In the past, when working with fabric leftovers, I was not really concerned about the size of the final project--it would be whatever it turned out to be.
But now that I am using leftovers to make lap quilts, I am finding that having a "target" finished size helps me to develop a plan.
So, how could I turn four 6 1/2 " squares (plus a few smaller pieces) of a duck print fabric into a usable lap quilt?
This fabric is very colorful. So, looking at the colors in the print, I searched my stash for possible fabrics to use in making a lap quilt.
First, I bordered out the print squares so that they would be 12" finished. The 1 1/2" blue strips that "came with" the print squares were used as the inner border. Fort the outer border, I chose lime green. Those strips were cut 2 1/2".
Now that I had these four squares, what could I do with them? If I made the quilt top basically a 9-patch, I would need 5 more blocks.
I had plenty of white fabric and more of a similar shade of dark blue fabric. An orange fabric would be fun to use, too.
I sketched out a plan for 9 patch blocks to surround the print blocks. The squares would be cut 4 1/2". I decided to position dark blue squares to create an X design across the quilt top. A bright orange print was placed in the 9-patch corners. Smaller pieces of the duck print fabric were sewn together so that a 4 1/2" square could be cut from them. This square was used in the center of the middle 9 patch block for continuity.
The finished quilt top measures 36 1/2" square. It's bright and cheery, and Just Ducky! :)
