Here is my version of crazy quilting.

This is a great way to use up scraps or leftovers from other projects.

first gather up lots of differant colors of scraps. I don't like to repeat any color but that is up to you.

Place two scraps face to face and sew together. You can sew along a straight edge or you can angle the seam across the fabrics. The more angles you use the more interesting your finished piece.

Open and iron the seam open. You can iron to the side but if you open the seams you will have less bulk.
Trim the fabric 1/4" from the seam.

When you audition a new piece to add lay it face down on your joined swatches and fold it back so you can make sure it fits and will be where you want it to be. This takes a little practice to see where things will go before you add them. Make sure the added swatch is face down not face up.

The nice thing about this method is I rarely rip a seam. If I did something that was wrong or didn't suit me I just cut off the seam and start over.

OK now add a third swatch to the first two. Iron the seam open and iron the front so everything lays flat. Makes it easier to add more swatches.

Sorry forgot to change the BMP files to JPEG

Ok now open and iron the seam.
Now you can decide if you want to add another swatch or if you want to set this one aside and start another section.

Here I added one more piece to the first section.
Then I made another section.
I added the second section to the long strip I had added to the first section.

When you are working with a haphazard method like this you have to beware of holes that can be created when you join new pieces to the existing piece.

In the first pic (if they load right) is the layout for missing the hole.
In the second one you can see the head of the red pin is in the hole

In the last pic you can see the back side and how the hole looks.

When you lay a swatch across you need to pay attention to where the fabric swatches end. Those can create the holes if you sew a piece across without making sure your swatch is on solid ground! (so to speak)

ok now on to long pieces

I like to add the strips and then when I add the second strip I lay it and angle it so it comes to a point. I like these points I think they add a lot of interest. Here I did two a pink one and a blue one.

Then I wanted to show a technique I used to use in my hotpads. You can cut the fabric/ add a strip/ and then sew the cut off portion back on again. I think it is a cool effect.

Last two pics of this technique.

I don't use pins in the confusion but I do use them here to keep the added on part in place so it lines back up with where it was cut off.

If you do strip work where you sew strips together and cut them to make things like rail fence or spider web etc you can use the cut off sections as long as they are at least 1 1/2" wide and add them to your confusion work. I use strip work for borders on my hotpads and I keep the cut off parts and use them to do confusion with.


In effect you are making your own fabric. You can keep adding more sections and more strips until you have a piece as large as you want it to be. You could in effect make a whole quilt top this way if you chose. Just keep adding til it is big enough. When you get a piece made that is as large as you want it to be just use a template and cut out the square or triangle or whatever shape you like.

You can use this and cut out appliques for a dog body or cat body / Bells with Christmas fabrics / or what ever you choose to do with it.

Just look at it as any other fabric you have bought and use it accordingly

Here are some of the things I have made with this method

More

More

Thank you for doing that so promptly. I'm thinking pillows for my MOm in law!! : :-D

Okay now to recap here are the steps!

No foundation. Just stick the fabric under the needle and sew.

1. join 3-6 pieces per section
2. join sections together
3. Add long pieces between sections whereever
or on the sides of sections
4. Always angle seams rather than straight seams
for more interest
5. Watch out for holes in construction
6. Sew then trim for faster and easier process
7. When you have an idea of where you are going to cut
and there isn't enough fabric for a corner
Just add a piece across that part to fill in
8. Lay a template on your confusion fabric you have created
Move it around until you have found the look you like.
9. Don't lay the template so a seam lays on the edge of where
you will be cutting. That might make the seam fray apart
10 I try to avoid any square shapes in my preview. Angles are
so much more interesting.

You're welcome! I decided if I wait until I have everything done that I am on deadline for it would never get done! So I just took time to do it. I had most of the pictures already so it didn't take long to put together. It is very much the same as the crumb method but I think I just take it a bit farther.

I hope you post pics of what you make with it!!! Happy sewing! This is a feel good thing to do because you really don't have to any thinking just grab scraps and throw them under the needle and sew! Even crooked seams don't really matter unless they are really really crooked. But you will see in some of my examples that I have curved lines. They weren't planned!! They just happened when I got in a hurry and didn't seam it straight enough.

When you start if it is hard to sew a straight seam you can trim first and then sew. I sew first then trim. Either way works. If you need a seam guide cutting first is a good idea.

