quilting

Trimmings Tutorial

A few of you mentioned my little pile of trimmings left from my Postcard from Sweden quilt. Today I’d like to show you a little trimmings tutorial, a fun project with those colorful trimmings you might not be able to toss.

This little tutorial is not an original; there are several similar examples online. This is just the way I do it, so I thought it would be fun to share with you.

What You Need

Trimmings Tutorial - Items Needed - piecefulthoughts.com

You’ll need the following items for this project:

  • Trimmings
  • Scrap of Fabric
  • Water Soluble Stabilizer (I use Solvy by Sulky) *no affiliate
  • Scissors (I use my non-fabric scissors)
Let’s Get Started

Take your scrap fabric and cut a piece large enough to hold a pile of your trimmings. Mine was about 5″ x 6″ or so, but there is no correct size.  You just want enough of a base for the pile of trimmings.

Place the trimmings on the scrap fabric. Cover the scrap fabric so that you can’t see the fabric through the trimmings. You don’t want the trimmings too thin or too thick. They will squish down as you sew.

Trimmings Tutorial - trimmings piled on base fabric - piecefulthoughts.com

It’s okay if the trimmings hang over the side of the base fabric a little; you just want most of the trimmings on the fabric.

Next, cut a piece of stabilizer about an inch or so larger than the trimmings/base fabric. Be sure it covers all of the trimmings.

Trimmings Tutorial - trimmings pile covered by stabilizer - piecefulthoughts.com

Choose a thread color that will blend with the trimmings. I used lime green (because it was already in my sewing machine).

Time to Sew

Now carefully lift the whole thing and take it to your sewing machine. Place it under the foot to begin sewing. Note that I have my walking foot on my machine. You don’t need to use a walking foot, but it might go through the fabric easier. I began by sewing across the width and then across the length, just to anchor it a bit.

Trimmings Tutorial - sewing it together - piecefulthoughts.com

Begin sewing back and forth across the trimmings. Use free motion quilting, sew straight lines, wavy lines — whatever you wish. Just want to make sure you have sewn through it well. There shouldn’t be any big gaps where the trimmings could come loose.

Trimmings Tutorial - sewing through the trimmings - piecefulthoughts.com

I chose to sew simple wavy lines.

Trimmings Tutorial - stitching done - piecefulthoughts.com

Trim the extra stabilizer around the edges. Don’t cut those straggly trimmings. You want them there!

Trimmings Tutorial - Trim Off the Stabilizer - piecefulthoughts.com
See the little label on my scissors? Phyllis was my mom, and they were her scissors. I keep the label on because it makes me think of her.
Rinse Cycle

Okay, now comes the fun part. You’ll need a bowl of water at room temperature, a hand towel, and your trimmings block.

Trimmings Tutorial - supplies for the washing - piecefulthoughts.com

Dip the trimmings block into the water and gently swish it around until you feel all the stabilizer wash away. It only takes a couple of seconds. The stabilizer is a little gooey, so you’ll want to be sure you have it all rinsed out.

Trimmings Tutorial - washing out the stabilizer - piecefulthoughts.com

Unfold the towel, and lay the wet trimmings block face down on it. Roll the towel and trimmings block up tightly and squeeze to soak up some of the water from the trimmings block.

Trimmings Tutorial - Lay the trimmings face down on the towel - piecefulthoughts.com

Your trimmings block is ready to dry. You can press it with an iron, while face down on the towel, to continue to get some of the water out, but it’s easiest to just hang it and let it dry. Here’s the view from the back:

Trimmings Tutorial - a view from the back - piecefulthoughts.com

And here’s the front:

Trimmings Tutorial - the finished trimmings block - piecefulthoughts.com

Isn’t that a pretty little shaggy block?

There are all kinds of possibilities for this little piece of fun. Pieces could be cut off and used to make cute little cards. You could stitch this onto a bag or maybe a jean jacket. You could frame it for fun wall decor. Maybe a fun pin to wear?

I may paint this square of canvas and mount the trimmings on it. I think I’d like to see this happy little mess on the wall of my quilt room!

Trimmings Tutorial - the final project - piecefulthoughts.com

What about you? Have you ever tried making something like this? If you have, what did you use it for?

Linking up today with Beth at Cooking Up Quilts and Beth at Love Laugh Quilt.

Wendy

 

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