my Coin Quilt recipe
What a fun exercise that was to ask you which scrap quilt I should make! At the time I really was undecided, and it was interesting to hear different perspectives on how to choose. Tips included: avoid seam matching, avoid HST trimming and go for the one which suits my scraps best. And then there was the tip to sew more than one of my options. Lightbulb moment! “Why didn’t I think of that!” haha.
So, I am planning to sew both the coin quilt and the Crossroads quilt. Not necessarily at the same time, but not necessarily not at the same time. We shall see!
One thing I love about scrap quilts is that it feels like cleaning, but in a fun way. The chaotic leftover bits get pressed, trimmed, sewn and the trimming slivers discarded. Using things up! That’s a good feeling. Also, it makes a happy mess on my sewing table, which I am glad to come back to the next day.
My first coins are really hitting the spot! I barely have to think when I match up two fabrics for a strip of coins, especially since my sewing recipe is quite relaxed.
This quilt is inspired by Jolene’s Coin Quilt at Blue Elephant Stitches. She used rectangles cut 2.5” x 3.5”. I decided my coin size independently and landed on pieces cut 2” x 3”. This smaller size is more scrap-friendly, though it will take more piecing, of course. Sometimes I am actually cutting 2” x 3” pieces when I am using up my smaller scraps, but mostly I simplify by working with string scraps.
Quick Coin Recipe:
Choose two string scraps of about the same length and each at least 2” wide.
Sew them together along the long edge without pressing or trimming first! Ok, if there is no straight edge, I do trim first; but, mostly there is already one straight edge and I just go for the sew.
Press seams open.
Trim each strip at 1 3/4”, measuring from the sewn seam. This is setting the desired width of each string. (See trimming of orange striped fabric above.)
Cut into 3” wide pieced units. (See brown floral/rust units above.)
Sew units as stacked coins.
There are major benefits to this process. It’s fast because I only have to press and trim the pieces once. Also, it’s accurate because I am trimming after sewing - thus accounting for seam irregularities to yield more consistent-sized coins. Sewing then trimming is helpful when piecing a tiny repetitive shape like this.
I don’t mind matching seams, but I do mind trimming HST blocks, which is one reason I went for the coin quilt. I am totally Loving this process so far! Yay.
