Precut Stash Usage Strategy
 

Hi,
I’ve accumulated a fair amount of precut stash fabric, purchased on spec, without a specific quilt in mind. I’m curious to know if anyone else has done this, what is your strategy for using it? Will you try to find a quilt that you will use the entire or most of the precut in or do you break up the bundle if you need a certain colour or print from part of that precut? Personally, I’m afraid to break up the bundles in case I use the one piece I needed to finish a project suited to the entire collection. Ugh! As I write this, I think perhaps I should let it go and believe I could always pick up a FQ or something to fill in the gaps if that happens. Thoughts? Experience?

I have a stash of precuts too. A lot of them have come from Missouri Quilts' Deal of the Day or clearance Craftsy kits (I never intend to make the kit, but the precuts are much cheaper this way - recently got 2 jelly rolls and 1.5 yards + a pattern for $17). I've been considering breaking up the precuts and sorting by color. I'm a "wing-it" type of quilter and rarely use the prescribed colors of any pattern.

I don't have that many but keep the precuts packaged together. I cut my left over fabric into squares & strips (the Bonnie Hunter method). I try to use those as I go or I have also went to find a pattern that will work to use up a certain size block or strip of I have too many (I don't want to have endless boxes of pre-cuts)

I’m having a terrible time with this as I organize my stash. Many of the precuts I’ve bought, I also bought coordinating border,background, binding yardage to go with it so in a way, making my own kits only they lack the pattern still. So when I put my fabric on my mini bolts, I don’t want to separate it from it’s coordinates, but I also want my fabric organized by color. Ugggh.

I break them up after they’ve been in my studio for a while. I have both purchased precuts and homemade precuts that I cut from my scrap bins. When I first get the commercial ones, whether they’re jelly rolls, charm packs, layer cakes or FQ bundles I like to keep them packaged up so I can take them out and drool over them. The drool/petting period can last from a few months to a few years (if they’re really luscious), but then I dig in. It’s rare for me to only use the fabrics from a single collection in a quilt, so I have no qualms about separating them by color or value and storing them mixed in with other precuts once I’m over the initial infatuation.

Rob

I will be watching this thread, I have huge cabinets filled with a lifetimes worth of jelly rolls, charm packs and fat quarters. I will not talk about yardage, scraps or quilt kits. I’ve seriously considered opening a Etsy store to move it out.

I usually keep the precuts together, just in case that perfect pattern for a jelly roll or layer cake or ??? comes along. But FQ bundles are fair game to be separated from each other and used wherever they are needed. I don't have a lot of precuts though. Most of the ones I have were freebies, gifts, or came in a kit that I decided not to make because I didn't like the pattern.

Editted because it didn't add to the conversation. :D

Watson

I have a weakness for FQ bundles, even though I prefer putting fabric for a quilt together myself. Those bundles are so visually appealing!

If it's a Civil War bundle, I don't keep it together because I think Civil War projects are most likely going to be scrappy. The other bundles, I keep together and keep on the lookout for a pattern for them. However, if I'm doing a scrappy quilt, I have raided those bundles without qualms. I prefer adding outside fabric anyway, so I figure I can replace the missing fabric with something if need be.

I often encounter free pattern downloads when googling the name of a fabric line to see where it's available for sale. This is my best source of patterns for FQ bundles.

be sure on pre-cuts to remove any sticky paper labels if they have them on the fabric! hate that!!!

I don’t like to break up collections. When I use them, I’ll add other fabrics to them, but I like to use them together. If I have leftover pieces after doing the front, I piece the remaining pieces for the back.

In the way of precuts, I have primarily purchased 5 inch charm packs. However, my intent for them is to make charm-style quilts - that is, quilts with no repeating fabrics. With that in mind, I usually split my charm packs quickly into bins (the deep ArtBin containers with dividers) by light/medium/dark and color. The only 2.5 inch strip packs I've purchased have almost immediately been made into quilt tops. I think I'd find it more of a challenge to split those up.

I leave the pre-cuts whole. On a very rare occasion I will break up a jelly roll. Part of the joy, for me any way, is that the fabrics in the pre-cut are from the same line and I do not have to worry about colors going together. That said, also on occasion, I will add to a layer cake or jelly roll to make a bigger quilt or two baby sized quilts from one pre-cut. In the end, it all depends on the quilt I am making. For me the worst is open up a pre-cut using part of it and then adding to my pile of scraps! Yuck! I have all I need now. :o

I have many many precuts that I have accumulated from various sources, usually from a "too good to miss bargain". I prefer layer cakes and jelly rolls, as I can find more uses for them. I keep them together till I am ready to use them. Occasionally I can find 2 sets that can go together and then may break them up a bit. I do a lot of charity quilting, so precuts are a good way to speed through the process, and add a free pattern, and I am all set.

