I think I would like my next quilt to look like a scrap quilt.

I know that scrap quilts are made from scraps (sometimes I amaze myself ;) , but do you put certain colors in certain areas?

I have seen some scrap quilts that I really love, and the colors don't seem quite right on others.

Need advice and direction.

Make it as random and varied as possible. If you like your fabrics, you'll like the quilt. Some scrappies look a little dull, I think, because there's no yellows. They need a little sunshine.

Hi central Illinois DebQuilter50, I am from central Illinois and a Deb too! I just usually sew my scraps together! I use a design wall and that helps. You can move around your blocks or strips to make sure the colors work, but generally it all goes together well. My HO opinion, we will see what everyone else say. Too me that is the beauty of a scrappie!

Hi,I am also from central IL. I thought anything goes with scrappy quilts. It is whatever you like

I love scrap quilts! You could make it as random as you like. Some quilters just grab fabrics without looking and sew with beautiful results. If they pick a color that will sit next to the same color they just grab another color.

Or you could pick one fabric to add, say for your sashing or a center block and it calms the quilt down. If you use purple for example as a sashing color and a different purple in your blocks remember that if the purples touch they will blend in together. But if you put the purple in the block towards the center of the block and they don’t touch this doesn’t happen. Hope this makes sense.

Personally, I like the results of both methods. It’s all about what YOU like for YOUR quilt :P

Just about anything goes in a scrap quilt...I have even seen people mix in some pretty bright colors with duller ones and that works, or people will use more controlled scrap colors, all sort of within the same tones...as long as there is something to tie it all together, it should work. They are so much fun to make, and to look at! Go for it!

I LOVE scrap quilts.

I just grab pieces and sew. I think the main thing is to have a variety of lights, mediums and darks. And as quilticing said, splashes of yellow really add brightness.

Yes, I was going to say the same thing, but ranger beat me to it. :thumbup:

BEST advice! Throw all colors into it, wowowow,....!
Julie

Go to www.quiltville.com and you will get lots of ideas. I have use bonnie Hunters idesa for several of my scrappy quilts.

Scappy quilts are my favorite!

I'm constantly amazing myself too LOL
You're funny and I had to respond :)
When I first started quilting I got a book by Mary Ellen Hopkins. She said that she keeps a bin of scraps and when she feels like sewing w/o much thought starts pulling them out randomly. She made some wonderful quilts!! :D

the success of scrap quilts is dependant on VALUES not COLORS...
as long as you have a good balance of lights, mediums, darks it will work- regardless of what colors are used....lots of scrap quilters design their quilts in grayscale- so they can see the values---color does not matter

I'm currently making a scrap quilt using different blues and browns of repro or antique looking fabrics (light, medium and darks). But, am including a couple of yellow and red to add interest.

I've made many, many scrap quilts - some with planning, some just random. Three of them are behind me on my avatar. If you do a search here for Crumbs or Mile a Minute you can see what other Board quilters have done.

I'm another central Illinois girl with an opinion on scrap quilts. I just did a "scrappy" Dresden plate with 1930's reproductions. The scrappy is in quotes because I bought the scraps from all over creation. I picked fabrics for each plate that would look nice together, but from plate to plate there is no coordination.

Here is a link to pics of some 'crumbs'...... lots of links and ideas for using 'crumbs' there.
My 2 'crumb' scrap quilts are in the post near the bottom of the page.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-122919-2.htm

Do a search here for scrap or scrap string quilts, get some additional ideas........here's mine.............calla
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tpr?p=1172948&t=49921

This is how I like to look at scrap quilts!

You are all awesome. Thank you!

They can be scrappy where you just mix things up or they can be planned scrappy where you might choose different shades of certain colors and arrange in a somewhat uniform design. It's entirely up to you.

To me a scrap quilt is made up of all your left over materials and just sewd together with no rhyme or reason or fashion color police telling you how they think it should look. A scrap is a scrap and that's that IMHO.

Bonnie Hunt just spoke at my quilt guild, she's a scrappy quilt queen! She has several great ideas on her website:

www.quiltville.com

Free patterns too!

