaimer: I have no idea how I came upon some of these ideas. I've been reading quilt books for twenty years now, and I'm sure some of the "rules" I follow were seeded in my brain by legendary quilters like Marsha McCloskey, Gwen Marston, Judy Mathieson, Ruth McDowell...the list goes on and on. I didn't keep track of what my brain made up and what I read from these esteemed scrappers over the years, so please forgive me if I have plagiarized any of their ideas; it is not my intention at all. I've been quilting for so long that my brain itself is like a big scrap quilt; some of it is recycled from who knows where, and some of it is original--but don't ask me which is which. The information has been intermingled for far too long.

I think the most important thing about making a scrap quilt is thinking about the big picture. Again, I will show you some blocks that you would probably never think of making at home:

A floral, two Hawaiian prints, a thirties wannabe, a plaid, and other various assorted fabric nightmares. All these fabrics were thrifted from old clothing or scraps.

Your bad block dream continues. Ick. But let's back out a little and take in the bigger picture:

Hmmmm...not too bad, eh? Those prints got quieter as more were added. In mixing patterns, I find that varying scales and textures is a must. Prints that are similar--like two similar scale florals--will clash. But a floral and a check? Wonderful. A stripe and spotty thing? Fabulous. Vary your texture and scale! I know it can be traumatic your first time, but it takes a leap of faith. Just do it. Don't freak out over one ugly block. Twenty ugly blocks are not so ugly any more.

The bigger picture. Hey! Where did all those clashy fabrics go? Where did those horrible eye-assaulting wild things go? (Okay...if you can still see them, I don't want to know. Work with me here, huh?) Always keep the bigger picture in mind and just go for it. Have faith in the bigger picture.

Color is almost a secondary consideration in my mind. I usually try to use one dominant color more than all the other colors in the quilt to tie everything together. Don't use equal amounts of all colors--they tend to cancel each other out. When making a two-color quilt, for instance, use 2/3 of your dominant color and 1/3 of your accent color. When using more colors, divide them up accordingly, always using more of your dominant. An easy way to do this is make your dominant color your main border or sashing color. A strong border will help to corral all the wild little print ponies and keep them from running amok. By "strong" border, I mean a texture or tiny print with only one or two colors that reads like a texture.

I almost never use solids. They attract the eye too much. Your eye falls into a quilt black hole and won't move around the quilt any more! Many beginners use solids because they think it will blend in and viewers will only notice the print. Actually, the opposite is true. The solid fabric shape sticks out like a sore thumb and you don't notice the print because it's shape is broken up by pattern. The only time I use a solid is if that's what I'm trying to accomplish--a strong, clear shape that makes everything else background noise.

I love all colors, but another "rule" I follow is to always exclude one color. If you use ALL colors, your quilt will visually cancel itself out because you have all colors and their complements--which is the only art term I know about color--but I do know that having equal amounts of a color plus its opposite on the color wheel turns the entire quilt gray. Complementary colors in equal amounts make a boring, visually gray quilt. It's the weirdest thing! (But you can use complementary colors with the 1/3-2/3 rule and it'll be great!) So I solve this problem in my colorful quilts by leaving out one color. I'll say..."this will be a quilt with no red in it" and that's the only color rule I'll follow. (But if you're using a color wheel like the one above, notice each color is broken down into two segments...so you'd leave two color segments out.)

But as I say, color is secondary. Contrast is the most important. Before you sew, you should take a picture of your fabrics or blocks in black and white and see if the pattern you expected happens:

Because if it doesn't happen in black and white, it's not gonna happen in color. Trust me on this one.

If you're making a wall quilt, my favorite advice for block placement is this: Sort your blocks into five piles from lightest to darkest. Use your lightest pile of blocks clustered in the middle of the quilt. Cluster the mediums around those, working to the border where the darker blocks should be. Place your almost darkest two blocks in the top two corners, and place your darkest darkest two blocks on the bottom corners. This procedure puts a "light" on in the center of your quilt and "weights" the bottom of your quilt. To illustrate, look at my Hawaiian Rainbow Basket quilts on the post below. See the lightest in the middle and the darkest at the bottom? Cool, huh?

Now...I have a confession to make. I've been pulling your leg about the color of the above quilt. I used the Photoshop "change hue" slider to change the color! This is the real color of the quilt in the above pictures:

Hee hee...did you notice something funny going on? The quilt is not teal and pink, it's really blue and orange!!! See? Color is not all that important when you have the contrast right. (The "hue" feature only changes colors relative to each other, so you know you've got a winner when your quilt looks good in every hue!) This was a "no red" (and no red-violet) quilt. The block is called "Jewel Box" and the entire quilt, except for the border, was made from recycled fabrics.

I hope today's lesson gave you some new ideas of your own. I can't say these ideas always work for me--I have my disasters like everyone else--but guidelines are a place to start.

Reminder! Be sure to comment on the post "Hawaiian Rainbow Basket Giveaway" by Saturday March 8th at nine p.m. Hawaiian time to be eligible for the giveaway. One comment per person, please. OH!! And by the way...I've noticed that a few commenters think I'm giving away the quilts....nooooooo. My quilts are pattern shop samples and class samples, so no can do. The giveaway is for the Hawaiian Rainbow Basket PATTERN and two yards of fabric. Sorry if I disappointed anyone, but the items are listed there in the text. I shall be clearer with my pictures next time!