I feel like we quilters are quite precious about fabric and understandably so. Fabric is the central thing that draws most of us to quilting or got us into in the first place. We plan trips around shopping for it. We collect it with passion – seeking the latest and greatest from favorite designers and hoarding last little bits of our favorites. We pet it and make eyes and imagine all the fun we are going to have with our collection.
But -and this might be controversial but I’m going to say it- let’s make a pact to stop being SO precious about our fabric.
Hear me out! Think of those bundles you’ve collected over the years but just can’t bring yourself to cut up and make something. Wouldn’t it feel a whole bunch better to have a quilt made with those beauties draped over your sofa or hanging on your wall where you can see it and love it every day…instead of just knowing (or forgetting) it’s in the closet gathering dust? If you are afraid to use it up, go ahead and get that bundle out and spread the pieces on your floor or table. Press them if the pieces are fat quarters or larger. I bet you’ll be surprised how much of that fabric you actually have. Fat quarter and fat eight bundles don’t seem like much when folded and wrapped, but they include A LOT of fabric. Way more than you probably need for a wall or lap quilt.
So I am challenging you to pull out those old favorites and make something! There are so many patterns designed specially for bundles/pre-cuts, you are sure to find something just perfect for your precious. I’ll tell you a secret: I made a small quilt a couple years ago and I just adore it. It’s really not super fancy – it just hits all the right notes for me. I hung it on the wall across from my bed and every morning when I wake up there I appreciate it: thinking about the colors and why they look good together, how the whole thing looks, and how the little parts make it interesting. I never get tired of staring at that quilt when I lay in my bed. So you know I get it – we geek out over our pretties and that’s good! That’s why we sew!
Another argument for Just Going For It: it’s just fabric. Really, isn’t the process of this crazy hobby of ours the whole point? Go ahead and make that new pattern, learn a new technique, and Go For It. The worst that can happen is you don’t like the finished -or unfinished- product. What is guaranteed to happen is you have a day in your happy space playing with pretty colors and shapes and getting creative and learning. It’s like the old timers say, “a bad day sewing is always better than a good day working”. (-:
Okay, so we are in agreement, yes? 2024 is the year we get those favorite fabrics off the shelf and out into the world.
First challenge: make something with that ‘favorite’ bundle you’ve been saving. You’ll be glad you did!
A few patterns that are ideal for showing off your favorite fabrics:
Spin! – this pattern is for 10″ squares or fat quarters. It’s nice to have a quilt with a strong overall design but still makes the fabric the star.
Untamed – bonus! this one will give you a chance to get comfortable or hone your curved piecing skills.
Fortune – this pattern is perfect if you don’t have very much of those special prints. Use them for the stars and coordinating blenders for the rest.
Star Crossed – your favorite prints are the focus in this two block design featuring crosses and, you guessed it – stars.
Eclipse or Picnic – both feature my personal favorite: orange peel. Nice big shapes mean the pretty fabrics are center of attention.
Happy Sewing,
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