I like 2 1/2 " strips, sewed ala Eleanor Burns. I use 3 rounds after sewing the red centers and then a light patch 2 1/2", then lay the sewed patches down on the right side of the fabric and strip piece. I've made a ton of quilts that way and I love it. In act, the first one I made for us a big king is starting to wear and rather then try to patch it, I've decided to just make a new one. I used scraps for all my quilts and they all came out looking good, but I usually had big amounts of fabric so there was a fair amount of togetherness
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