Ugly Fabric Challenge
 

Ladies, I need your help. Our Quilt Guild is having an Ugly Fabric Challenge. We all need to bring a yard of "ugly" fabric that we cut it into 4 Fat Quarters. Then we will get 4 other fat quarters (they will all be different). Then we need to make something using the majority of the "ugly" fat quarters. We can add other fabrics. I would like to make a throw quilt but am thinking it should be something with small pieces. I would appreciate ideas (and pictures) from you all

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! What is ugly to some is lovely to others. Perhaps the fabrics you end up with will be nicer than you anticipate. Chances of 4 different "ugly" fq's coordinating are slim, though.

Are you committed to a "quilt"? A couple of things that are very forgiving and would use up fq's quickly are chenille potholders; they are relatively quick and easy. There are scads of examples and instructional tutorials on Pinterest.

Another non-quilt option would be a rope/clothesline basket. Again, there lots of info on Pinterest. I know some folks object to them b/c of the raw edges that do ravel a bit. I once saw a demo where the strips were folded in half first, with the raw edge always covered by the folded edge being wound over it. Possibly Alex Anderson showed it?

If you do go with a quilt, it is said that if it's still ugly, you haven't cut it small enough. Combined with a background fabric, ugly scrappy quilts can be beautiful. Bonnie Hunter has lots of free patterns available on her website, quiltville.com. Or strip sew some 4 or 9 patches and combine with a neutral block of same size, or a snowballed block. With scrappy quilts so popular right now, I'm sure you can find lots of examples online that would be fairly easy to make.

Exactly what I was thinking.
Unless the organizers of the events are sorting the turned in FQs to try to coordinate colours some?

I wouldn't fret about the pattern, until I saw the fabrics.
Don't waste the energy until you know what you have!

Who knows, once you see your four, it may strike you right away, what you want to do with it.
Or you may even say, no way I even want a throw out of those!

If not required to make a quilt .... 4 FQs easily make a lined tote!

When I make log cabin quilts I throw everything in the mix. When it's cut into a 1" finished strip, you don't see ugly, just color.

One woman's ugly trash is another woman's treasure! I'd wait to see the fabrics before deciding, and maybe add a couple of fabrics that tie together the "uglies"colors, then choose a pattern from a Fat Quarter Quilts book.

Wait till you get your fabrics before you even start thinking about it. What you plan on may change depending on them.

Share pictures of the fabrics when you get them. I will say, smaller is better when working with so called ugly fabric. Who knows, maybe you will love what you get.

Somebody send me four ugly fabrics! Haha, what fun it will be.

peace

Does it have to be a quilt that is made? I had what I thought was an ugly piece of fabric & I made a rope bowl from it. The bowl didn't look anything like the unfinished piece of fabric. I was very pleased with it. The bowl is made from cotton clothes line rope.

That's so cute, osewme!

​Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips might work.​

this was done from a swap with fabric sent to everyone participating. I won all the blocks. My granddtr now has it.

Nativetexan - that is beautiful! It definitely reminds me of a time when quilts were made with whatever fabric was to be had,rather than all the matching we do now! I love it!

Remember if fabric is still ugly it just isn't cut small enough.
I'm a fan of scrappy strip quilts. My only criteria is that the same fabric can't be next to each other.

We did something similar in our guild. See my previous post at http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...r-t283810.html

osewme, that's exactly what I was referring to! It's a perfect example - I agree that the original fabric is less than beautiful. But the bowl - gorgeous!

Sorry, I can't remember who did it, but one of the ladies on here makes log cabins by piecing squares instead of strips for half of the block and white for the other half. Really pretty and the squares are small enough that you don't see a lot of the fabric, just the contrast.

I had a couple of ideas you could try... Use Texture Magic with one or more of the fabrics - you could even piece them first. Then use it as part of a bag. Also, you could try layering all of the fabric pieces and doing the fabric chenille technique. I think those would both look nice with just about any fabric.

If you have enough of a piece, you could make a kaleidascope quilt.

That sounds like this tutorial: http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...k-t275789.html

One persons ugly is often something others like. Make a scrappy quilt. The mystery quilts on here are great for scrappy projects. Also remember you can use the back of the fabric also. We were given ugly fabric a few years ago to use. I won the challenge. The back was a weird green color. I made a wall hanging and it made great colors in my garden. At first a couple of people (joking) accused me of cheating and not using enough of the ugly fabric. I used the whole piece, some of both sides.

