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Beginner's guide: your first crazy-patch block

JanTUB by JanTUB

Crazy patchwork was my first love.

I love all the wonderful bright fabrics, all the different shapes, and best of all the embellishment on crazy quilts.

My very first attempt at patchwork was a crazy patchwork stole.

I used to wear it around my hips (they were slimmer then so it fitted!) and clip it together with a large gold and turquoise brooch. It has a long black fringe on which I threaded sparkly beads here and there. A real gypsy piece!

This is what you will make.

Where do you start

when making crazy patchwork?

First collect all your bits and pieces together that you want to use in the piece.

The fabrics can be of any weight, slippery, shiny, woven, coarse, dull, bright, patterned...

The fun aspect of crazy patch is the different textures and fabrics put together for contrast.

Pile of wonderful crazy bits

How is crazy patchwork made?

Scraps are applied to a foundation

Seamstresses would completey cover some not-so-good-fabric with scraps af velvet, satins, all sorts of 'good stuff'.

Then they'd embellish all the seams with stitchery.

This one was made by one of my students and it was embellished by machine.

There are no rules for this

The idea is to have fun!

Many different books are available to help you learn more about this type of patchwork. Authors will suggest different ways of sewing the patches on.

I'm going to show you my method for machine piecing the background.

If you want to make a block by hand, then you just sew patches on to the backing fabric overlapping each one and appliquéing them down to hide the raw edges.

By machine, you sew two pieces, press and trim. Sew another, press and trim.

Collect all your 'bits'

Tips for making it easy

Choose one fabric with lots of colour

Start with one colourful fabric that you love the colours in.

Find as many bits from your scraps that 'go' with it.

Don't be too fussy about matching the colours, they will change when the embellishing happens.

Find all the embroidery threads and other notions you have which could look great on the palette you have chosen.

What you will need:

to make an 8 inch crazy patchwork piece by machine

  • 10 inch square of foundation or backing fabric.
    I like to use the lightest weight I can, and my favourite is pre-washed lawn.
  • Scraps of many types and colours
  • Neutral thread to join the patches together
  • Sewing machine

Buy this video: you'll love it!

Learn from a world renowned crazy quilt expert

Judith Baker Montano Teaches You Crazy Quilting

Judith Baker Montano Teaches You Crazy Quilting

Amazon Price: $17.97 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now

Judith Baker Montano has visited Australia many times and I met her when my friend Annie and I went to a workshop.
She featured some of Annie's techniques in the next book she wrote, so we've always been fans.
Judith has a unique slant on crazy patchwork, and her work is lively, pretty and pretty amazing.
Let her show you how she does it.

Time to start cutting

Cut the background

This is the foundation for all the scraps to be sewn to

Decide on a size for the finished block and cut the foundation piece — from your lawn or other fine cotton or polycotton fabric— at least 2 inches bigger.

You can use fine muslin or unbleached calico instead of lawn. The foundation is never seen, but should be lightweight so that the block doesn't become too 'heavy' or thick. Hold it up to the light and see how 'see-through' it is.

If you want to get a 12 inch block, cut the foundation 14 inches; a six inch block, 8 inches; and so on.

Cut the first piece of scrap fabric

to start the crazy patchwork

Cut a smallish piece of one of your chosen fabrics to start the block.

It needs to have an uneven number of sides, and all the angles should be irregular.

The idea is to use a shape that's uneven or 'crazy'.

Position this piece somewhere near the centre of your lawn.

Cut the next piece

to sew to the first one

  • Select a piece from your pile of scraps that contrasts with the first patch.

  • Cut a straight edge on one side to make sewing it to the next patch easier.

Place the two patches together

and sew

  • Lie the new patch right side down on the first patch.

  • Align the straight edge with one of the centre patch's sides. If you need to, pin at right angles to the seam to hold the pieces together while you sew.

Join the two patches

  • Starting just a tiny bit before the beginning, sew along the seam ¼ inch away from the raw edges, or use the side of your machine's presser foot to guide you.

  • Sew to just a tiny bit after the end.

  • Press the new piece away from the first patch. Pin down if it wants to 'ride' up.

Crazy patchwork stuff

on Amazon

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Up? or down?

