Do you love quilts but the thought of using a sewing machine to make one scares you? Do you have lots of scrap fabrics lying around that you need to put to use? Well, have I got a project for you! How about making a scrap fabric Mod Podge quilt?
My daughter Julia made the wall art quilt pictured above for 4-H this year and it received a blue ribbon. I thought maybe more than just our county fairgoers would like to see this project, so I am sharing it with you.
Supplies Needed
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- Scrap Fabrics
- Rotary Cutter
- Rotary Cutting Mat
- Ruler
- Stretched Artist’s Canvas
- Mod Podge
- Foam Brush
- Pencil
A good friend of mine sent me a package of crafty goodness this spring and in it there were several scraps of fabric.
I hadn’t decided what to do with them when the time to come up with a craft for Julia’s 4-H project rolled around.
When we decided on the quilt idea I pulled out the red fabric scraps and realized there would be just enough for this project.
We purchased an 11″ x 14″ canvas, but really any size of canvas would work. You will just need fewer or more fabric scraps based on the size you choose.
Now, let’s get started.
Instructions
1. Choose several different scrap fabrics. You can use fabrics from the same color family, or you can mix it up and use all sorts of different colors. At this time you will also want to choose a pattern.
My daughter chose to do a pinwheel design after I showed her many different types of quilt patterns. This tutorial will show you how to use that design.
2. Iron your fabric scraps to make them easier to cut and to be able to measure more accurately. If you are like us, your scraps are shoved into a box and are pretty wrinkly.
3. To make the pinwheel pattern cut 2 inch squares from your fabric scraps. I highly recommend using a rotary cutter and mat, but you can use scissors if you prefer. However, a rotary cutter will make the job easier and more accurate.
4. Next, cut each square in half diagonally to form a triangle.
5. Finally, cut each triangle in half again diagonally.
For this project my daughter used approximately 120 triangles.
6. Now, take the triangles and lay out the pattern on your cutting mat to help you know how big it should be based on the size of your canvas.
Each pinwheel should consist of 2 different fabrics and 8 total triangles. The easiest way to lay out the design is one pinwheel at a time.
One way to design each pinwheel is to put two triangles together to form a square and set them in the top left corner. Do the same thing again only turn the square 90 degrees and place them to the right of the first set of triangles. Repeat the process two more times to complete the pinwheel.
7. To begin the process of mod podging the triangles to the canvas you will need to find the exact center of the canvas. I recommend making lines, very lightly, with a pencil and a ruler in the center of the canvas both vertically and horizontally.
It might be hard to tell in the picture below, but there are intersecting lines on the canvas with a dot right in the middle.
8. Spread a thin layer of Mod Podge on the canvas with a foam brush before placing the triangles on the canvas. Only put a little Mod Podge down at a time or else it will dry out before you can cover the area. Start in the center and work your way out.
9. Next, place the middle triangles first and work your way out.
You will actually be using fabrics from two different pinwheels to do this. Doing it this way at first will ensure that everything is even.
This is why I encourage you follow step 6 and lay out the whole design first.
9. Once you have the first two pinwheels done in the center, work around those completing one pinwheel at a time to avoid any confusion.
10. When you have all of the triangles in place you may want to add a triangle border all the way around if the pinwheels don’t go all the way to the edge. This will all depend on the size of canvas you chose and the size of your triangles.
11. Allow the canvas to dry completely, preferably overnight, before proceeding.
The reason to wait until the canvas is completely dry before adding the layer of Mod Podge is that the triangles might move, and the surface won’t end up being smooth.
12. Use a foam brush to spread a layer of Mod Podge over the entire canvas.
13. Allow the canvas to dry again before adding a second layer of Mod Podge.
After the second coat of Mod Podge your “quilt” will be ready to hang up.
While my daughter chose a pinwheel quilt design you could choose any design or even just put squares or rectangles of fabric next to each other on the canvas. This project would lend itself to so many ideas that would make each canvas different.
No fabric scraps? No problem. Simply use paper instead.
The possibilities are endless!