I have been doing scrapy paper p, my saying is "if it fit's, it sews"

I read somewhere, many years ago that when making a scrappy if you have materials that you think clash, keep those fabric patches, blocks or strips at laest three patches, blocks or strips apart and they will never interfer with each other. I have used this idea in my quilts and it seams to work for me and I put everything in my quilts. Happy scrappy! :D

Also if you haven't seen them, some of my scrappy quilts are in "pictures" titled A couple more quilts from UBE.
May 18th. They may help you with ideas. UBE
Peace :D

As long as you make sure you vary the values within your quilt it will work, regardless of the colours. By this I mean that you should have a mixture of lights, darks and mediums to contrast with each other. The quilts are not as successful if they are all the one tone.

This is my go-to project when I am stressed with another project and need a no-think thing to do. I use deli-papers cut down to 8 1/2" and just pull pieces out of the scrap bag. If the size is right, it goes on the square, that is my only criteria for these blocks. I may have a grand mess when I finally put them together, or not. Time will tell. At this point, I think I will have to sash them.

Try sorting scraps into lights mediums and darks I have had most success that way.

I just made a scrap quilt, my first, from 4" squares I have been collecting. I came up with a little trick so I had more of a variation. I did the strip piecing method, sewed 2 together, one print, one more solid or contrast, chained pieced 2 more the same way. Then when I had a bunch I cut them apart so I had pairs. Next I chain pieced a pair to a pair making a 4-patch so the solids or contrast were opposite each other. Then I put 2 4 patches together, and so on till I had a 2 row strip the desired length. Then I put pairs of rows together. I found I had more control of my colors this way. Let me see if I have a pic of it.

Have you ever seen a field of wildflowers that was ugly? Try and get that feel into a scrap quilt. If you work too hard at a color pattern then you are making a quilt using scraps, but not making a scrap quilt.
I hope that makes sense

Bonnie Hunter has some great patterns for scrappy quilts and they are free and you can get lots of neat ideas there, her web site is quiltville.com , check it out , oh I see someone alread addressed that,

paper bag quilts are my favorite just reach in and sew people always tell the quilts are beautiful i make scrap quilts all the time

It depends on my mood. Sometimes I just grab whatever. Some quilts I separate my scraps into light medium and dark piles and them grab from each pile randomly.

Here is a picture of a scrap quilt that all my friends RAVE over--me not so much. It includes many scraps given to me by quilting friends.
I did not use any batting as I wanted it for a summer quilt.

I tend to organize my scraps by color to start. Then when I'm making a block, for instance say the blocks are two colors, red and white, I would use random reds which can be all different fabrics, the background can be various shades of white and small white on white prints. That way it is scrappy, but still planned... hope that helps.

Love it!!!! For me I like fast and mindless. Just the way I am, can't bother to do anything too fussy.

I am just finishing a scrappy quilt that was a planned scrappy. I bought fabrics in different shades of purple. The colors range from light to dark purple. I used some batiks and they even had a little pale green and some burgandy in them. It is beautiful.

Scrappy quilts are what I learned to do. We never purchased fabric for quilts, except the backing. My Mother would take out the bag of scraps, have me iron all of them, stack nicely so as not to wrinkle, get the cardboard square, draw around the square for pattern. Stack the blocks very carefully, light & dark.
Now the most important rule was to either have the light or dark block always on the top or bottom as you stitch. Have to remember as you chain sew them. We did not have electricity until about 1943 so I learned to sew on Mom's treadle Singer. (wish I still had it!)
Just have the same light or dark value on the top or bottom, when you sew each step. That way you are always contrasting the value as you construct your quilt and no 2 same blocks together.
Try it, it really works.
Phyllis
82 yrs in Oregon
70 years quilting

Ditto here...I love Bonnie's use of colors and scraps! I've done 3 or 4 of hers already. The patterns are free, and most of all, fun!

Since I don't have a design wall, I put my blocks or scraps on the (clean)floor/rug to get an idea of colors/blocks to put together. I will pin two or more pieces of scraps together so I know I want these colors to work together. I love those scrappy quilts. I see my blouses/dresses left over scraps where I keep these to make quilts. Brings back memories of those good times. My grandmother did this with worn out cloths that still had good parts of material from aunt/uncle, brothers/sisters cloths along with scraps left over. I think of those as memory quilts.
IdahoSandy

I heard it said once that any 7 fabrics may not work well together but absolutely any 30 do. I just grab and cut randomly from my stash and it all works out. My only rule (and this is mine; you don't have to follow it) is that I never let two pieces of the same fabric touch.