  1. Where do you start
  2. Embellishing the block
  3. Rock on with Rocket Moms

Trim the rough bits

Tidy up the edges

of the last two patches

As you add patches, you will find that the edges are longer or the angles are not quite right, so each time you add a patch you will have to make some 'adjustments'.

After you press the second patch that you sewed to the centre, lie a ruler along the sides to see if you need to trim the edges to make a continuous line.

Draw a line as a cutting guide

Cut along this line

This is so you can easily sew on the next patch.

Trim the patch

Cut the excess fabric to whatever size you like ready for the next patch of scrap fabric.

Get books about this crazy stuff

on Amazon

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Continue adding scrap patches

Cut the next scrap patch

with one straight edge

With right sides together, lie the straight edge along the last straight cut you made after sewing the second piece on.

Sew as before.

Press outwards

Line up the ruler with the edge of the block

Trim the new patch

to fit the foundation

Draw a straight line

as a sewing guide for the next patch

Scissors

on Amazon

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Dealing with problems

Troubleshooting problems that can arise

Adjustments are simple

Sometimes when you lie the next patch on top, you see that the underneath seam isn't straight enough.

There's a simple fix.

First sew the new scrap on.

Trim away the excess

with your scissors

Press out

Trim level with the block's edge

Keep adding scraps

pressing and trimming as you go

When you have some of the edges and corners covered, place your ruler along one edge and trim.

This patch is too big for the edge, so it needs trimming ready for another patch on the corner.

Line up your ruler

with one straight side of the sewn together patches

Mark cutting line as before, cut away that side of the patch.

Cut across the corner of the patch to leave space for a new corner patch.

Find a triangle scrap

A bit bigger than you think it needs to be

Sew it on, press it out

Trim it to the foundation fabric

Now, how are we to cover that big space?

Rulers and cutters

on Amazon

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A special technique

For large areas

At some stage you'll have a large empty space to fill and need to piece together some scraps to make a crazy fabric to fit that area.

Join scraps in a random way until the 'fabric' is larger and roughly the shape of the area you need to cover.

Cut a straight side

to place against the already pieced area

Press out to the edge, trim away the excess.

The finished crazy patched block

Straight stitch around the edge to stabilise until you have decorated it.

Embellishing the block

Read this lens

for tips on how to embellish the seams

That's the best part!
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Embroidery stitch books

Buy from Amazon

for your embellishing
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Threads

from Amazon

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Enjoy these links

on crazy patchwork

Crazy Quilting
Vintage crazy patchwork
I dropped the button box quilt - crazy quilt block
I dropped the button box crazy quilt
These are 8 inch blocks for a crazy quilt currently in progress.
If you have just landed in the middle of this site via a search engine you may be interested in combinations of stitches for seam embellishments. In the gallery the stitches used on each bl
Welcome to Annie's Studio
everything crazy quilting

See what you could do

in my 'crazy patchwork' lens

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  1. Where do you start
  2. Embellishing the block

How did you find the lesson?

Tell us what you learned

  • marsha32 Nov 10, 2011 @ 8:43 pm | delete
    oh wow....I could go crazy looking at all of your quilting lenses! I love to quilt. I won't ever be more than just a beginner, but love it all the same. I am so wanting to do a crazy quilt with scraps. I've been saving some in a bag for awhile now. Smaller scraps do go into a pillowcase that once full enough will be sewn and donated to the animal shelter for a dog bed.
  • JanTUB Nov 11, 2011 @ 5:25 am | delete
    Glad you are enjoying the lenses, Marsha. Crazy patch is really free, so give it a go.
  • ElleDeeEsse Jul 24, 2011 @ 8:05 pm | delete
    Thanks Jan - I think you have set me straight. I'll try and finish that project now
  • JanTUB Jul 24, 2011 @ 9:38 pm | delete
    I'll make another lens on how to get out of funny holes soon.
  • wordstock Jan 4, 2011 @ 7:56 am | delete
    Came back to bless this lens. Great instructions and pictures that anyone can follow. Thanks!
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About Jan T

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This So Crafty page written by

JanTUB

I have been quilting for more than a quarter of a century. (Sounds much longer than 25 years.) That's me in my studio in 2006.

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