It’s funny when you look back on your scope of work to see how it’s evolved. For me, looking back includes Zero Waste Quilting before I even knew I was working in this sphere. Often a scope of work happens that way – you start doing something and it snowballs until one day you recognize it. For me, at least with Zero Waste Quilting, that’s exactly what happened. I didn’t start out with a plan – it just sorta happened.
This Lone Star quilt named Little Lone Star was the first Zero Waste Quilting pattern I made.
Back in 2017 my friend, Sarah, owned a quilt shop in Decatur, GA. The shop has since closed (RIP Intown Quilters) but years before the shop closed Sarah asked me to make a quilt and pattern so she could sell kits at QuiltCon. We all loved the new line of Alison Glass prints so I grabbed a fat eighth bundle and got to work.
We chose an Essex linen for the background and the finished quilt was <<chefs kiss>> beautiful!
Anyhow, the top finished at 43 1/2” square so I needed the tiniest bit of fabric to make the backing wide enough. I didn’t want to buy 3 yards of fabric to make the backing so I used leftover diamonds – if I had offset pieces I had just enough fabric to do the trick.
I quilted the quilt on my domestic using my walking foot. I quilted in spirals to add softness to the diamonds in the Lone Star.
The Second Zero Waste Quilt
The Lone Star went to QuiltCon and Sarah sold out of the kits but I had some of the diamonds and fabric leftover and desperately wanted to make something with them. I absolutely loved this fabric and didn’t want any of it to go to waste.
I decided that a quilt using negative space would be the perfect second project to use the remaining scraps!
Enter the second Zero Waste Quilt I made.
I took the remaining scraps I had and sewed dark grey between them. I also took apart any remaining diamonds that had been sewn into strips for the Little Lone Star and put them into the new strip sets.
I cut the rows at different widths to create variety then sewed varying size width rows between the strip sets to create the top.
It took me a while to quilt this top but once I got around to it I used a variegated thread to sew some straight lines AND mimic the angled columns. Getting the columns quilted out just right took some time but I love the look in the negative space!
After making the Little Lone Star and the first Zero Waste Quilt I carried on like normal. I made another Lone Star Quilt for the birth of a friends baby but nothing came of those scraps.
Like the original Little Lone Star, I quilted circles but these were concentric. I left space between the circles for some hand sewing and let other friends put in a few stitches into the quilt, as well!
And then I went on a quilt retreat and made another Lone Star. This time, the wheels began to churn.
Lone Star Revisited
I had a rogue roll of 2 1/2” strips sitting in my studio. I’d had them for a while and decided that I should use them to make another Little Lone Star. They were the perfect width for this little quilt!
I had enough fabric leftover to make another small quilt and a pillow. I can’t currently find a photo of said pillow but when I do, I’ll add it to this post!
I added a the green and the purple inner border fabrics from my stash.
The Idea Sparked
I made the last Little Lone Star in November 2021. That’s when the idea really clicked. What if I were onto something?
And it turns out I was.
I’ve gone on to design and in some cases redesign patterns so they are all Zero Waste. It’s such a smart way to use your scraps. Working within the confines of what fabric leftovers you have challenges you in the best possible way.
A Secondary Bonus
A secondary bonus to Zero Waste Quilting? It’s a great way to practice your Free Motion Quilting. Yep! You create quilts and small projects you like but they aren’t as precious so you aren’t afraid to use them for practice.
It’s nice to use an actual quilt for the practice, too! Here’s an example of my latest project practicing my FMQ using Zero Waste Scraps.
This quilt is named Radioactive. It’s a free pattern in my shop.
Have you used a Zero Waste Quilt project to practice your free motion quilting? If so, be sure to comment and share with me. I’d love to see your project and learn more about it.