How To Make a Double Wedding Ring Quilt With Scraps

Hi, quilters! It's Eliane Bergmann from Patchwork & Poodles here with a scrap-busting project for you! 

 

 

 

 

 

A Quick & Easy Project for All Quilters

For a fun modern twist on a Double Wedding Ring quilt that also busts through your scrap bin, give this quilt a try! Using scraps for a Double Wedding Ring quilt allows you to use the speedier shape F for your quilt instead of the individual shapes D and E. Since a Double Wedding Ring quilt has quite a bit of background fabric, creating scrappy pieces don’t overwhelm the quilt, so your eye still has somewhere to “rest.”

 

This quilt is also a fun one to make because of the improvisational nature of creating the quilt pieces. I find improv to be relaxing. I love to put on an audiobook or a favorite movie and spend the afternoon piecing scrappy rectangles. Since AccuQuilt makes cutting a breeze, not only do you end up with a fun, scrappy quilt, but having accurately cut pieces is practically guaranteed.

 

 

 

 

 

Materials Needed

• GO! Double Wedding Ring-11 1/2" Finished (2-Die Set)
• Background fabric for shapes A, E, and half of shape B
• A coordinating fabric for the other half of shape B
• Assortment of scraps for shape F

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions

1. Pull out all of your scraps and sew them together until you have eight rectangles that are at least 4” wide by 10” tall. Don’t worry about completely straight edges. I like to use scraps that are a variety of widths and vary the directions I’m sewing them in. This leads to a more interesting quilt in the end. Use a smaller stitch length here as this will keep the pieces from unraveling too much when you sew the block together.

 

2. Press all the seams open to make it easier to run through your GO! Fabric Cutter. 

 

 

 

 

3. Run the scrappy pieces through your GO! Fabric Cutter, no more than two at a time, to cut shape F. I like to run my pieces through, then utilize any remaining scraps to create a new scrappy improv rectangle. It is the scraps that keep on giving!

 

 

 

 

4. Cut out all the remaining pieces for the quilt, using background fabric for shapes A and C as well as half of a background fabric and half of a different fabric for shape B. I used a solid teal color. You could go scrappy here too or use a variety of colors if you wished.

 

5. Lay out the block pieces, creating a look that you like. Since your pieces were improv-pieced, spend some time here making sure that you like the color and structure balance in your block. 

 

 

 

 

6. Sew the block together, using the Double Wedding Ring instructions provided with the die set.

 

7. Make more blocks until you have enough blocks for the size quilt you are making. Then, sew them all together and quilt! Alternatively, you could make just a few blocks and use them on a tote bag, as placemats, a table runner or throw pillow.

 

 

 

 

Here’s a mock-up of what a completed quilt would look like:

 

 

 

 

This technique would also be fun to do with a Pickle Dish quilt or an Orange Peel quilt! Adding a few scraps allows you to utilize the fabric you already have in a whole new way and adds great interest to a quilt.

 

 

Pro Tips for Scrappy Improv Quilts

Here’s some tips if you want to try this technique for a different kind of quilt:

• Stick to a color palette.
  • Scraps can get wild and overwhelming quickly, so sticking to a color palette or theme helps the quilt look more cohesive.
• Only make one element scrappy.
  • This allows your eye some resting space in the solid fabrics surrounding the scrappy blocks.
• Vary your scrap sizes.
  • This is more of a personal preference, but I find that varying the pieces of my scraps leads to a quilt with more interest. You have bigger scraps and smaller ones, and your quilt will look visually more interesting and less homogenous.
• Share pictures of your finished scrappy improv quilts!
  • Use the hashtag #AccuQuiltBuilt and tag @patchworkandpoodles and @AccuQuilt, so we can see your fun creation!