"Post-Cuts" Face Mask Scrap Quilt Completed

It’s all done! Here is the quilt I made with scraps from the face mask I made this past spring.

I mostly sew rectangular pleated masks so I was left with lots of scraps that were 6 inch wide and of various lengths. The scraps were too big to toss, but were destined to languish in a bin if I didn’t do something with them ASAP. Hence this quilt! You can read more about my process in this May 21, 2020 post and the post that follows.

This is a really big queen quilt. When I finished piecing this quilt, I was still knee deep in making face masks and honestly couldn’t see quilting something this large on a domestic machine. So I sent it off to the good folks at Bits ‘n Pieces Quilt Shop in Pelham, NH. I’ve rented their computerized long arm quilting machines in the past. They weren’t renting machines when the quilt was completed, but were able to start renting again a week or two later. But this time, I was happy to let them quilt this for me.

I asked them to use a kite quilting pattern. I wanted this quilt to be a happy quilt, and to rise up and spin and twirl above it’s humble, and if I’m honest, it’s sad origins.

My only specification was for the quilting design to have “more kites than clouds” but gave the staff permission to choose the design and the thread colors.

They told me that they looked around and found this awesome kite design. They used a light green thread on the top of the quilt and a beige on the back. The kites turn in all directions so there isn’t really and up and down with the design.

Bits ‘n Pieces did a great job with the quilting. The quilt came home to be trimmed and bound a few weeks ago…just before Fall arrived in New England. Perfect timing.

I’m so pleased with how this scrappy quilt turned out! It’s really a record of my pre-COVID 19 fabric stash and it makes me happy to see all the fabrics I’d collected over the years.

Face Mask Scrap Quilt: "Post-Cuts" quilt top is done

Here’s the completed quilt top which I made from scraps from making face masks and added pastel marker bars. I’ve named it “Post-Cuts”, sort of play on the quilter’s friend, pre-cut fabrics.

I decided to place the colors in a spectrum-like order. I started with red. And the bottom of the quilt there are navy blocks, white background blocks, purples and finally black background blocks. I did this deliberately so that my favorite colors are at the top and center of the quilt and my least favorite colors will end up tucked behind the foot board!

This quilt is a generous queen size—88 x 98 inches. I have quilted queen size quilts on my domestic machine, but this time I think I’m going to send it off to a long arm quilter. This one is just a wee bit big for me.

There is lots of information on how to make this quilt in my last 3 posts if you want to make a similar scrap quilt. The scraps don’t have to be from making face masks. They just need to all have the same height.

I expect it will be a while before this quilt is quilted. But I will share a picture when it is finally all done.

Assembling a Quilt with Long Strips

The “Post-Cuts” quilt blocks have all been sewn together. There were actually enough scraps left from the face masks I’ve sewn to make a queen size quilt!

This quilt is assembled in strips of blocks. The strips measure 88 inches long. All the blocks are 6 inches wide.

There was a time when I would have just sewn all these long strips of blocks together and tried to trim the finished quilt top. Let’s just say that is a disaster. I did that to myself more than once! It’s almost impossible to square up a quilt top sewn from strips of random lengths.

However, take the time to measure each long strip and cut to the desired length and the result will be a perfect quilt. It takes a few minutes but it is so worth the effort.

I marked my floor with two pieces of Washi tape, 88 inches apart. Painters tape works well too. Then I laid down each of the quilt strips and trimmed them to be exactly 88 inches.

Once the strips are trimmed, it is important to pin the strips together before sewing. Put two strips right sides together. Pin the pair of strips at each of the ends first. Then ease the two long strips together, pinning every 5-6 inches. I don’t usually pin anything when I make quilts, but it is very important to pin long strips to prevent one of the layers from traveling during sewing and coming out uneven at the end of the row.

Sew pairs of long strips together. Then sew pairs of paired strips. Continue until the quilt top is done. the quilt comes together quickly in the end.

Checking to see if there were enough strips to for the length needed for a bed quilt. Not even assembled yet, and the dogs already approve!

Mask Scraps Quilt: "Post-Cuts"

In my last post, I talked about some options I was mulling over for making a quilt using the 6” tall left over scraps from making rectangular face masks.

Here’s what I decided.

• The scraps are sorted by colors.

• Three scraps are sewn together and then a 2 1/2 x 6 inch pastel divider strip. It’s very easy to sew this combination. Two scraps are stitched together in a pair, then one scrap and divider strip in a pair. These pairs are then sewn together to keep the colors organized.

I think I prefer the two light blue separator strips. They show up better. But the separator strips are scraps too, so I’m using up what I have. I think I will end up needing to a light blue green strip too.

I’m sewing the sections so that they will be wide enough to make a queen size quilt. But if I don’t have enough scraps to make the quilt long enough, I’ll re-cut the strips. I believe I definitely will have enough to make at least a twin size quilt.

And yes, this is one of those quilts that the dogs will be welcome to sleep on! Nothing precious about this one. It’s just a fun collection off fabrics that are “old friends’and come with lots of happy memories of many previous projects.

How to Use Scraps Left Over From Making Masks to Make a Quilt

I haven’t done any quilting since the beginning of the Stay-at-Home order for COVID-19. But I have been churning out lots of face masks for volunteers of one of the local food pantries to use. I’ve dug deep into my stash of fabrics and have used a wide variety of fabric colors and patterns.

Some of the rectangular masks have been cut from scraps but others have been cut from yardage. Either way, I often end up with a 6 inch tall strip of left-over fabric.

The symmetry of these scraps makes me want to sew a quilt from them. They are sort of like pre-cuts—but not. I’ve taken to calling them my “post-cuts”!

I haven’t decided what to do yet. So I’m more or less thinking out loud in this post. My current plan is to cut standard 6 inch x 2 1/2 inch strips of one solid color to use as a spacer between the prints. Here are some of the ideas I’ve been kicking around.

• Should the spacers come after 2 or 3 prints are sewn together? Or even less often in a row?

• Should the post-cuts be randomly pulled from the bag to create a completely scrappy quilt?

• Should I separate the post-cuts by their colors?

• Should they be grouped by their design—florals, dogs, sports, geometrics?

• What color should the spacer strips be? I’ve pulled out a light yellow. But pink or aqua would be good too. Or should I use a collection of different pastels? Whichever color(s) I choose, the spacer fabric needs to come out of my big stash of solids. Just making do with what I have on hand.

There are so many different ways this scrap quilt could be assembled.

No decisions yet! But I am having fun contemplating all the options!

Who else is making a quilt from mask scraps? Or even just thinking about it?