Today's Quilter - UK (2020-01)

TECHNIQUES l string piecing

Newto stringpiecing?FollowBonnieK Hunter’sstep-by-stepguideto this

intriguing patchwork technique and you’ll soon have the hang of it.

STRING PIECING

BASICS

Above,Saving a wide variety of strings is key to great-looking quilts of the future

N

arrowstripsof fabric,leftoverbitsfromrecentlyfinishedprojects,

piecesgiftedfromfriends– thesearethebestpartsof thescraps

forme.I’mthesamewaywiththeThanksgivingturkey.While

somelikethebreastmeatonlyandthrowouttherest,I findthebestparts

arethosethatremainafterthebigmealis over,asI thinkof absolutely

everythingI canmakewitheverysparemorsel.Besides,the scraps cost just

asmuchastheoriginalyardagethattheycamefrom.

I lovetocombinestringstogetherwithrecognisabletraditionalpatchwork

elements.Stringunitsmixedwithotherpatchworkpiecesadd a dynamic,

eye-catching feature in a scrap quilt!– Bonnie K Hunter

Whatis a string?

Historically,thetermstringrefersto a

pieceof fabricconsidered‘toosmall’

to beusedin householdsewing.Too

insignificantforclothingconstruction,

tootinyforhouseholdlinens,these

werethebitsdestinedfortherubbish

bin.Inmostcases,thesescrapswere

eventoosmallto beconsideredas rags.

Butquiltersare,andalwayshave

been,a resourcefullotand,of course,

wecouldfinda wayto usethemby

sewingthembacktogetherintobigger

pieces,trimmingto shape, and adding

themto eachother.

Patternsemerged,andwhenthe

stripsweresewnto a foundationof

paperorfabric,thesestringsfounda

placein stunningquiltsfromthe most

humbleof circumstances.

Thoughmanystringquiltswere

consideredto besimplyutilitarianin

nature,theyholda certaincharmand

a vibrantsenseof freedomthatmany

othertraditionally pieced quilts cannot

claimto have.

Stringquiltshavealwaysbeena

fascinationforme– therandomnessof

placement,thevarietyof colourand,

mostof all,thestoriesthesequiltsand

fabricscouldtellabouttheir makers – if

only quilts could talk.

Whatsizearestrings?

Inmybook,a stringis anynarrow

pieceof fabricrangingfromin wide

upto 2inwide.Lengthscanvary,but

anythingshorterthan5inwouldbe

categorisedbyme as a ‘crumb’ rather

thana ‘string’.

I loveto varythewidthsof mystrips

andfindit funto evenlaythingsona

slightanglefromtimeto time,causing

thedirectionof thestringsto tiltand

leanin myblocksotheyarenotall

marchingin thesamedirectionlike

straight little soldiers. Let them play, let