Binding strip quilt

Is your leftover binding strip bin overflowing??

Mine was!!

And because I cut 21 strips of black batik WRONG for the women of the bible quilt, I had to do something!

I hadn’t done a scrappy string quilt in a long time and I figured that the black strips would be great for that and then I thought of my binding strips too!

I got out my 6 1/2” square die from the Accuquilt 12” QUBE set and a bunch of muslin

my first plan was to cut out 80 squares, because I’d need about 9” at a diagonal of a 6 1/2” square, and each of the black strips could give me 4 each so that’s 84, so one strip leftover. so I cut out 80 squares in muslin and cut the black strips in quarters

Then I emptied out the binding strip bin and sorted by color!

I would then take one binding strips and cut it 9” or so with my scissors, then because they are already ironed in half, I cut down the fold (not really caring too much if it was perfect)

Then I laid down the black strip diagonally and sewed a binding strip (now approx 1 1/4” x 9”) to the muslin.

I decided to keep each HALF of the blocks the same color

Swiffer LOVED the piles of fabric

Here I have a lot of the blocks done, as you can see some have a lot of variety, some don’t.

I only did maybe 10 blocks at a time in the beginning, then more later as I judged how much I had left of a certain color

I also used this time to use leftover random spools and bobbins, you know the bobbins that don’t have a partner in the same color or the spools that are almost out!

On my 6 1/2” die I marked diagonal lines from corner to corner outside the 6 1/2” square on both diagonals

Then I’d lay the square upside down on the die and eyeball that it was square, I could have taken more care in making sure the black was perfect, but it’s a scrappy quilt so I didn’t care too much.

Then I cut it out!

Because I have the Go BIG I laid two blocks on the die at a time, maybe the regular GO can handle two as well, I don’t know, I was counting the block as 3-4 layers (a seam folded over, plus the front fabric and muslin)

fun looking blocks!

as I moved along with the blocks, I saw that there was no way I’d finish 80 blocks! but I calculated 48 blocks so I could do a 6×8 layout

Here’s 48 blocks on the wall!

Then carefully pinned in order

I used a walking foot when sewing them together and ironed the seams open

What fun blocks!

Here they are sewn together!

Then I added a grey dotted border, looks very pale on this picture, but it looks good in real life.

I then used some of the scraps to make a scrappy binding OF COURSE!

And this is what’s left in the jar, more than I thought, but some are not ironed in half or some are the same long strip in the same color with nothing to match so I couldn’t use anymore of that…

So not too bad!?

A mistake turned into a cool fun top with added “free” fabrics I already had.