I don’t buy that many precuts...except maybe charm packs which I use mostly for baby quilts and table runners. I have on occasion opened one up to get a few squares for color but don’t take out the focus fabrics that go with the collection.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]606492[/ATTACH]And in Drawer # 1 we find all sorts of jelly rolls and layer cakes, packages of yardage, etc. and this is just the first of 3 drawers. Then in the closets we can locate the bolt that may or may not go with it. It just seems to go on and on. When I turned 70 (2 years ago) I came to the conclusion that I would live another 20 years and it would take that long to sew up my stash. Thanks to the helpers on this board, I have made a UFO list and crossed several things off. The jelly rolls languish, as I tried to use one and discovered it was not cut at 2 1/2 inches, but was all over the board. It's now a UFO. I'm much like gran of 6 who cannot pass up a good bargain. Ordering is so easy, just click here and go to the mailbox several days later.

Use them for "no-brainer" quilts - when you want to sew but don't want to have to think about pattern or layout. Simply put the pre-cuts together, add solid sashing and donate the finished top to a local quilt guild who could use it for a charity quilt. Either rows of blocks with sashing (self-cut or jelly roll strips), or put together into a large square then cut the large square into four triangles with diagonal slices and insert sashing or make 4-patch or 9-patch blocks surrounded by sashing.....whatever feels right

I find alot of precuts are not precut correctly so tend to stay away from them. Of course this was after I bought a bunch of it beforehand. I find Pat Speth's books uses precut 5" squares and cuts them to 4.5 x 5 so I've used my miscuts 5" as well as my 10 x 10 squares for her quilts. So far I've made 3 oversized lap quilts and am working on a full size quilt for myself using both sizes to rid myself of them. I'd rath cut my own yardage these days.

I have several charm square packs and a large jelly roll, a layer cake and I am just now working with my first pre-cut(a layer cake outside of a fat qtr.) Oh my, has not been my favorite thing to do. I'll be avoiding purchasing more. To answer your question I do keep together.

I have found the name brand precuts to be pretty accurate in measurements. But ones that have been cut by stores to sell as precuts tend to be off. I pretty much stick with the Modas, and others . I love Jenny Doan's tutes for speedy assembly of quilt tops. I have file cabinet drawers that are filled with layer cakes- 3, at least 4 drawers of jelly rolls, some are solids in one drawer, one drawer of batiks, and at least one more drawer with prints, and then another of charm squares. Then I have a file drawer filled with precuts I have cut from my scraps. Last year I made 43 quilts, most were lap size for charity gifting. This year my goal is just to use stash stash and more stash.

For me it varies with the type of pre-cut. Jelly rolls I keep together, unless they are "utility" rolls (all white, all black, etc.). Charms and layer cakes, though, always seem to have the nicest pattern on top. Unless you buy from MSQ, where you can see everything in the pack, you generally have a few duds in the group. I pull these out and cut them into smaller pieces a la Bonnie Hunter ("if it's still ugly, you didn't cut it small enough").

I couldn't do it, either. Too anal! LOL. I don't buy many precuts other than fat quarters which I store by color -- I don't often buy the fat quarter collections but when I did, I broke them up by just using out of them if I needed to. Currently I have 2 Moda Confetti charm packs which are so gorgeous I'm afraid I won't find the "right" quilt to use them in.

I like to pick up precuts when traveling and visiting Quilt shops in route. I keep them together. I have often used the Moda Layer Cakes for ideas and mindless sewing at Guild. I also check out Missouri Star for ideas and patterns.

Missouri Star has free patterns for charm packs (there was a super easy picnic quilt one a while ago I am wanting to try) … I would go to image.google.com jelly roll quilts for ideas too.

I bought a pretty sunny orange and yellow bundle of eighth yard cuts, and some extra fabric in a lemony yellow. Now I just need to figure out which pattern to use.

I too have a huge collection. My husband called me a fabric collector. He never saw my drawers full of precuts. Thanks goodness. I keep waiting patiently for the right pattern to jump out at me. Speaking of patterns I have a collection of those too.

Madamekelly, I’ve seen a quilt called Citrus Slice which could work for your yellow/orange fabric. Add some lime green for more variety!

It's an addiction, isn't it? We are curators of extensive textile collections. Since last year, I've been a follower of Gudrun Erla (gequiltdesigns.com). She came to Alaska to teach, and many of her patterns are based on precuts. In fact, she has a method of cutting her stash into increments she can use.

I tend to keep precuts together until I find the perfect pattern but not so with fat quarter bundles. Actually I don't have too many bundles but when I do I tend to either use them together or break them apart depending on what I'm going to do.
I'm also addicted to precuts! :)

It sounds like most people keep them together for the most part which is what I’ve done so far too. I’ve done the same as you ArtsyOne, picking up deals and kits, just for the fabric in them. My strategy now is to find quilts to match up with my precuts, which I have done so far and on occasion just have to buy background fabric or one or two fat quarters to make the fabric work for the chosen pattern. Thanks everyone, for sharing your strategies!

Thank you for the link! Here's one from her Blog specific to our Collections I thought was interesting. https://gequiltdesigns.com/blogs/ge-...ing-your-stash

I personally have a problem with precutting my yardage into strips and squares before I decide on a project, very like Bonnie Hunter's method, but maybe someday I could bring myself around to doing it with leftover scraps.

Kwiltr, I too, can't bring myself to cut up my yardage until I decide on a project. I guess it's because I make other things, besides quilt tops.It would be nice though to have a stach of pre-cuts ready but it would be my luck I'd need a larger cut than what I did...