Fabric Colors for the Machine Quilting Block Party

Our Machine Quilting Block Party has kicked off to an amazing start! Over 700 quilters have joined the party and a few have already jumped into piecing the first block. Click Here to pick up Block #1 to get started!

Today I have an extra tip video for you on how to select colors and prepare your fabric for cutting and piecing:

Yes, you can use scraps or yardage with the Machine Quilting Block Party. Here’s some extra fabric buying tips depending on what you choose:

Cutting Blocks from Yardage

I’ve provided a calculation here for the total yardage for the entire quilt so you can buy all the fabric you need at once if you like:

Fabric A (red) – 1 yard
Fabric B (Orange) – 1 yard
Fabric C (Yellow) – 1 yard
Fabric D (Cream) – 3 1/2 yards
12 – 18-inch squares of batting
3 yards of backing fabric

The background fabric D is calculated to cut the background color, border fabric, connecting binding, and outer binding of the quilt.

When working with yardage, you can cut the amounts down into smaller pieces to make them more manageable. For example, I would cut the 3 1/2 yards of background fabric down into 1 yard amounts to make it much easier to wash and press.

When cutting pieces, cut an entire width of fabric strip the width you need (example: 3 1/2 inch strip) then cut the strip down into the pieces you need (example: 4 – 3 1/2 inch squares).

Place the remainder strip in a bin with a sticky note indicating the width so if a future block uses a similar size you can easily cut more pieces from that strip.

Cutting Blocks from Scraps

You can also cut each block individually from scraps. For the most part, I will call for 1/4 yard of fabric for each color because that is the minimum sized cut that quilt stores can cut. You will likely be able to cut each block from less fabric.

I would advise purchasing 3 1/2 yards of background fabric simply because it will provide a cohesive background for each block so they all coordinate together nicely. Even if all the fabrics you use for Fabrics A, B, and C are different, using the same background fabric throughout will tie all the blocks together perfectly.

So what colors are you planning to use? Many quilters have already jumped in and are posting beautiful pictures of their fabrics on the Block Party Facebook Group. Click Here to join and share your fabrics today!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day