Sorry I don't have a suggestion but I am enjoying seeing the ones others are giving.

Nativetexan, l like that quilt.

Great idea, QuiltnLady1. I actually have that pattern. I could also cut the squares into 2" pieces so that they are smaller.

You all have great ideas. I am thinking about a scrappy rail fence quilt with the strips cut narrow, or a scrappy jelly roll race quilt. I need to make something quick as I work full time and quilt for customers.

Remember....I think it was Bonnie Hunter who said there's no such thing as ugly fabric -- you just haven't cut the pieces small enough....or something along that line. But my guild had a similar thing with just on fq, and that fabric was so bad I don't think I could have shredded it and made it ok! 🙊

And I would have thought that piece was beautiful! :)

I was in a regular FQ swap once and thought I had the ugliest fabric in the group. I was so disappointed. But once I cut the FQs up I was surprised at what I could do with them. I made a patch-work tote with HSQ in the mix. It wasn't for me, but the lady I gave it to just loved it.

So even if you your finished throw to your liking, you can always gift it. Good luck and have fun!

I put this challenge to myself a while back and used my ugliest fabrics (mostly from garage sale grab bags, so I never would have bought them myself) to make a strip quilt. It turned out gorgeous! Everyone who sees it says that the individual strips are indeed ugly, but seen as a whole it's a lovely quilt. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

ArtsyOne, was your strip quilt like the Jelly Roll Race?

I just b ought the 6 1/2" and the 4 1/2" Tumbler dies for my Accuquilt GO. I think I am going to use the 4 1/2" Tumbler die to make the quilt and put a bunch of other fabrics with it. It seems that I like every scrappy tumbler quilt that I see on Pinterest. And I will be able to cut the fabrics quickly.

if you do a small pineapple with a Creative grid template they are charming with scrappy fabric and look like you did a lot of work. I'm making one today with a friend that didn't want to take the class alone- when I looked at a utube video I was
pleasantly surprised!

Our quilt club did an ugly fabric game. Each brought 1 1/4 yds of ugly fabric. We first tore our piece of fabric in half, either lengthwise or crosswise; held on to one half and put the other half at our side; and then to music, passed the one piece of fabric until music stopped, continuing to tear in half, pass one half and put the other half in the pile beside us. We then again tore it in half and continued this until we had as small a piece of fabric as around 5x7. We each took one pile of fabric home and made a lap quilt to bring back to the next meeting and we took them to the local nursing homes. We did this again with fabric suitable for babies in NNICU and gave the quilts (no larger than 36" square) to the hospital for those babies. In either case, we used only the fabric we brought home and used a quilt pattern of our own choice. Amazing how they turned out. I used Trip Around the World for one and Disappearing 9 Patch for the other.

I have found that that piece of ugly (in your eyes)fabric in its whole but once it's cut up & added with others, it doesn't look so bad....

Google "ugly quilt challenge" and you'll find some really nice results.

Wonderful use of That fabric. No such thing as ugly fabric, just misused. Find the right place for it and Wow!

This is another great use for mis matched fabrics. Bring them all together with a unifying color.

I thought of Bonnie Hunter too! She uses lots of 'ugly' fabric in her quilts, but it's small pieces rather than big pieces. I love the idea of log cabins! I think I would lean towards blocks that are typically used in scrappy quilts like log cabins, split 9 -patches etc... where you can play with color and value rather than 'print'!

I've never thought of doing this. Thanks for the idea!

I have participated in these challenges many times and have really enjoyed and have been amazed by people's creativity to follow the rules. We have always been allowed to add which is certainly helpful. That really ugly fabric can be used for the backing, binding, small piece fussy cut and I have even used people used the back of the fabric to tone it down. Good Luck and enjoy!

There is no such thing as ugly fabric. I swap with a lot of people, and I have never kicked any fabric to the curb yet. This is my latest posted on the Board as: [h=2]A Shout Out about my Pixilated Quilt[/h]Every time I walk buy it, I have to stop and stare at a new square, and smile. The Grands check it out like it is an I Spy. Please post what you get and what you make....it is fun for all of us.