February Block of the Month

Improv Ticker Tape Block. 

This month we are going to work on scrapbusting! I am hoping to do a lot of that this year and hopefully can encourage the same in you. This particular block is great for using up lots of little and odd shaped pieces of scrap fabric. We are also going for a semi organized look by making the blocks all monochromatic, instead of an all over scrappy block. 

Here is what you will need for this block. 

One 8 1/2 inch square of background fabric in white. Can be tonal or very low volume, but should read as white. 

a pile of scraps in one color... I went with blue here. 

Two 2 1/2 inch by 8 1/2 inch solid color strips in your chosen color. 

Two 2 1/2 inch by 12 1/2 inch solid color strips in your chosen color. 

You begin by cutting small pieces of scraps to lay on the background square. What you need for this block is to let go of perfection. They do not have to be evenly spaced between each one, it can be off a bit here and there. Just go for organic. When you have a piece that won't fit you can simply cut out notches here and there to make it work together. 

Then you can work with multiple shaped scraps and not need everything uniform to fit in perfectly. It will lend itself to a little more of an organic improv feel to have different shapes working with each other. 

Once you have about half of them placed you can glue baste them down to keep them in place as you continue to add more pieces. You can pin if you choose or you can just go for it as well! It is up to you.

  I tend to be clumsy and move them around accidentally so I glue baste them down to keep them all straight. It also makes cutting little notches out easier. 

Keep going until the whole background square is covered. The outside edges will be covered by the seam allowance as well so you do not need to worry about being aligned exactly on the edges either. 

Next, sew the individual scraps down to the background square. You can top stitch with a straight stitched, you can zig zag, blanket stitch... what ever works for you. Again, just go with it. I pulled all my threads to the back, knotted and snipped the ends. If you prefer you can lock in your stitches instead when sewing as well. 

Once you have everything stitched down, add the 2 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch strips to the top and bottom of the background square. Then add your 2 1/2 x 12 1/2 inch strips to the sides and viola! 

Again, you can choose what ever you like, just please make sure your block is monochromatic with a white background and matching solid sashing. 

Have fun!