8 charity quilt ideas I like and use often

I suppose it is inevitable, isn’t it?

Many of us need ideas on how to use our scraps or pieces to make quick and easy charity quilts.

Let me show you some common ones I use or HAVE used.

1. Simple squares in two colors

For example, yellow and green or pink and purple - here are two of my early quilts I made. My kids are holding them up.

2. Big squares in a 5x7 layout

These are cut 12.5” squares

3. The Quick Strippie quilt - idea from www.maryquilts.com

The pattern as she gives it is for the normal 42 - 44” wide fabric but I’m making mine with the wider fabric from local sources - mostly. I also just used the ‘idea’ and went with it. Obviously you can change the measurements to work with your own taste or supplies!

4. Scrapbook style

Here I am using big pieces of themed fabrics to create a quilt. I’ve used the idea for ladies with florals, but also for kids. This lets me use up various sizes of leftover pieces from my larger backing pieces or other prints I have.

If you click on either of these photos, you will get the layout I used.

I took the idea from a free pattern by a fabric company which is no longer available and added/changed it to make it the size I need/want. I think this pattern works better for the children than for the ladies. I prefer (now) to making the ladies with a bit smaller blocks.

5. Simple Sashed Squares

Choose your size of squares. Choose your width of sashing. Here my squares are cut 10” and sashing is 3.5” cut.

6. Big Rail Fence blocks

Here I used a bright solid color sashes on each side with black. Yes. I had a LOT of different solids. This was one way for me to whittle them down. I used 2 cut 2.5”x12.5” black and a cut 8.5”x12.5” colorful piece to make these blocks. The blocks then finish at 12”. Just flip every one other 90 degrees and it creates the design.

7. Big Shadowed blocks

I use 9.5” cut squares and put a shadow on them to create a totally cool but easy block which ends up being 11” (11.5” before being put into the top).

Click on the picture to get the layout of the block. Sashings and borders are totally up to you. I used 3.5” cut sashings and 4.5” cut borders. In my opinion, these also are a wonderful way to use themed fabrics. I want to do some more with solids, florals and sports.

8. A pseudo “Jelly Roll Race”

I used 2.5” strips that were color coordinated. I chose out strips in usually two or three colors and sewed them together end to end and then attempted to try to make something like a Jelly Roll Race quilt - only in no way was it a race. I did several of them and kind of “raced” myself right out of ever wanting to do another one.

Does that help? I currently would make all of these except the last one. I truly ‘raced myself out’ when I did them before and I have no desire to do them again. All the rest I will do and am actively working on some of them - or have plans in my head on how to do more.

Anyway…I’m back to working on this year’s charity quilts.

Have a great day wherever you are reading this! Thanks for coming along with me on my quilting/sewing journey!

 
 
Becky Petersen7 Comments