String Pieced Log Cabins

I designed my guild's challenge for the year, 

and I thought I would share it here for the rest of you to join in if you like.

I'm not asking you to send me your blocks, but just giving you an idea

for a group project or a way to use up those long bits of batting.

Just a little aside: My quild is called The Strip Piecers,

so we often have challenges with strip piecing techniques.

We're also a thrifty bunch, so this project is using up what we have

in terms of scraps of fabric and scraps of Warm style batting.

We hope to display this quilt at a local show in May 2018.

Here's our challenge:

Finished block size: 15 inches; Finished quilt size: 90 by 90; Total number of blocks: 36

Colour scheme: lights and darks and brights. 

Method: Cut your batting strips into 3. 25 inch strips. Piece your small bits in a flip and sew method on the batting. Trim fabric and batting to 3 inches.

Block components: Each block needs 30 inches of light strip pieced batting, and 45 inches of dark/bright. They do not have to be continuous.

Cutting instructions: From your finished strips, cut the following:

Light strips: 3 inches, 6 inches, 9 inches, 12 inches

Darks: 3 inches, 6 inches, 9 inches, 12 inches, 15 inches

Light and dark fabrics: Cut 1 inch  joining strips of light and dark. You will need 30 inches (non continuous) of light strips and 45 inches of dark

This is what the back of a similar block looks like when the pieced strips are joined:

 Sewing instructions: Referring to photo, sew dark 3 inch block to light 3 inch block with one inch dark strip, using scant ¼ seam. Continue clockwise around the blog in log cabin style, using dark 1 inch strips when joining dark pieces and light strips when joining light pieces. When joining dark to light or vice versa, use dark strips.


We plan to bring our finished and cut strips to our January meeting and then swap them so each block has a variety of colours. The sample block here was made from my dark scraps and I think it needs a bit more variety.  We plan to tie the completed top to a wide flannel backing.

Here's a quilt I made a few years back using solid joining strips

and the Steps to the Courthouse pattern.

My batting strips were slightly wider and I only made four blocks

for a throw sized quilt.

Read more about it here and here.

I'm fine if you link to this tutorial, but please credit me for the idea.

And let me know if you are making blocks alongside us.