The Kristen Quilt Week 2 - Cutting Your Fabric
Welcome back to Week 2 of the Kristen Quiltalong! I hope you’re excited to dive into this week’s task: cutting your fabric. By now, you should have finalized your fabric choices, and any ordered fabric should (hopefully!) have arrived.
A Quick Progress Check
Before we get started, here’s an important reminder: don’t be afraid to adjust your fabric choices as you go. Sometimes, when I start cutting fabrics for a quilt, I realize a print or color doesn’t quite fit the overall vibe of the design. Even if you’ve already cut the fabric, trust your instincts and swap it out if it doesn’t feel right. You’ll thank yourself later!
Cutting Instructions
Feature Fabric
• Charm Squares: If you’re using charm squares, you’re all set—no cutting required!
• Layer Cake Squares: Cut each 10” square into (4) 5” squares.
• Fat Quarters: Use the diagram below to cut your squares for your chosen quilt size.
• Scraps: Cut 5” squares until you reach the number listed for your quilt size in the pattern.
Accent Fabric
If you’re using yardage:
1. Cut the number of Width of Fabric (WOF) strips as listed in the pattern.
2. Subcut the strips into smaller pieces according to the diagram in the pattern.
Tip: This is the perfect time to use a slotted ruler like the Stripology XL ruler for faster cutting. If you don’t have one, a standard ruler works too!
If you’re using scraps:
• Cut the total number of pieces needed for each shape (squares, small rectangles, and large rectangles) based on your pattern instructions. You will need one square, one small rectangle, and one large rectangle of accent fabric for each block.
• You can use the same fabric for each block or mix it up with scrappy variations. I’ll be using the same scrap fabric in each block, but either approach works well!
Background Fabric
• For yardage: Follow the same process as the accent fabric—cut WOF strips, then subcut into the required shapes. I’ve shared a step-by-step process for cutting background fabric in this week’s YouTube videos.
• For scraps: Cut the total number of pieces listed for each subcut section, plus additional fabric for long sashing pieces. If you’re going fully scrappy, sew smaller pieces together to create long strips, then subcut your sashing pieces from those.
Troubleshooting Tips
• Use a high-quality ruler with a grippy surface
• Make sure your workspace is well-lit to ensure accurate cuts.
• Avoid cutting fabric when you’re tired—mistakes are more likely when you’re exhausted!
Share Your Progress
I can’t wait to see your cutting progress! Be sure to:
• Post photos of your fabric pieces on Instagram using the hashtag #thekristenqal.
• Join me for a live Q&A on Instagram this Tuesday at 2 PM Pacific Time, where I’ll answer your questions about cutting fabric (or anything else related to the quiltalong!). Watch my Instagram Stories for the question box to submit your questions.
Pam M on
I’ve just finished piecing a scrap rainbow version of your Erica quilt (started quilting it yesterday, so close to a finish) and found something interesting as I was laying the pieces down prior to stitching them together. Some of the colour “blocks” I was not very happy with in their “raw” state, but since I had nothing else to replace the less than satisfactory pieces I ploughed ahead. It’s a funny thing, but once they were all stitched and joined into the rest of the quilt, the less than satisfactory appearance just melted away. (I was attempting a true scrap quilt – no fabrics repeated.) So … just saying …. if you aren’t happy with a chosen fabric, don’t entirely discard it. If you have a good replacement handy then sure, replace it. But if you don’t and don’t really want to buy more fabric then give it a chance and see how it looks when properly pieced into the quilt. (Maybe use basting stitches though, just in case!!)