Crazy Quilt Block

My first experiment with quilting began in the crazy arena when I saw this technique on a television show. I loved that nothing really needed to line up. For me, it was the perfect place to start my quilting journey.  So here is a simple technique for creating a crazy quilt block. The final block size is 8 1/2".

1. Get Fabric: Start with five different 10" squares of fabric. You can use a layer cake if you'd like. These are just some scraps that I had.

2. Stack: Stack your fabric on top of each other - right side up.

Get ready to cut your fabric; you'll be making one less cut than to the total number of pieces of fabric. So, I have five pieces of fabric and will be making four cuts. If I had four pieces of fabric, I'd make three cuts.

3. Make your first cut - usually somewhere in the middle. Just do it! Don't worry about perfection.

You now have two pieces/sections.

4. Cut again: take one piece and make your second cut. It doesn't need to be exactly like this! 

5. Make your third and fourth cuts.

I made four cuts and end up with five pieces. The five pieces represent the five fabrics you started with.

6. Re-stack the fabric:

     Leave stack 1 alone.

   Take the top piece from stack 2 and place it on the bottom of stack 2.

 

It should look like this.

7. Stack Again! Take the TOP TWO pieces from stack 3 and place them on the bottom of stack 3.

It will look like this!

8. And Again! Take the top THREE pieces from the next stack and place them on the bottom.

Then take the top FOUR pieces from the next stack and place them on the bottom.

9. Done! You'll end up with five blocks (layers) that are all mixed up. But there is a correct order, so don't start moving them just yet.

10. Separate Layers: Take each layer and separate them into your five blocks. You will have one piece of each fabric in a different spot on each block.

I put a piece of paper under each set so I could easily carry them to my machine to piece. This helps me keep things sorted.

11. Sew Together: 

Sew 1 to 2 and then 2 to 3.

Then sew 4 to 5.

You'll have two parts.

You will want to off-set your seams about 1/4" so the edges of the fabric line up more closely. They won't be perfect.

12. Trim your edges: you'll be sewing this to the 4/5 pieces.

13. Trim your other edge. It should look like this - nice and clean!

And one piece is a little bigger than the other - not a problem.

14. Sew together.

15. Square it up! I used an 8 1/2" square ruler. 

Here it is! All trimmed and ready to go.

And here are the completed blocks.

You can take it from here! You can make a quilt or sew these together, quilt, and make a tote or purse.

In any case, have fun with this technique!

Here is my very first crazy quilt.








UPDATE: I've added some information on other cutting options!