Summer of Sewing: Sew Many Strips Quilt Back

Welcome back to our Summer of Sewing tutorials here at Inspired by Fabric! 

We'll be featuring regular tutorials as part of our Summer of Sewing series, all using our newest fabric lines that you can find at your local quilt shop! Our tutorials will include a chance to win a bundle of the fabric line being used, so make sure to enter each time!

Last week we shared how to make Log Cabin-style triangle blocks for a modern quilt front; this week we're showing how to make a pieced back, 1600-style, using yardage plus the remaining strips from the Dryad Snack Pack. Of course, this design could be used for a quilt front, too! 

A Snack Pack of the Dryad collection by Shannon Brinkley

If you're unfamiliar with the concept of a 1600 quilt, the name comes from the fact that you use (roughly) 1600" of fabric--a full Snack Pack. It's easy sewing, and the quilt will look different every time based on how the strips are joined. In the basic 1600 quilt, you sew all the 2-1/2" strips short ends together into a long strip. Then you fold the strip in half, align the short ends, and sew the two strip halves together to make a strip half as long and twice as wide. You continue doing that until it's quilt shaped. Variations include cutting strips into shorter pieces to make it scrappier, adding squares of an alternate fabric between strips, and using diagonal seams (like for piecing a binding, for example). We're borrowing from that concept today to add some excitement to a quilt back as well as use up our Snack Pack strips. 

Let's get started!

You'll Need:

The remaining strips from your Dryad Snack Pack (shorter pieces plus full-length strips)

3-3/4 yards of white text print

Make the Quilt Back:
1. Begin by sewing partial strips to other partial strips or two full strips using a diagonal seam.  Trim and press open each join. Vary the fabrics and the strip lengths to create the most interest. 

2. Here's a look at some of our partial strips (leftover from the triangle blocks last week) sewn together. 

3. Sew all partial strips, pieced strips, and full strips together to make one long strip. Our strip is about 26 yards long, which is plenty to create the quilt as you see it here.
4. Align the short ends of the long strip, right sides together. Begin sewing down the long edges of the strip to make a pieced strip that is two strips wide (2x-wide) and half as long. Tip: If you're comfortable with the speed, now is the perfect time to adjust your sewing machine to the highest speed--lots of long, straight sewing stitches! When you get near the end, you'll need to cut the strip into two pieces to finish sewing. Here's what a portion of the 2x-wide strip will look like: 

5. Fold the 2x-wide strip over on itself, right sides together, so the short ends meet. Sew down the length again. You'll need to cut the strip near the end.  

6. Your pieced strip is now 4x-wide:

7. Fold the pieced strip over again and repeat to make a unit that is 8x wide. 

8. Follow the diagram below to cut the pieces for the background. Note that this fabric is directional, and the cutting takes that into account. Cut one 88" long piece for the right side of the quilt. Cut the remaining section into two 21"-wide pieces. These will become the left side. 

9. Sew the 21" pieces short ends together. You'll need to trim this strip to measure 88" as well. Here are the background pieces of your quilt back. Stitch the pieced section between them. 

Here's a look at the entire quilt back. because it is a backing, it is sized larger than the quilt front from last week. The extra will be trimmed off after you quilt it. 

A close-up of the quilt back. Love that text fabric with the splash of color in the middle, plus the interest created from the strips running vertically contrasting with the horizontal text! 

If you missed the tutorial for making the quilt front from Dryad Snack Pack strips, find it here!

 See the entire Dryad collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.

For a chance to win a Snack Pack of Dryad, make sure you follow us on the blog (options are in the right hand sidebar) and leave a comment letting us know you do, as well as telling us if you've ever made a quilt with a pieced back. Giveaway is open through Sunday, 31st at 11:59 pm CST. We'll randomly draw a winner and announce it on the blog next week. Make sure we have a way to get in touch with you if you are selected as the winner!  

Congratulations to the winner of last week's Dryad snack pack: PK Sews
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