Siblings Together Quilt Drive "Crumb Blocks"

Today we are launching another mini block drive again hosted by Tricia Johanson. Thank you Tricia!

The blocks Tricia would like are based on a method by Chris English which he calls "Crumb Blocks", fabric scraps are sewn together to make a new piece of fabric which can be used in various ways to make new blocks of various designs. We just need you to make 9.5" blocks of this "made" fabric. Tricia has lots of design ideas for the quilts.

Thank you to Chris English for the instructions for the crumb blocks which Tricia has adapted slightly for the tutorial.


                    HOW TO MAKE CRUMB BLOCKS AND TURN THEM INTO
                                                           QUILT BLOCKS.

The photographs that show the steps in making these blocks are also in Instagram and can be found on Tricia's account @yondergirlie

Please contact Tricia tricia@johanson.co.uk  if you need some help and for the address to send your lovely blocks.

Materials

For this project please use new fabrics only
Scraps – any size, and shape, any colour (bright colours please)
Leftover binding
Leftover blocks

Method

1 Cut and press strips up to 4” wide x any length.

2 Take a scrap, place it right sides together on the strip and
sew together. *Important – do not lift your presser foot. Add
another scrap and continue until the strip is used up. Start a
new strip and repeat. Keep going until you have a pile of
strips.

3 Press the seams then press towards the strip. Cut the pieces
apart, using scissors (Chris’s preferred method), or rotary
cutter with or without a ruler. Congratulations – you have
made some crumbs!

4 You can repeat this by sewing these crumbs to more strips,
or you can start sewing crumb blocks together.

5 You get a more interesting block, if the pieces have an odd
number of sides – 3 or 5 work well. Trim each crumb as you
add more pieces, making use of any angles to join pieces –
in other words, your crumbs do not have to be rectangular or
square. You can also add single pieces of fabric to your
crumb – it’s your block, have fun with it and you will soon be
making pieces intuitively.

6 If you find that you’re creating a log cabin, cut a corner off
the block and add a new piece, but remember to add the
piece you cut off to your pile of crumbs.

7 If you find that your block looks too uniform, feel free to cut
through it and add start adding new pieces to the smaller
block.

8 As you press and join pieces be aware of the existing seams.
Always iron to the side with the least number of seams. Try
to avoid sewing pieces together where seams will meet – it
adds bulk and your block will lie better without.

9 Keep going until you have a piece that is at least 9.5” square
– you might find it helpful to cut a piece of paper or card to
this size so that you can hold it against the block as it gets
bigger allowing you to see where you need to add more
pieces.

10 When you are happy with your block trim it to 9.5”.

11 Give yourself a big pat on the back then go wild and make
more blocks!