Ultra Easy Scrap Quilt Tutorial

Don’t know what to do with those extra scraps of fabric? Why not use them to make this Ultra Easy Scrap Quilt?

What You’ll Need

• 25 squares of fabric, each 8 ½” X 8 ½”
• Thread
• 1 piece of 45”X45” batting
• 1 piece of 42” X 42” quilting fabric for the backing
• An iron
• Quilting pins
• A sewing machine

Preparing Your Squares

The first step to making this easy scrap quilt is cutting your scraps into squares that are the proper size.

For your first scrap quilt, I suggest using 8 ½” squares. For a 40” X 40” quilt, you will only need 25 squares. The quilt will have 5 squares going across and 5 squares going down.

If you use 5 ½” squares, you’ll need 64 squares (8 squares across and 8 squares down).

If you use 4 ½” squares, you’ll need 100 squares in all (10 squares across and 10 squares down).

Lay Out Your Squares

Arrange your squares on a flat surface. You should have 5 rows of square, and each row should have 5 squares.

The beauty of this scrap quilt is that you don’t have to worry about the pattern. If every one of your 25 squares is a different fabric, that’s perfectly fine. Such “patchwork” quilts have an old world charm that’s hard to resist.

However, you can certainly try arranging your squares into some kind of a pattern. Just start sliding the squares around until you hit on an arrangement that you find visually appealing.

Making Your First Row

1. Take the first square from the first vertical row and lay it on a table, right side up.
2. Take the square that was beneath the first square in that row and turn it right side down.Place it on top of the first square. Pin the squares together.
3. Sew the squares together, using a ¼” seam allowance.
4. Lay out your pieced squares so they are right side up.
5. Take the third square from the row and turn it right side down. Lay it on top of the second square, and pin the fabric together.
6. Sew the fabric together, using a ¼” seam allowance.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with the fourth and fifth squares.

Repeat the above process with the other four vertical rows.

Sewing the Rows Together

1. Lay the first pieced row right side up.
2. Take the second pieced row and turn it right side down. Lay it on top of the first row.
3. Pin the sides of the fabric together.
4. Sew the rows together on one side, leaving a ¼” seam allowance.
5. Lay out the pieced rows so they are right side up.
6. Take the third pieced row and turn it right side down. Lay it on top of the second row.
7. Pin the sides of the fabric together.
8. Sew the rows together on one side, leaving a ¼” seam allowance.

Just repeat this whole process with the fourth and fifth pieced rows. When you’re done, your quilt top will be finished.

Press the Seams Open

Turn your quilt top right side down. Using your iron, press the seams open, so that the fabric is lying flat to either side of the seams.

Trimming

Right now, your quilt top is 40 ½” X 40 ½”. To make it 40” X 40”, trim ¼” from all four sides. This will also ensure your quilt is squared up on all four sides.

Putting It All Together

1. Trim the backing fabric so that it’s 42” X 42”. Lay it on a flat surface, right side down.
2. Trim the batting so that it’s 40” X 40”. Lay the batting on top of the backing fabric. Try to center the batting so that about an inch of the backing fabric is showing on all four sides.
3. Turn your quilt top right side up, and lay it on top of the batting.
4. Pin the three pieces together. Place pins around the four sides, and also along the seams. Use as many pins as you need to; you don’t want any of the pieces moving while you sew.
5. Starting at the bottom of the quilt top, quilt a straight line about ¼” to the left of the first seam. Do not go past the top of the quilt top. Quilt another straight line about ¼” to the right of the seam.
6. Repeat step 5 on all of the seams, both vertical and horizontal.
7. Remove the pins.

The Binding

1. At the top of the quilt, fold the backing fabric in half, so that it lines up with the top of the quilt top and batting. Press the fold flat with the iron.
2. Fold the backing over the top of the quilt and pin it in place.
3. Sew the binding down, getting as close to the edge as possible.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 on the other three sides.

This Ultra Easy Scrap Quilt is the perfect way to use up leftover fabric scraps. And you’ll love snuggling under it while watching TV on chilly winter nights.