Sarah Elizabeth Quilt: Scrappy Version

Edited to add that this pattern is now available!

I’m SEW excited about my next quilt pattern. It’s called “Sarah Elizabeth”, after my grandmother, and tester versions are rolling in! So far, I’m still on track to release this one on August 5th as planned! It’s part of a series of patterns I’m writing in honor of both of my grandmothers and two of my great grandmothers who were quilters. The “Sarah Elizabeth” quilt pattern comes with instructions for using yardage as well as a piece breakdown if you want a quilt with a scrappier look. You can see my yardage version of this quilt as well as read a little more about this pattern and the pattern series in my previous post.

I posted a lot of teaser shots of the yardage version on my instagram before finally revealing it, and I still haven’t revealed any full shots of my scrappy version… until now. Check out my scrappy version in all her glory!

My Scrappy version of my “Sarah Elizabeth” quilt

This wasn’t something I thought about at the time, but I think this scrappy one does have a more retro feel to the color scheme than the first one I made using yardage. When I showed the picture to my mom, she even said it makes her think of her grandmother.

How’d I get this color scheme together anyway?

This one has a LOT of fabrics in it. I counted about 40 different prints, and each print was only used once or twice! ***TIP – If you want to make the scrappy version of this pattern, it works MUCH better when you use a LOT of fabrics like I did in this one. It’ll be a lot easier to keep similar fabrics from touching in the quilt top if you use a lot of fabrics. I know this is something a lot of my fellow OCD quilters strive for.

So how’d I go about getting my fabrics together for this scrappy version?

First off, note that this is just my process I used for this one. If you have a different process for coordinating your scrappy style quilts, go for it. Neither of us is “wrong” or “right” here, and we can still be friends.

I started with the fat quarter bundle pictured to the left. I got it at Meander + Make. This is also where I get my custom labels that everyone always asks me about. She makes lovely fabric bundles. This particular bundle was on sale: on sale and super cute – win, win, win! Use the code SNUGGLEBUGSTITCHING for 10% off.

I based my other fabric choices on some other shades of blue, green, orange, and some neutrals from my stash. I also had to throw in some yellows and golds. I had my list of how many I needed of each piece and just started cutting until I had all the pieces I needed. There are even a few pieces made with one of the fabrics from my yardage version. See if you can figure out which fabric it is. Here’s a close up of the yardage version for a little hint.

What does scrappy mean?

I’ve read on forums and such that some quilters think “scrappy” has a pretty narrow meaning. For example, some would say this quilt is not a scrap quilt because the pieces are so big. I’m not sure what the size limit for a “scrap” is, but in my opinion, “scrappy” can mean a lot of things. Yes, it can definitely mean using up a bunch of small leftover pieces, but it could also mean just using a whole lot of different fabrics (new or from your stash) for a “scrappy” look. I definitely prefer not to leave my bigger left over pieces out of all the scrappy quilt fun.

This is another one of those times when there isn’t a “right” or “wrong”. It’s your quilt, so call it what you want to call it. Someone’s definition of “scrappy” or not for a quilt that isn’t mine just doesn’t hurt me, and I have plenty of more important things to worry about. If you prefer to think of my “scrappy” “Sarah Elizabeth” quilt as a “stash buster” instead, I won’t take offense, and again, we can still be friends. The most important thing is to make a quilt you love, and you can call it “scrappy” or “stash buster” or whatever makes you happy.

Some of the original projects I got those “scraps” from

Back to the “scrappiness” of this quilt top… A lot of those pieces were actually leftover from other projects even though they are bigger pieces. You can check out some of those projects and see if you can spot which fabric in the “Sarah Elizabeth” quilt came from each project:

The “Framed Pinwheels” quilt that my little man has claimed – Pattern Credit Missouri Star Quilt Co.
My third quilt from my “Pumpkins ‘N Patches” pattern
This quilt and shams
The cover quilt for my “First Step Baby Quilt” pattern
This simple squares quilt and this baby quilt I made from my “First Steps Baby Quilt” pattern
The “Mariposa” Quilt – Pattern Credit Southern Charm Quilts

I know there are others, but that list is already pretty long. That’s a mix of quilts I made from my own patterns, other people’s patterns, and things I designed with no formal patterns. It’s fun to take a good look at your scrap quilts, look at the fabrics you have in there, and see if you can remember the original projects that created those scraps. Try it with some of your own quilts sometime!