Friday, December 11, 2015

Layercake Leftovers Baby Quilt Tutorial

Whenever I use a layercake, I always seem to have a few leftover squares.  I hate to toss them in the scrap bin because they are such an expensive cut of fabric so I usually lay them on the end of the ironing board and ignoret them.  

During my last clear out, I decided to do something with them and get them out of the way!




I started with ten Daysail squares.  First, I decided on a general layout I liked using nine of the squares.


Next, I sliced the squares 2.5" and then 5" from the bottom.



 I cut a 2.5" square from a solid fabric and inserted it into the center strip 2.5" from the edge.



I then sewed it all back up together using a scant quarter inch and squared up the block. as large as I could.  I think mine measured 9".



 You end up with this cute little block.  I made four of these blocks using all of the blue print squares.

The rest of my squares were striped fabrics.  I could have made the same block but the stripes not matching would have drove me crazy so I had to come up with another plan for these.



 I simply cut along one of the stripes and put in a strip of a solid fabric.



 Once again, I just had to sew the pieces back up and square up the block to the same size as the blue blocks above.


 The next step was to add some Kona Ash sashing.  You can rotate the blocks into whatever configuration you like.



Then to add a bit more detail and make the quilt a bit larger, I added another Kona Navy and Ash border. This quilt took no time at all to make!




I quilted it with some simple swirls in a light gray thread. 



A fun navy print for the backing and more Navy for the binding really gave the quilt a finished look. 



 I love how it turned out!




I used the same method to make a quilt from seven Airmail squares I had.  I did have to dig in my stash and find one coordinating fabric for two of the squares.   I think I used Kona Coal for the sashing this time.



 I chose to not use the square insert on any of these fabrics as most were somewhat directional.  Once again, I went with my favorite swirl quilting.


 ...and found some real fun prints for the backing!

Now I have two sweet little quilts just waiting for a special someone and a bit more room on my ironing board!  

Do you have a favorite use for those leftover layercake squares?


Linking Up:

Crazy Mom Quilts
A Quilted Passion


23 comments:

Sandra Walker said...

Amazing. Who'd-a-thunk-it?! Love your squirrels, er, ideas and might have to try this for a quick quilt. :-) Thanks for sharing.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Too cute!!!

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

Great idea. It looks awesome.

DeeDee said...

What a really cute idea! Thanks for sharing.

Gina said...

Great idea. I've a few squares left over from a layer cake that are at the bottom of my scrap box. I think I might drag them out and have a play

Libby in TN said...

Girl, I can use this idea! There always seems to be one or two layer cake squares that just don't play well with the rest in whatever design you're working on at the time. Thanks for sharing!

M-R Charbonneau said...

I just love what you did with the leftover layer cake squares, Cynthia -- a great way to pull them all together! Great job!

Vicki in MN said...

You just amze me with your creativity! I have to pin this for later on. Thank you for sharing, and they look fantastic!

Sue SA said...

Great idea and easy! I usually try and make mine into table runners and it gets too complicated, like your idea better, thanks for sharing.

tisha @ quiltytherapy said...

Great idea! The colors on the Daysail quilt are lovely. Such a quick baby quilt idea.

Ivani said...

Simple and so pretty. Thanks for sharing Cynthia, it is a great pattern for a baby quilt.

Joanie's Trendy Quilts said...

Great looking quilts using simple designs. Love the colors in the top quilt!

Izzy said...

What a great idea! I love this. :-)

Anonymous said...

Great idea! These are great baby quilts. I need to remember this.

Barb Neiwert said...

I love your creative brain! If my left-overs sat on my ironing board, I soon would be unable to see the darn thing! Neat baby quilts.

Kathleen said...

You are so clever!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

You always have such great ideas for quick quilts! I love these!

Rochelle aka Bella Quilts said...

Thank you for such an inspirational tutorial. You make it look so easy, especially since you took all the designing angst out of the process.

julie said...

I checked and think my email shows.... let me know what you think! Thanks, j

Zenia Rene said...

These look like something I can do rather quickly! I'm totally going to use this technique Cynthia as I've got a ton of layer cakes. Thank you!

Cheryl said...

What a fun and quick way to use up extra layer cake squares, thanks for posting these finishes and tutorial.

wish2stitch said...

You've made some lovely quilts with your leftovers. Very nice.

Jasmine said...

Such a great use for leftovers. I appreciate you sharing your ideas.

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