In Thursday’s post, I admitted that I had added a second scrap quilt to my project list. Apparently, one new scrap quilt wasn’t enough!
The two quilts will have very different looks. The Hunter’s Star will use bright scraps against a dark background….
…while the Celtic Knot will feature deeper, richer colors with a tan background….
By the way, I have NO idea where this fabric came from but there are 4-yards, and I will NOT look an unknown “gift-horse” in the mouth!!
Before I started cutting, I needed to answer one important question:
How long did each scrap need to be?
Calculating the Hunter’s Star Scraps
The Hunter’s Star quilt will have 80 blocks, with eight star sections in each block.
That means I need:
80 blocks × 8 sections = 640 star sections
Using the Bonnie Hunter Essential Triangle Tool, I can cut four star sections from each fabric. Dividing 640 by four told me that I would need approximately 160 different fabrics.
Each strip needs to be about 7–8 inches long to give me enough room to cut the four sections.
So, my Hunter’s Star cutting requirement is:
- Approximately 160 bright fabrics
- One 2½-inch-wide strip from each fabric
- Each strip approximately 7–8 inches long
Calculating the Celtic Knot Scraps
The Celtic Knot uses a different combination of pieces from each fabric. For each color, I need:
- One 6½-inch piece
- Two 2½-inch pieces
The exact total is 11½ inches. I rounded that up to 12 inches and then added another inch to allow for trimming, uneven scrap edges, and the occasional less-than-perfect cut.
That brought my final cutting length to:
13 inches from each fabric
The quilt will use approximately 100 different fabrics in the deeper, richer color palette.
Now I had two very specific measurements to keep in mind as I work through my scraps:
- Bright scraps: 7–8 inches long for the Hunter’s Star
- Deeper-colored scraps: 13 inches long for the Celtic Knot
Of course, this also means that I have officially turned “playing with scraps” into a math problem.
Fortunately, it is the fun kind of math!
At the end of my two cutting sessions, I had all of the strips cut and ready to go…..
The Hunter Star Brights…..
….and the Celtic Knot Deep colors…..
Note to self….that bright yellow may have to go!!
Do you calculate exactly what you need before sorting your scraps, or do you simply start cutting and hope for the best?
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“Let’s Get Scrappy is about how to decide, not about what to make.”
Let’s Get Scrappy is an on-demand online course that helps quilters overcome decision fatigue and finally make sense of their overflowing scrap bins. With four hours of step-by-step video instruction, you’ll learn simple systems for organizing, piecing, and pressing your scraps—so you can stop overthinking and start sewing beautiful, coordinated quilts with confidence and joy.
My scrap strips are all between 1.5″ and 2.5″ in width. I only make crumb blocks with them and do not cut them into any specific shapes or sizes. The only cutting I do when working with them is to trim the crumb blocks when they are ready to sew together. I would use fabrics from my regular stash to do your Hunter star and/or Celtic knot projects for the 2.5″ strips. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I just start cutting! Although I usually don’t have a lot of one thing in my scrap bins. So even a 12 inch strip would be hard to find. So when I do scrap quilts I go for patterns that can use a variety of fabrics in smaller pieces. My goto scrap quilts use either 2 1/2 inch squares or 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 bricks. I’m enjoying watching your process!