Plaid-ish Scrap Quilt (and Tutorial)

I have mentioned it before, but I am making a real effort this year to burn through some of my scraps. So far I have made 4 scrap quilts (see here, here, here, and here), but there are still so many scraps in my bin.

Plaid-ish Quilt Tutorial - Kitchen Table Quilting

There were a large number of long, skinny strips and leftover charm squares and I wanted to make a quilt that used as many of them as possible. After playing around with a few ideas, I decided to give a plaid-inspired design a try.

Plaid-ish Quilt Tutorial - Kitchen Table Quilting



In order to make the plaid look show through, I used a mixture of blocks that play with value. It is a particularly good way to use scraps because pretty much any color can work in the quilt. This pattern uses tiny squares, skinny strips, rectangles, and (charm size) squares.

Plaid-ish Quilt Tutorial - Kitchen Table Quilting

Since I had so much fun making this quilt, I knew that I wanted to write up a tutorial. It is available (for free) in my shop and it is also available in my story highlights on Instagram. Even if you aren't normally an Instagram fan, I would suggest checking them out because I do a little more explaining in the videos and I am also going to be posting responses to any questions that I get about the tutorial.

Even though I wrote this quilt with scraps in mind, it also works well for yardage and I think it would be a lot of fun in solids.

Plaid-ish Quilt Tutorial - Kitchen Table Quilting

I used 90" wide minky to back my quilt. It is the first time I have used it and it was fantastic! In the past, I have only used minky on smaller quilts because I didn't want to piece it for the backing, but the 90" version solves that problem and I had no issues with it while quilting on my home machine.

Fat Quarter Shop Daily Flash Sale

If you plan to make this pattern, I do have a few suggestions for you to help make the plaid-effect noticeable.
  • Make you are using the darkest dark value fabrics, the lightest light value fabrics, and the medium-est medium value fabrics. There is a whole spectrum of value and you don't want darks that are too light or lights that are too dark. That being said, I was not strict about this with my quilt because I was more interested in just using what I had.
  • Use the black and white photo mode on your phone to help distinguish value. Sometimes it can be tricky to see! 
  • Busier prints are a little risky to use here - obviously I used them, but they tend to have a mix of values.
  • If you are going to shrink (or expand) the size of the quilt by adding or subtracting blocks, use the coloring sheet to help you plan. 

Plaid-ish Quilt Tutorial - Kitchen Table Quilting

If you have any more questions, check out my Instagram stories and hopefully I have already answered them! (or you can ask them in the comment section below)

Plaid-ish Quilt Tutorial - Kitchen Table Quilting Plaid-ish Quilt Tutorial - Kitchen Table Quilting

54 comments

  1. Dropping everything and off to dig through my stash! This is just the best scrap quilt! Thank you...I love everything you design.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, I hope you enjoy the pattern!

      Delete
  2. Thank you for a great tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for a wonderful design for charm squares and scraps!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a super scrap pattern! I've downloaded it, and it is going on my to-do list. I'm also working through my scrap piles, and my current scrap project is your "All the Rectangles" quilt. It's so much fun watching how that one is developing. Thank you for your generosity in sharing these lovely scrap patterns!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh I'm glad you are enjoying it - I really love making scrap quilts and it has been a lot of fun to share tutorials.

      Delete
  5. I have a couple of things to finish up, but I'm hoping to make this my summer scrap quilt. I really love it and appreciate the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is fabulous and the plaid design definitely comes through. Off to download your tutorial-thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love it! Hoping to make a dent in my scraps!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha, no matter how many scrap quilts I make, I still seem to have way too many scraps!

      Delete
  8. Love this. I have been wanting to do something with my scrap bin and this is the first scrap quilt that has caught my interest. Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't seem to check out with the pattern!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Send me an email at kitchentablequilting at gmail dot com and I will email the PDF to you directly.

      Delete
  10. Erica, as always you are so inspiring and fun, and very generous.
    I am going to make this quilt too. Thank you thank you so much for
    helping me make new cool quilts ❤️

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you so much for this tutorial. I love the plaid-ish effect and hope my quilt turns out as amazing as yours is!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I would love to get the pattern but it won't let me get past the payment. I thought if it was a free pattern I wouldn't have to check out through paypal. Great Quilt though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you send me an email at kitchentablequilting at gmail dot com, I can forward the file to you.

      Delete
  13. Thank you, going to give it a try, hope it is friendly to newer quilters. Waiting for download link.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love this quilt! Thank you for creating it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for this great pattern and tutorial, love the plaidish look and chance to use up small pieces!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those small pieces are always tricky to use up! They seem to multiply!

      Delete
  16. I think this is going to be a long-term project for me, but it is SO DANG CUTE! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and hard work with us!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Told myself I wasn't going to get anymore patterns because I have a gazillion as it is. But I just couldn't resist this one! It is wonderful!! Takes me back to my Irish/Scottish roots!! :) Thank you so much for sharing it! I love all your other patterns too, but this one is perfect for what I want!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I got 2 patterns - one for me, one for my sewing buddy. The plaid idea is genius! We'll be able to use lots of scraps up. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love scrappy plaid quilt. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thank you. I look forward to working with your beautiful pattern.

    ReplyDelete
  21. LOVE this! Are the seam-pressing suggestions so everything nests?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry, I don't. I press all of my seams open!

      Delete
  22. I have 4 rows of 5 blocks done. I ironed dark and light blocks the same way, and mediums the opposite. That should work. I adore this pattern. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Erica, thank you so much for sharing this fun pattern with us for free!!! A blog I follow made one so I had to come over to get the pattern myself!! New follower now. https://flourishingpalms.blogspot.com/2019/12/plaidish-quilt.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FlourishingPalms+%28Flourishing+Palms%29

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thank you so much for your pattern. I appreciate your generosity and look forward to using some scraps up making this quilt. It is truly beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thank you so much! I can't wait to use my stash and get going on this quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love this pattern! I'd like to make it for my son. Do you have fabric requirements if I wasn't going to use scraps? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank you so much! I made this in 2 days with your fabulous directions. Made it very scrappy and only had to redo one row!!!! LOL Perfect for the Dog Days of summer.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Do you have recommendations on which way to press seams? Especially for the blocks that rotate into the other rows. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Any tips for making it into a crib size quilt? This is the perfect pattern for my twins nursery. 💕

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would recommend making the quilt 46" square - that would be a quilt that has 3 Block A blocks across and 3 tall. Does that make sense?

      Delete
  30. Was a great quilt pattern. Did it as a guild workshop. Thank you..........here is the quilt that Heather Perry made.

    ReplyDelete
  31. How do I get the pattern. It's in the cart and no way to "pay"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you are having trouble, you can send me an email and I can send it to you - kitchentablequilting at gmail dot com.

      Delete
  32. So excited to make this for my son. I don't have alot of scraps, I am a newbie. Do you have yardage information for the darks, mediums and lights?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have had a ton of requests for this lately and am hoping to make this information available soon!

      Delete

Unfortunately I have had to turn off commenting due to an overwhelming number of spam posts. If you have any questions, please contact me using the contact form at the top of the page or comment on an Instagram post.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Powered by Blogger.