But if you like making quilts from a single collection of fabrics, precuts are your friend. The fabric choosing is done, and depending on the pattern you go for, most of the cutting may be taken care of too. This makes for a quick quilt, and how appealing is that? So if you’d rather keep your precut packs together to use in a single quilt, then it’s time to put them back on the shelf. Haha, nope…. You know that’s not going to happen. Now, you need to make a commitment to those fabrics. It’s actually time to take a look at your precuts and decide how you’re going to use them.

First up, let’s do a little stocktake. What precuts do you have? Charm packs (5” squares), layer cakes (10” squares), jelly rolls (2 ½” strips) or something else? Do you have multiple packs from one collection, or a number of packs from a single favourite designer? If you do, group them together. If you also bought yardage from the same collection or designer, find it too. Are there fabric collections that would suit certain people you’d like to make quilts for – such as a new baby, a young child, a feminine woman, or an older man? Keep in mind who you know that would suit the fabrics you have.

Next step is to find some patterns to match your precuts. We have some fabulous precut quilt patterns in the Make Modern pattern gallery! There are also many excellent books dedicated to precut quilting. You’ll find an endless supply of inspiration that’ll help you turn your precuts into fabulous quilt tops fast.

One thing you may find is that you need some background or accent fabric to go with your precuts to complete a quilt top. Solids are a great option for bulking out precuts – either in a neutral like white, cream or grey, or in the accent colour of your choice (pull a shade from the fabrics as your guide). For future reference, it’s useful to buy a couple of yards of your favourite print for background or border.

If you’ve got multiple packs from the same designer, or the same type of fabric (eg: batiks or 1930s), mix them up to make a bigger quilt. Also, don’t forget you can cut down your precuts for more versatility – eg: 2 ½” squares from charm squares or jelly rolls.

Those bundles may look pretty stacked up on the shelf, but I promise you they’ll look better as a quilt. So make a commitment to getting those precuts working for you, rather than simply sitting pretty!

This is an extract from Precuts by Jane Kelly. Read the full article in Make Modern Issue #37.

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