I have been working on a Cotton + Steel selvage quilt for awhile now. It’s been slow going as I’ve needed to cut off more selvages and as friends have sent me some of theirs. I love having a relatively mindless project like this going in the background of life to pull out when I’d like to sew, but I don’t know what. It seems every time I post about it on instagram, somebody asks how I make my blocks. I know there are many, many ways to do this and many, many tutorials that exist. Here is how I do this:
First, I cut muslin to 8 1/2″ square. I have found this to be a good length for a variety of selvages, including fat eighths. I didn’t want to limit myself to having to have the diagonal length required that only fat quarters would suffice. It does mean making more blocks, but I don’t mind that one bit.
Start with a selvage that is face up and more or less centered. I never measure. I just eyeball it.
Next, line up another selvage that is long enough on the edge.
Sew along the edge using a 1/4″ seam, and then press toward the new piece (strawberries for me)
Continue this process until you reach the corner.
Once you reach the corner, repeat this process going in the opposite direction.
If you’re thinking that this looks really janky, you are right. Head to your cutting mat and flip the block over. I trim mine down to 8-1/4″ at this point.
Now you’re done! It really is a simple process. I can’t wait until Ruby Star bundles are more readily available to start sprinkling those in as well!
