How much "scrappy" makes you happy?
Do you like every color and type of fabric thrown together in a glorious explosion of colour or are you happier with what some us like to call a "controlled" scrappy look?
While I appreciate the glorious scrappy explosions, as a maker I find this kind of project makes me anxious. There are just too many possibilities and I overthink the choice and placement of every disparate scrap. I need to reduce the chaos.
If you also need some way to narrow your choices, consider one or more of the following strategies.
1. Pair your scraps with constrasting background or sashing.
This gives the eye somewhere to rest and helps the scrappy bits stand out. Keep scrolling to see multiple examples of this. Also, keep in mind that though most of mine use a light background, you don't have to. Just focus on contract beteween your scraps and your background or sashing.
2. Choose scraps from just one colour family.
While you might think a single color would lack variety and make a bland quilt, selecting a range of values adds visual interest, as does using a variety of print designs and scales.
3. Repeat a single fabric for a particular element across the whole quilt.
In this scrappy version of
Shining Lace, I used a single fabric for the tips in the starburst and the floating squares on point. Just one constant element across the quilt can help anchor the design.
In the pattern as written for yardage, there was a definite distribution of fabrics in the starbursts, but in the scrappy version I chose to let different values and prints fall randomly. The one repeated element returned some order to the design.
4. Choose scraps mostly from one colour group but add a small pop of a different color.
Scrap Garden was meant to free up space in my bin of green scraps. Adding just a touch of warmer colors (red, orange, yellow) in the cornerstones livened up the whole quilt.
4. Choose scraps from just a few color familes that play well together.
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| Trimmed scraps for Starlit Picnic |
I originally planned to use ALL the colours for Starlit Picnic, but once I had them out of the bins I found the variety overwhelming. Narrowing them down to just three colour familes seemed more manageable. I picked three because things tend to look good in odd numbers. One was too few, five were too many, and three fell into the perfect middle.
Hmm. I guess I should count that white accent fabric too. In my mind I considered the white a neutral and not part of my scrappy selection. In addition to illustrating the limited color scrappy palette, this quilt is a second example of using a single fabric for a specific element in an otherwise scrappy quilt.
5. Choose different colors for individual blocks.
Grouping scraps of each color into larger elements lets you use multiple colours while still imposing some order on the design.
This one is still in progress. It stalled out, partially quilted, when I fell out of love with the setting and borders, but I still love the scrappy blocks. Each block uses many scraps in a single color. These blocks will be rescued and repurposed into a different quilt!
6. Pair super scrappy color explosions with a regimented setting.
Careful, orderly sashing is an effective counterpoint to the busy, colourful and radomly pieced hundred-patch blocks in Quilter's Scrapbook. In this quilt I chose a fancy pieced sashing, but plain, tidy sashing would be equally effective.
7. Embrace a scrappy backgound.
You don't need to limit yourself to yardage for the contrasting background. You can see the background in my scrappy Shining Lace is made up of assorted white tone-on-tone prints. The variety of prints adds subtle interest to this background.
Using a variety of values and prints in a scrappy background adds an extra design element. I love the way the grey scraps in the quilt below add interest to the background of this quilt while still letting the sunflower block pop.
I'm thinking about writing a few words about how to tackle a pattern written for yardage when you'd like to use scraps instead. Let me know if you would find this useful.
In the meantime, I'd love to know how much scrappy makes you happy. Drop your thoughts in the comments!
Happy quilting,
Joanne
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