Scrappy Question??
 

Is it the color of the sashes and borders that pull a scrap quilt together ?. So many scrap quilts have a definite color scheme--are they really scraps? My scraps are from several quilts and don't necessarily go together! I'm having a hard time-- Pulling it all together. I don't have enough scraps from one quilt to make a color coordinated scrap quilt but I have a lot of scraps!

I divide my scraps into three piles manly, womanly and childlike and then I have 3 different scrappy quilts to make. There is no real color scheme but rather a collection of what goes together. That way I don't end up with something too feminine in a quilt to be presented to a man. I hope that makes sense to you :) Happy sewing.

For some reason scrap quilts look good even if they aren't "color coordinated" . The more the merrier. Lights, darks, brights, subdued, whatever. just go for it. When done with your blocks or strips combine with a sashing, strips or blocks of a neutral to give the eye a place to rest. Check out the scrappy quilt show here on the QB to get some ideas. Have fun.

I agree with kateyb, scrap quilts look good without being color co-ordinated. Not to say they can't be, either. It often depends on what scraps a person has! The sky is the limit when it comes to arranging fabrics for scrappies. Love to do it! Enjoy your creating!

So true what ever scraps you have, just go for it.

Exactly! If the pieces are small enough, they all get along.

The whole idea of 'scrappy' is loads of color, texture and patterns -- they all work together. I will lean heavily on certain colors, patterns, etc, depending on the recipient. My 2 DGD's love different colors - so one got her favorite pink (about 65% of it was pinks and others thrown in for interest) and the other got her favorite purple. DGS got 'boy' colors, prints, etc. That's the only thing I do different. If I know there is a preference or an interest in something, I use lots more fabrics of that type. The borders pull it all together -- DGD's had pink or purple borders which really brought out that color in the quilt. DGS had checkered flag fabric, which was perfect with his quilt as he has a lot of black in his quilt. The color you use in the border is what is brought out in the quilt top itself.

I divide my scraps by lights, mediums, and darks. It works. Though sometimes I do a bit of editing because I feel a particular fabric is out of place,

The last scrap quilt I made had some rules - I pulled out any fabric that was less than a fat 8th or cut too weird to do much with or was just plain ugly and I didn't know what I would do with it. This string quilt had flame fabric, flower fabric, civil war fabric, batiks, brights, you name it. It turned out really good. I think the key is having lights, mediums and darks.

So far with my scrappies I try to use a fabric for the sashes and borders. I have done controlled scrappy and just scrappy, when it the blocks.