For quick and easy patchwork quilts, try strip piecing. This technique saves a lot of time, especially when you’re piecing squares and rectangles. It is suitable for beginners.
What Is Strip Piecing?
For strip pieced quilts, long strips of fabrics are placed side by side and sewn together. The exact size of the strips and the number required depends upon the quilt design. The sewn strips are cut into segments, which are assembled into the quilt blocks.
Advantages of Strip Piecing
- This method saves time in two ways. Instead of cutting individual squares or rectangles, you only need a certain number of strips.
- Strip pieced quilt projects require less sewing time. You’re dealing with fewer seams and fewer pieces of fabric.
Projects for Strip Piecing
Blocks based on simple squares and rectangles are often used. Examples include Basket Weave, Boston Commons, Brick, Irish Chain, Four Patch, Nine Patch, Rail Fence, and Trip Around the World.
Blocks with diamonds, such as the Lone Star, can also be done this way. In addition, this technique is versatile enough for diagonal and triangular designs. For example, the pieced strips for Roman Stripe are cut into triangles. For chevron Seminole blocks, the sewn strips are cut diagonally rather than straight across.
Doing Strip Piecing
- When cutting the fabric into strips, make clean cuts. You need straight edges. A rotary cutter is best.
- The next step is to place the strips side by side and sew them together in the proper order. Avoid stretching the fabric as you make the seams. Otherwise, the pieces can become distorted.
- Cut the sewn strips into the number of units or segments as indicated by your pattern. Combine the cut segments to create the blocks.
- Depending on the pattern and fabrics you’re using, you might need multiple sets of several different strip pieced units.
- With strip pieced patchwork, things can go awry if the strips or the cut segments are sewn together in the wrong order. Follow the diagrams and directions given on the pattern you’re using. These will keep you from making mistakes. Those new to strip quilting will find the following book to be very helpful.
A Strip Piecing Book for Beginners
Still Stripping After 25 Years by Eleanor Burns was published by Quilt in a Day. This features complete, color instructions for an array of strip pieced projects. It has designs to suit every taste.
The quilts include assorted bed quilts in various sizes as well as lap quilts, large and small wall hangings, table runners, and a pillow sham. These easy designs include the Nine Patch and the Log Cabin.
For each design, there is a handy list of fabrics and a chart showing how many strips of each fabric are needed. The color illustrated, easy to follow directions show how to do the strip piecing one step at a time so beginners can’t go wrong.
This shows how to add each strip in the correct order. Diagrams illustrate each completed strip and block. There are also block placement charts for assembling the quilt tops.
