Quilters Companion - AU (2019-11)

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options for cutting from scraps and
cutting from strips if you prefer. As
you are cutting up your fabrics for
your projects, you can cut the Kaniva
shapes at the same time. Use ice-
cream containers or take-away
containers to keep the cut fabrics in
their separate shapes and values. You
might cut pieces for many months and
not even notice the little extra time
that it takes while the fabrics are on
the cutting board.
When the containers have a
significant amount of fabric, you will
be ready to sew your scrappy Kaniva
quilt. You could also hold swap days
with friends. This design would also
be a good one for community quilts,
when donated fabrics of varying sizes
are used to make quilts for donations.
The piecing of the Kaniva block is
easy. In the basic scrappy version, two
2 ½in x 4½in rectangles (cut from the
red template A) are sewn together
and pressed to the dark. Both large
and small triangles have blunted ends,
making them easy to line up with the
pieced centre. The larger triangle C
is then stitched on one end, and a B
triangle on the opposite end. Press
towards the large and away from the
small. A second B triangle fills in the
corner, as per the diagram, and this
seam is pressed towards the triangle.
Scrappy Kaniva has a light half and
dark half of the block. Both are pieced
and pressed the same. I went on to
also make a version using a controlled
group of fabrics, and used the same
piecing and pressing technique. When
the blocks are sewn together, most
seams will oppose. The final diagonal

seam in any block can be pressed in

either direction, the one that opposes

the seam in the adjacent block.

Once you are comfortable with how

the block goes together, and have

significant fabric cut, you can actually

piece a Kaniva block, while piecing

other projects. Use these shapes as the

“leaders and enders”, or the item that

you stitch between your seams, so that

you can do continuous chain piecing.

These templates are easy to use,

and the block a good design for

using scraps. With extra time and a

design wall, I could see these basic

shapes making other projects too. For

instance, you could make an Eye-

Spy quilt, swapping a 4½in fussy cut

square for the two A rectangles in the

block. Fabulous and fast for a baby

quilt. The four corners could be cut

from stripes and give medallions, or

kaleidoscope squares in the overall

design. I am yet to try the blocks as a

border, but they would definitely work

for that as well. However, they have

originally been designed to use your

scraps, and they are marvellous for

this purpose. All the rest is a bonus.

Contact Fleur Maddern at Little

Desert Quilts for more information,

phone (03) 5392 2234, or visit the

Facebook page @Little Desert Quilts.

Blunt corners on the triangles help

to line up the pieces

Kaniva scrappy version Kaniva templates with a portion of a

scrappy pieced quilt

Kaniva block

Kaniva control colour group