Strip Gift Quilt

The Strip Gift Quilt is done! And I am very happy with the result. Here you can see the quilting Susan Caldwell did at Quilting Around the Block:




Here is a close up:



As I have reported before, the concept of the Gift Quilt came from VickiW and Anne, who created a pattern that could be made from 20 fat quarters easily and with very little waste. I devised this version, consisting of strips for the blocks to make it even easier.

These photos show the double sized quilt (68 in x 82.5 in) and it can be made with 20 fat quarters and 1/2 yard (or so) of sashing fabric. The queen sized version (82.5 in x 97 in) can be made with 30 fat quarters. This is so easy and fun; it is a particularly good pattern to show off a collection of fabrics by a particular designer (the above quilt was made using Piece O'Cake fabrics).

Instructions: Cut from each fat quarter strips that are 15 inches in length of the following widths: 5 inches, 4 inches, 3 inches, 3 inches, 2 inches, and 4 inches. Set one of the 4 inch strip aside. (This four inch fabric will be used in your border.) Your remaining strips will look like this:

Cut all 20 of your fat quarters like this except one. That one will be cut the same, except that you need to cut your 4 inch border strip to be 16 inches long instead of 15 inches long. You will then cut the 4 inch border strip into 4 four inch squares which will be used as your corner blocks like this:

As you cut your strips, stack them in the same order by size. Then arrange the stacks in the order that you will sew them. I like to sew my strips in the blocks from left to right as such: 3 inch strip, 2 inch, 5 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch. So my stacks look like this:

Now you want to shuffle the fabrics in each stack so that each block you sew will be different. Leave the first stack (which is on the far left) alone. For the second stack, take the top 4 fabrics and move them to the bottom of the stack. Like this:

For the third stack, move the top 7 fabrics to the bottom. For the fourth stack, move the top 11 fabrics to the bottom. For the fifth stack, move the top 14 fabrics to the bottom. So my stacks look like this:

Now sew your blocks together. Just take the top fabric from each stack and sew the strips together. Each block will be different. And each block should be a 15 inch square. If not, trim it to 15 inches or trim all of them to a slightly smaller size - whatever you prefer. Make sure your four inch border strips are the same length as your blocks.

With 20 fat quarters, you will end up with 20 blocks. Sew the blocks in 5 rows of 4 blocks each, alternating the stripes vertically and horizontally, like this:

Now cut 2 inch strips from your sashing fabric and add the sashing to the two sides of your quilt. Then join 5 of your 4 inch border fabrics together and sew them to the sashing on each side of your quilt, like so:

Now sew your sashing fabric to the top and bottom of your quilt. Next sew four of your 4 inch border fabrics together. Add a four inch piece of sashing to a corner square and sew the corner square to each end of the border. Do this for both the top and bottom. Like this:




And you are done! Quick, with very little fabric waste! (You will end up with one 4 inch border strip leftover.) I enjoyed this so much that I am going to make the queen sized version for my friend Tammy from Asian themed fabrics we bought at The Quilt Man today. For the queen sized version, you make it the same way, except you will need 30 fat quarters and you shuffle your fabrics thusly: in the second stack move the top 5 fabrics to the bottom, in the third stack move the top 11 fabrics to the bottom, in the fourth stack move the top 16 fabrics to the bottom, in the fifth stack move the top 22 fabrics to the bottom.


Tammy was amazed at the fabric selection and had a great time picking the 30 fat quarters for her quilt! It is always fun to introduce a non-sewer to the joys of fabric. She was inspired enough to go with me to my other favorite LQS, Quilting Adventures, and buy fabric to make pillowcases herself to coordinate with her new quilt. Tammy is going to learn to sew! The quilting angels are singing!


Parting shot: our haul from our fabric shopping today. Much fun was had by all!