Scrap Quilt 2015-2016: The Complete Scrap Sampler Quilt

It's finally complete, my 49 block scrappy sampler quilt! I posted photos of the first block on October 21, 2015. At the end of November through December I took a break from posting blocks so I could catch up with Christmas quilt orders. When I started, I had no idea how it would turn out! I designed each block the same day I made it, and I tried to pick fabrics from my scrap bins as randomly as possible. I have learned a lot through making this quilt. However, the most important thing I learned would have to be that no quilt is too large or too complex as long as you keep working at it a little every day.

All 49 scrap quilt blocks can be viewed here.

I got to try a lot of new quilt block styles because of this quilt. Plus, I used up a ton of scraps! If you want to make a dent in your scrap stash, making a quilt this big is the way to do it. Most of the solid white fabric is scrap from other quilts I made that used white.

With every block I tried to be as creative as I could, though keeping them only 9" square was a challenge. So many little pieces! This quilt contains fabrics from some of my first quilts. I had kept the leftover fabric safe just for a future scrap quilt, and that quilt is finally complete. The last few blocks also have fabrics from my latest quilts, even from some I have yet to baste and quilt.

The top and bottom scrappy borders were a last minute decision. I felt that they really bordered the scrap blocks nicely, and rectangular quilts can be more functional than square ones. The sashing between the blocks is 1 1/2" wide, just enough to separate them without creating too much white space. At the corners where the 49 blocks meet I placed little 1 1/2" square. This was a subtle way to work in a few more fabric scraps.

The Etsy listing for this quilt can be viewed here: Scrap Quilt.

I even used a scrappy binding. Literally, the binding is made from binding scraps, not just random pieces of fabric. I saved all those binding tails from when I bound other quilts and then I joined them together. Even on quilts that aren't scrappy, I do love the look of a colorful binding.

For the backing, I used a 100% cotton white quilt backing that has a leaf and vine overlay. I almost always use wide quilt backings on my quilts, they tend to be thicker and more durable than muslin, and I don't need to piece it.

I quilted double cross hatching over the entire quilt. All over quilt designs are my favorite way to quilt colorful and complex quilts. This way the quilting doesn't take away from the rest of the quilt, yet it still works beautifully with the quilt top.

Thank you for reading, and be sure to check out the beginning of my new scrap quilt here: Scrap Quilt 2016-2017