I'm not sure how I did that, but those two edges are supposed to go neatly together. I can't hide the missing fabric in the seam allowance, so it's time for more serious damage control. The easiest solution would be to cut a new 2 1/2" square out of matching fabric. If I had matching fabric handy.
I wound up going through my fabric trimmings to find the piece I'd cut off the other end of the block, hoping there'd be enough to combine with what was already in the block to form a piece I could cut a new 2 1/2" square from.
Got it! And I dare you to find this pieced square once the finished quilt is quilted.
I think damage control is a skill all quilters need. Even when we buy extra fabric as insurance against cutting errors and measure carefully, things can still go wrong. Knowing how to hide those little accidents makes life much easier.
What's your best damage control tip for saving a quilt once things go wrong?
Weekly Stash Report
I still haven't bought fabric this year. There was some nice yardage at the thrift store, but I was good and didn't buy it for myself. I did talk my mom into buying it for her stash.
Fabric Used this Week: 1 yard
Fabric Used year to Date: 3 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2012: 3 yards
Yarn Used this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Used year to Date: 0 yards
Yarn Added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Added for 2012: 0 yards
To see more weekly stash reports, click over to Patchwork Times. And to enter my Jockey Sports Bra and Purex Crystals giveaway, just leave a comment on that post before 11:59 pm January 17.
10 comments:
A damage control trick I've used a lot is to place an applique over a spot where the seam allowances came apart after quilting or washing. This has saved a couple of quilts for me!
When I moved, I lost a few of the blocks I had made for a quilt for my daughter. The fabric was a few years old. I also didn't know the name of the fabric as I'd cut off the edge with the name printed. This was a critical fabric and could not be replaced without messing up the pattern.
So, I wandered into the local quilt shop and asked the owner if she happened to remember the fabric and what the name was so I might try to find some online. She didn't remember the name, but had some in her stash at home. She gave me all the scraps from that fabric line that she and her granddaughter had used in a project. Now I'm a huge fan of hers.
But, I also learned to note the names of the fabrics I'm using in a project so if something happens, I can find it again.
New Trick for me - thanks for sharing. I know it will come in handy.
Great save on that one. It will be invisible once it is done, since the seam is difficult to see now.
I love your fix! Damage Control should be a class for those of us who don't think of it. Now I have to go dig through my box of "Blocks with No Home" and see if I can fix the ones that need it! LOL!!
Love your site!
Good advice so far. If having to make a substitute(fabric ) in order to finish a quilt or project, it is worth going back to other blocks or areas of of the work and introducing the substitute fabric in several places so it doesn't stand out as an OBVIOUS substitute.
Love the fix...call it improvising! You will never find it once quilted.
Great stash report! And I had to do damage control on the heart quilt. I wasn't thinking when I initially cut my 3" strips and I had already sewn a set on before I realized it. Since it was a solid, I grabbed a piece of scrap and added a 2" fix. LOL! Like you said, though, it'll be tough to find once it's all quilted! :)
Great Damage control!! I like all those greens!!
I use 1/2" seam allowances rather than the typical 1/4". I'm more comfortable with that; I do a lot of strip piecing and then cutting apart and resewing, so having the 1/2" seam makes it less likely the fabrics start pulling apart.
I mention this because in a situation like the above, it's possible I could seam-rip the green fabric out and then just resew it in the middle, so there's a smaller gap on each side rather than a larger gap on one side. Then it's possible that I could sew that strip to the next one using my typical 1/2" seam, catching only 1/4" of the smaller fabric but 1/2" of the strip it's being attached to.
When that doesn't work because there's too much fabric missing, I absolutely do just what you did here. I've also substituted fabrics, but like others have mentioned, hopefully then you can also substitute in other places too.
If you had a bigger block with a problem, with absolutely not enough fabric to piece, you can also make one block a "featured" block. For example, that one block could be another block with the problem fabric around it -- squares within a square, for example. Or you could put a "name" block with the name of the recipient, or a "Go Steelers!" (or whatever) in it. Sometimes that would be ridiculous, but sometimes it would work. :)
I've done all kinds of things, because of course I've made all kinds of mistakes or found myself short many times. Sometimes the solution is something that makes the quilt even better, like "I don't have enough blocks to make it big enough, so I'm going to put on this stripey border which is...GORGEOUS!" ;)
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