Beginner's Guide To Quilting - UK (2020-04)

Patchwork Made Easy

W

hen you can’t find the right
fabric – or the fabrics you
do have aren’t quite right
for the project you’re working on

• try strip piecing. This is a nifty
  technique where you join two or
  more fabric strips together to make
  a stripy fabric. It’s a speedy way to

transform plain fabrics into

brightly-patterned patchwork and a

great use for offcuts in your stash.

To start, gather a few fabric strips.

Longer ones are best as once you’ve sewn

them together the aim is to cut a batch of

stripy blocks or ‘units’ from them. You

could cut stripy squares, triangles,

diamonds... any shape that takes your

fancy! You then join up your units to

create larger units until you’ve quickly

pieced up a quilt top or cushion. Once

you’ve practised the basics and tried

making a Four Patch block (see step 4),

turn to page 108 to find out how to

strip-piece a Nine Patch block too.

TURN OFFCUTS INTO FABULOUS NEW

FABRICS WITH A BIT OF STRIP PIECING

Strip piecing

Using straight seams and a ¼in seam

allowance, pin and then sew the strips

together in the order you want them to be.

Press the seams to one side or open, then

trim the short ends if these are uneven.

Congratulations! You now have your first

strip-pieced unit, ready to be cut up and

used in your project.

Cut shapes from the strip-pieced fabric

for quick stripy effects. Or try piecing two

strips of different coloured fabrics

together, cut into pairs of squares and

sew together to make a Four Patch block.

Cut a few long strips of fabrics (see our

cutting guide on page 34). Don’t worry

if your strips aren’t all the same length as

you’ll trim the ends later.

1

3

2

4

Trim if

needed

Beginner’s Guide to Quilting 47