Thanks Rhonda...I think I did some this way and actually called it Crumb blocks...I would sew, then cut some off and then sew it back on again in another place if I got a section that I didn't like. Great Tute!

Thanks Rhonda That looks like a fun way to use scraps!!

Thanks Rhonda, you give me confidence to try it. So many cute blocks and I like calling it confusion. There are so many things I want to try, and this would be a good place to start.

Hope you enjoy the process!! I taught a 9 yr old and she used her piece to make a pillow. She entered it in the State Fair and got a gold ribbon! The judges were impressed with her pillow!

And my 10 yr old DGS Joey used this in his Doll Quilt for the kid's DQ Swap.

Thanks Rhonda for taking the time to explain this technique. I've added it to my list (#134 I think). This will be a good way to use up a lot of long strips I have left from trimming batting and extra fabric before binding a finished project. Thanks again.

Thanks Rhonda - I love that added in strip effect - will definitely use that in the next batch I make! :-D

WOW! Thanks Rhonda

The first time I did that I used a green for the long strip and it looked like a leaf(mother-in-law's tongue leaf or a corn leaf or something) that had stretched across in front of the strips. I loved the effect. I had a pic of that hotpad but that was before I got my comp and digital camera so I don't know where it went. I kept all those pics in an album but it isn't there. I love the look that the strips are actually unbroken and the long strip just lays over them. An optical illusion which is one of my fascinations.

Thanks Bev and Jan. I'm glad you like it. It is a really easy way to use up scraps.

Thanks Loretta!

After seeing this tute and glancing over at my scrap bin with the smaller pieces, I think this would be a fun way to use them up :D:D:D

Thanks.

Just make sure you show us your picturs Amma!! I got the idea for this from a quilt shown on Simply Quilts. She made blocks that were like crumb but each one had the exact same placement. Something like building a log cabin. Then she took all the scraps and sewed them together into a border. I thought what if you sewed them into squares haphazard and so I started to play.
So I have pondered using the confusion for a border but really haven't done it yet.

Thaks a bunch!! I can't wait to get confused. My angelina is 7yrs. and I think I will confuse her ili fingers TODAY.
She is planing to make a quilt for her teddy. This is verry good.

I hope you post pictures!!! Please??? Pretty please?? We love to see and especially when it is a young quilter!!

I am working on the quilt!!!!!!!!! My bears name is Valentine.

That is a good idea!!! :thumbup: :D

Thanks for your clear explanation of Confusion! I'm going to try it!

This sounds like a great way to make use of some of my scraps. Thank you for doing the tutorial! I'm going to have to try making something with it.

Post pictures if you can!! We love to see pictures of what you make!

Hey, I'm confused most of the time!!LOL

Then we ought to see some awesome pics of confusion right?? LOL

hey sandpat your pic is really cute, did you take it? Bot that my cats would stand for that for a second, if I tried

HI RHONDA I'M BACK GOT THIS FROM YOUR PM BOY WHAT A JOY JUST SEW STRIPS TOGETHER & THEN MAKE SOMETHING. BUT FIRST GOING TO TRY YOUR BITS & PIECES AS A BEGINNER HOPE TO BE A QUILTER SOMEDAY NOT AS GOOD AS YOU BUT MAYBE PASSABLE. I HOPE

I have been quilting since 1980 so I have done my share of messing up and still do mess up all the time!!

Thanks for the tutorial. This is a great one. I am a big fan of no measuring-no matching-no prior planning method of quilting. Count me in as a member of the Confusion Approach!

I noticed that you ironed your seams open. I was taught that you are to sew them to the side that is darker of the two. Which one is better? Also, don't you have any problems with any of your batting coming through your seams?

If you watch and catch any seams that are not tight you don't have any problem with batting. I iron mine open as when you are doing small stuff I don't like that raised feeling you get when you iron to one side. It shows up in minis and affects the way it looks. Makes it look bumpy. I don't get every seam to stay open but if you spray each seam they will stay open. I don't bother but I do reiron them open as I work from time to time. Sometimes they will not stay open and I just ignore what I can't get to lay flat. When the seams are flat then the whole top is more a cohesive whole. It all looks like one piece of cloth.

You can iron to the dark if you choose it just isn't for me. I like the look of the finished project when I iron them open. It does take a bit more doing but it is worth it I think. When you do miniatures the things that would fade into the shadows in a big quilt stand out like a sore thumb in the mini version.