This is a set of strips. I cut most of mine about 10" as it is a good size to work with. This set was done by my friend Dorothy. She had never done much sewing for quilting so I started her out on sewing strips to get used to sewing these. As youi can see the seams are really crooked. This is great for beginners. The seams don't have to be straight. Your blocks will have a crooked look to them on purpose. The borders will be crooked on purpose. I like the look.

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Notice the one on the left has the seam from corner to corner. The one on the right was centered in the middle strip

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I use the strip sets for borders. Sometimes I cut the border off first and in alot of cases I sew the whole thing onto my quilt block and then trim off what I need.

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Lay your template on the strips and decide if you want the corners to be on the seams or centered in the middle of a strip. Cut out the squares wherever you get the look you want for your squares. I cut them close together and you won't have alot of waste leftover

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I use two differant types of sets. This one is all meds and darks with no lights.

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Here I used white or light every other strip. This will make a differance in how the overall look results.

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I do small projects so my strip sizes are trimmed accordingly. After two strips are sewn I trim the inside one to 3/4" from the seam. I like to use a wide strip on the ends so when I sew them on I can have bit extra because when you finish the project those ends can get lost in the edges. If it is wider I end up with a finish strip that is the same size as the middle ones. I hate losing those ends to the edge of the quilt. I turn mine rt side out but you if you use binding you will still lose some of that last strip under the binding. In this little piece I trimmed to 5/8" and ended up with a scant 1/2" finished strip. I have trimmed them to 1/2" and end up with a 1/4" for my smaller items like coin purses eyeglass cases etc.

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Ok here are the squares cut out. I cut these out with the corners on the seams

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These are not sewn together but you get the idea of how to place them for this look

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After you cut out squares there will be some leftovers like these two. I pull the parts off that are small bits and then I have two pieces I can sew together. If you have a wide end on one then I trim it.

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I sew two of these recycled sections together and cut out a square from the center

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This is what you see people use the most for a layout. These blocks are the ones where the seams don't match on purpose. They are crooked in places on purpose.

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Here you see them in an X pattern

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Here you can lay them in the same direction. This is a good way to "create" your own fabric to cut up and use. I have cut hearts out of them or you could use them for several other things. I have used them to make houses. It gives the house an interesting look.

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This is one idea for using them as a border

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