Gingham fabric
 

Any suggestions for a pattern using gingham ? Our church was given a box of it and it just sits there.

I should add: the gingham is tiny checks & nobody is very excited about it.

As always, it depends on a lot of things -- color and scale are big things. Any chance of a picture or a more details?

Personally, I love small woven ginghams but then I do like working with stripes and plaids. Not as fond of printed checks but they work too. I find them crisp and easy to use. Pinwheels and stars can be just plain perky or maybe a bit more masculine with some colors. On the other hand, the larger the scale the harder it gets for me. In that case I usually think towards borders and backs, but simple squares alternating with other plain or pieced fabric works too.

There are types of embroidery work done on gingham and smocking too. It's pretty fun and easy stuff to do, put together a class/workgroup and maybe make donation dresses out of the experience.

You might want to do a burn test to check on the fiber content - if that matters to you.

Yeah, Bear is right. I was going to put in a thing about "make sure they are cotton". Not all are, often you can tell by the weave but I am a believer in burn tests. I do see a lot of unwanted pieces of that baby gingham in various colors with a high poly content at the the thrift stores. It slides around all over the place and is easy to spot! I don't mind using a poly blend from time to time, but after being so used to cotton, I can't deal with the super slippery stuff. Also, I just don't like the feel of some of the poly ginghams and I can be super sensitive to odors, if a fabric smells like plastic to me that just never goes away.

While this is not made from all ginghams, it’s really adorable and on my bucket list!

http://podunkpretties.blogspot.com/2...t-sixteen.html

I would use them in 9-patch or 12-patch scrap quilts . . . mixing them in with other fabrics. I also made a bed top using gingham yo-yos.

Most ginghams are not all cotton, just in case you didn't know.

What about making aprons as suggested in above comment or maybe some doll clothes to give away to some family that doesn't have much.

Yes, I love podunkpretties patterns!

A few years ago I was gifted many yards of ginghams and did not know what to do with them, so used them on the backs of my charity quilts. It worked out perfect, they quilted up soft and the assorted colors were really fun for the backs. Win, win for me. Peace, Brenda

I love using ginghams for baby quilts. I made a wallhanging for my new Baby's room just with ginghams. Since it won't be washed much, I didn't even worry about the fiber content.

I’ve been (slowly) working my way through Lori Holt’s Farm Girl Vintage book. I too have a bunch of gingham print and it has worked surprisingly well with her patterns. I guess I should’nt be surprised, but I’m liking it a lot more than I thought I would.

Our church has a supply donated, too. I used some for quilt backs and another member made aprons - is it Swedish embroidery - to sell at the bazaar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK8CbmnAlk4
very cute quilt using light, dark and gingham. Would be cute as large quilt as well

I would probably use it for quilts and put poly blend fabric with it. So they would last as long, and colors last longer than cotton.

My daughter has a very worn vintage lavender gingham and white star pattern quilt. It was once a beauty, and I hope to recreate it someday.

Dresses for Africa.

I have cotton fabric with 1/4" squares in various colors, that is perfect for "chicken scratch".

Most gingham I have come across is thin and loosely woven and ravels badly. If it were a solidly woven heavier fabric I think it would make a great kids quilt around stars, or sashing for bright kids prints.

I'm liking this !