Making a String Quilt
 

I have bags full of 2 1/2 in strips saved to make a string quilt. Now I wonder if all the same width will work, or shall I trim them to different widths to make it more 'stringy' looking? What do you think?

Jenny Doan has a couple of tutorials on string quilts and she uses all 2 1/2" strips in one and scraps of different widths on the others. Just search for String quilt with Jenny and they will pop up for you.

I usually think of strings as being between 3/4" and 2". Strips 2" and above I save as strips, not strings. So if I were starting out with your strips, I'd cut them down to various sizes for variety (or stringiness, LOL).

I think for a more scrappy string quilt it would look more scrappy if the strips were of various sizes and various fabrics.

I use anything from 1" - 2-1/2" for string quilts. Sometimes I cut the 2-1/2" strips to 2". I'm not wild about the big strip.

If you have so many 2.5" strips, maybe you should look into jelly roll patterns.

On my first string quilt, I had the same question. I just made one string block (I used a 10" square base) with the 2 1/2" strips and found I didn't like it. Made another out of strings of various widths and liked it much better. So I suggest just sew one block and see how you feel about it. And if you decide to cut your 2 1/2 strips up, I didn't measure the widths, just folded and cut. sometimes 2 strips, sometimes 3. I really like the narrower strings best.

I've made several string quilts and, like the previous posters, found that 2.5" was just too wide for my 8" bases and I preferred the look of 1" - 2" strips.

I prefer my strips to be different widths. Some 1 1/2" at one end and 2 1/2" at the other end. This is one block I definitely want scrappy with no seams meeting. More fun for me. Just cut and sew.