help with Strings please
 

I've been saving all my 1 1/2 inch strips/strings to make a string quilt. After making 3 blocks, (pieced on the diagonal) I'm now questioning if I should use all Civil Wars prints or mix that up with brighter strings. probably have enough strings to make a queen sized quilt with Kona Snow as the middle string in each block Also, has anyone ever made a string quilt entirely out of one color family, such as all greens??
Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I make a lot of quilt as you go string blocks and quite like making blocks of colour families; blues, greens, pinks etc. When I have enough for a quilt, I place blocks of each colour diagonally which gives the illusion of planning whilst not having to think too much when making the blocks.

I've done all your questions and the answer is yes :)
You can use everything and anything in one project, the key being lots of everything to make it one. Just one or two magentas for instance will stand out like a sore thumb, use whatever you are using through the whole quilt.
I've also found breaking it down from that, leaving out all the red and black makes a better cohesiveness.

My favorite though is combiningg all one color, from lime and seafoam to spruce...a richness that can't be matched in commercial matched up color lines.

If you google string quilts, you'll be consumed with ideas and plans ;) Sharyn

I have a string project going from leftover fabric used to make a King quilt last summer.
I haven't mixed any fabrics but I may as I think I may get bored with using all those same fabrics.
Civil War tends to get a little boring to me. I think your idea of mixing things up is a good one.

There are as many variations on string quilts as there are quilts. Many ways to make, many ways to plan or to go with randomness. Keep in mind that random can result in ugly, so if you are going to go random go hog wild everyone in the pool. If everything is light but one or two dark pieces, either love those dark pieces because you are always going to see them, or keep them out, or add more to the mix.

Otherwise, sure, go for a color family, or a palette like fall colors or Easter eggs, or theme like nautical or whatever strikes your whim and available fabrics or desires for fabric shopping :)

String quilting can just be basically chain strip piecing too. The strips can be controlled, they don't have to be the off-cut ends or angles. You can sew on a foundation or not.

I would use other construction techniques but I liked the projects in the book String Quilt Revival by Baker and Sanders. I like to see how to get effects from manipulating the fabric rather than it all being random -- I've done enough of the random.

LOL, but having said that I have planned and fabric collected for a Christmas string quilt. I have the white-on-white backing fabric and will be sewing on to that. First rounds will be the same red and then strictly color controlled true red, green and white holiday fabrics in random placement. Final outcome will be sort of interlocking white background with string star shapes... I've been waiting for a project to motivate me to make it, maybe that deserves some consideration.

I'm making a string quilt using two different color blocks. One block is all shades of red, the other is all neutrals.

I have made several string quilts. I use white or black on each one and just a big mix of all colors I have. I also use different size strips. They end up very pretty to me.

check out some of Bonnie Hunter's string patterns. Talking Turkey and Emerald City come to mind as single color designs. And she mixes it all!

I find it most pleasing to choose the most multi-colored print and choose colors that coordinate. As with any quilt, contrast will keep it from looking muddy.

I've usually used either all brights or all reproduction type prints (Civil War, etc) . When I store my strings I sort by those 2 categories and then one is just neutral solids--makes it easier to work for me.

Thank you fro the book suggestion, I just put a hold on it through my local library. You brought up the one concern I have had with string quilts. The too random becomes ugly.

If you are doing strings in a diagonal pattern for squares, what are your favorite methods? Do you sew straight strips and then cut squares on point? Do you prefer to sew them to a foundation fabric. I do like the idea of using a central solid to provide cohesiveness.

I frequently make a quilts that are monochromatic, all one color way. Or monochromatic and one Pop color. It is a lovely way to dive into a stash and reduce it just a bit. I am sure that a strip quilt that is of one color family would be beautiful. As we know the colors can be from light/pastel to dark and intense but together they play well together. Have fun and post a photos as you go!

I've never had many problems with bias edges, I do pin and press a lot, so I will often "sew straight", straight seam and straight grain of fabric. Not a strip quilt exactly, but I recently made a "wonky 9-patch" from a bright bag of scraps I got from the Goodwill. In that, much like doing a strip quilt I sewed large and cut down, here's a picture from that project. That book, String Quilt Revival, part of what I liked was them showing the rough cut pieces before trimming.

I don't want to derail this thread, if you are interested in the Wonky journey, I've been detailing it in the Fabric Moratorium Thread in the Challenges section. Discussion of the friend that inspired me begins back around page 36... The picture of the stash and project details go starting at post 1021 on page 41.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/quilti...301821-41.html

If you make the "Jelly Roll Quilt" by Three Dudes, you don't have all those triangle ends to cut off.
Make two squares of strips: 8.5 inches long by 8.5 inches wide. (These could be any length, but keep the blocks square.) Sew them together right sides facing, one with strips going up and down and the other with strips going side to side. Sew all around the outside. Now cut from corner to corner both ways. When you sew these four pieces together making a square in the center, the result is amazing. These can be just sewn together or add sashing and cornerstones.

This is my When I am bored project out of batik string left over from my New York beauty and other projects
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