Free Tutorials: Bonus Blocks and a Scrappy Table Runner

Fall Table Runner feat home-grown squash pumpkin

One of my favourite sewing techniques when creating a quilt block is the stitch and flip method (also known as snowballing corners). It features quite prominently in my patterns! But one aspect of this technique I find frustrating is the fabric wastage. Then I started making bonus blocks whenever I used the stitch and flip method and never looked back - both half square triangles or half rectangle triangles.

First things first - what do I mean when I say stitch and flip?

It's the technique of adding a triangle of some sort to a block but instead of cutting the original fabric pieces to the required angles, we use them whole. This works with rectangles as well as squares, although you will need to change up with method slightly for "stitch and flip" using rectangles. This is preferred over starting with pre-cut fabrics for two reasons:

• Typically, cutting rectangles and squares is easier than cutting other shapes, and can be accomplished with basic cutting equipment - yay! can do more with less 'quilty' equipment!

• Sewing along the bias (i.e., diagonally) is not great as the fabric can be quite stretchy, which can lead to wonky blocks.

Here's some of my favourite patterns using this skill:

Butterflies in the Garden Quilt Pattern

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Flower Cushion Covers PDF Pattern

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Making Bonus Blocks

But as I mentioned earlier, this method does generate a fair amount of fabric waste! Let's create some bonus blocks to mitigate this.

Step 1: Draw a second diagonal line, parallel to the original diagonal line, about 0.5" away from the original.

Step 2: Sew along BOTH lines.

Step 3: Cut in between

Step 4: Open, press and trim!

Using Bonus Blocks

Well done! You've made some bonus blocks! Now what? Well, I'd be the first to tell you that most of my bonus blocks end up in a little container near my sewing machine for quite a while! I try to grow my collection so I can make something of substance.

To trim or not to trim?

Depending on how much time I have, I might trim my bonus blocks as I create them. But usually, I am in a bit of a rush to finish my project and don't have extra time to prep for a future project. Typically, I will press and put away the block to be used later.

BUT the real question is do we trim at all?! The blocks are quite small and to be honest, I am not the most patient quilter - especially for blocks that are that small! I simply trim the dog ears, to remove bulk at the seams and keep going.

Then it's simply a matter of arranging the blocks to form a design. Dig through your scraps for some filler fabric as needed!

This block was made with the scraps from one set of Flower Cushion Covers.

I used the smallest HSTs - which were from the inside of my flower block to make the inner sawtooth star. Then added the yellow inner square (roughly 2.5" square), and some squares in the red (roughly 1.5" square) to complete the block.

Next, I arranged the red-and-white HSTs (which were all from the corners of my flower block) around this block. There was a small difference in size, so I added a border of approximately 1.5") around my yellow star. I'm using approximate measures here, because so much of this is improv piecing. This can seem quite scary, but the good news is that if something doesn't quite fit you can always trim it down! Arrange the HSTs as you like - I went with this twist on a star design with the corners in the red instead of the white because I was working on my Colourful Mosaic quilt pattern at the time, and those corners are a feature included in that pattern. Finally, some borders around it all and we're done!

I've done my best to keep things symmetrical with this block - which worked reasonably well for me as all these are approximately the same size scrappy HSTs, and from the same block, my flower block. But if things are not perfectly centred, that's still perfectly acceptable. This block finished at about 12ish inches (improv!) But I had made a few sets of this cushion cover (the flower cushion cover) and had enough bonus HSTs to make two blocks pretty much exactly the same. So, I added a filler block in between with some flying geese and converted the two blocks into a table runner. Quilted and bound with leftover fabric from a FQ for backing, keeping it as simple as possible. It's currently in use at the moment on our table and it has been very well loved!

And there you have it - a unique new quilted item, made entirely from scraps of another project! Yay!