Stripping is Hot - Strip Quilts
Strip quilts are the easiest, fastest way to create a pieced quilt. Cutting and sewing just involves straight lines.
Strip quilting is a technique where you take strips of cut fabric and sewing them together; then cutting these into sections to create the quilt blocks.
Even beginning quilters can end up with impressive results with these easy quilts. If you can cut and sew a straight line, you're on your way to creating a beauty.
The basics for stripping involve a little math. For example, if you are using three strips of fabric and want to make a 9" square block (the Rail Fence block), use strips you've cut 3 1/2" wide. Sew the strips together with a 1/4" seam allowance to make a long panel, and slice into blocks every 9 1/2".
You may also choose to make strips that vary: for a 9" square block, use 1 1/2", 4 1/2", 1 1/2", and 3 1/2" strips. Sew and slice as above.
Once you've made the panels using strips, you aren't stuck with cutting them into blocks. You may cut the panel using triangle templates, sewing 4 together to create the block.
Or you can cut them into strips of diamonds and create an incredibly easy Lone Star block. Sew the strips of diamonds together to make an entire quilt top. These strips of diamonds can also be used as a quick-pieced border around your quilt.
You can also make bargello or watercolour quilts with the strip sets, cutting the strips into smaller segments rather than blocks.
There are so many ways to use the strip sets and each idea creates a quick quilt top. Stripping is my absolute favourite way to sew a top because it's so much faster and piecing is much more precise. Think about how many different ways you can use your strip sets; then think about what you'll do with the free time you'll have after making much quicker quilts.
