Some people call this crumb piecing. I have always called it mosaic quilting since I saw Shannon Williams on Simply Quilts about a thousand years ago. I like the term mosaic quilting. It sounds fancy and important. 😉 Crumb piecing sounds like something I have to wipe off my counter with a sponge (with apologies to Bonnie Hunter!)
I consider this to be making new fabric from scraps – some very tiny scraps in some cases. I am putting scraps together into a larger piece so that I can cut it up later using pattern pieces to make something new.
When I am working on a piece like this, I often use it as leaders and enders. I usually have several small pieces to which I add, then at some point I sew them together to make a larger piece. The piece above is getting to large to work on comfortably and I have not yet sewn it to the larger piece.
There are a lot of seams and these pieces get to be pretty heavy. I like them, though as I think they add interest and create a topic for conversation in a piece. Also, it is a technique you can use to draw people in closer to look at your quilt.
Once you have made your ‘fabric’, you can cut it up again into squares or other shapes and use them as patches for your quilt. You have to be aware of the seam allowances, because they can get quite thick. This technique is a good time to press your seams open.
I have several pieces of this new brown ‘fabric’ that I am making to use for a project that will be a gift for a friend. I will show you the project eventually, but for now you will have to be satisfied with the sneak peek above.
This is something I haven’t tried yet. It makes sense to stay in the same color family though I see this color family is browns. Hmm, it looks yummy and chocolatey delicious. Thanks for your idea to do this as a leader ender project.
Try it out. It is great for stuffed animals and for using up tiny scraps.
Try it out. It is fun to not worry about matching seams, etc.
I’m saving my smaller pieces to do this. I also plan on using the same color family when I piece. Thanks for the pressing your seams open tip.
Don’t save, just put the pieces through the machine!
That’s the technique I used in making the leaves and background for my spring postcard swap. It does get pretty heavy and lumpy, especially when using small pieces. But I loved being able to cut the leaf shapes out of such interesting made-fabric!
It does make projects interesting.