Tutorial Notes for my Dumpster Diving Quilts

To begin at the beginning,

CLICK HERE to read Tonya's original 2011 tutorial

from the international legos craze inspired by 

her quilt named Ellis Island.

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Now CLICK HERE and scroll down 

to see photos of my four previous Dumpster Diving quilts.

(embedded links take you to each quilt's reveal post)

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Back in the present moment . . .

Last year I started gathering strips of greens 

and purples and grays,

not knowing exactly how I would use them.

When I agreed to teach a Dumpster Diving workshop

for Scrap Club hosted by Kevin the Quilter,

I knew I could use those saved strips and strings

to make my next Dumpster Diving quilt

as a work-in-progress to share with the class.

(that class unfortunately had to be cancelled

because I was too sick to travel)

The purples and turquoise bits were 

cut to uniform 1.5" widths

then chopped into varying lengths

of 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", and 3.5".

The grays were handled the same way.

As were the greens.

(Those longer strips in the foreground

were cut from backing leftovers -

they'll be used in Dumpster Diving 7-Copacetic)

Limited only by the number of pins I had to work with,

I created pairs of grays, pairs of greens, and pairs of purples.

These were chain stitched one after the other

until all of my pins were available to be used again.

The newly stitched pairs were then pinned into new pairs

and chain stitched into sets of 4 segments.

(Hint:  crank up your favorite music -

it makes these power sewing sessions more fun)

Once the sets of four segments are sewn,

pinning the groups together is no longer needed.

Just pair two together, stitch,

then bend the free end around to the front

so you can place the next short strip in position

and continue sewing the short 4-strip segments

into one very, very long strip.

(again, music makes this time pass more enjoyably)

At this point, how you work with those long strips

will depend on the design of the quilt you are making.

For the blocks I'm using in Dumpster Diving 5

(diagonal string block style)

I cut the long strips into 14" lengths

and sorted the lengths by color.

Each block requires thirteen strips

as shown in the photo above.

When sewing these together,

I work top to bottom and left to right.

I wait until all thirteen strips 

are sewn together before pressing.

I then press from the back 

and press all seams in one direction.

Then I turn the block right side up

and press again from side to side

to make sure the seams are flat.

(I use steam - being careful not to twist the fabric strips)

Once the block is pressed flat,

I lay my 8.5" square ruler in place.

Hint:  make sure the corners

do not fall on a seam in the outside strips.

This makes sewing the blocks together easier

and results in far less bulk.

I cut off the top right corner first,

then the upper left

followed by the lower right,

and finally the lower left.

I don't know that the sequence really matters

so long as you are consistent

from one block to the next.

You could also use a rotating turntable

for cutting and trimming these blocks.

The four cut-away corners are then set aside -

in this case to be used in Lagniappe.

Here is the back of the newly-squared block.

(no dangling threads, seams pressed flat and straight)

And now there are six rows of blocks on the design wall.

Only twelve more blocks

and this top will be ready to sew together.

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If you need more specifics about

my earlier Dumpster Diving quilts,

there are labels in the blog's sidebar.

Clicking on the label will pull up

the posts shared during the making

of each of the quilts.

* * *

Here's to the fun of making quilts

with lots and lots of small scraps!

Quiltdivajulie