Free Summer Sew Along: Improv Houses
- Holly Reynolds
- 5 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Grab a friend and join us for some sewing fun this summer! On Wednesdays at 4pm Central Standard Time, join me on YouTube. I will be live, doing a demo of easy house blocks. We are creating fast and fun blocks, full of whimsy. It is summer time and we want our projects to be the most fun possible!
If you are a beginner at sewing, this is perfect for you. If you a teaching a kid how to sew, this would be a fantastic project to partner with them! You can join Happy Quilty People live on YouTube on Wednesday afternoons all summer long as we chat our way through an easy analog creative project.
My YouTube channel is @happyquiltypeople
When you subscribe (it's free) make sure to select the little bell icon so that you get alerts when I'm live. What is a YouTube Live like? You are not on screen- you can just sew along with no worries about your camera or being muted. There is chat where you can type questions or interact with other participants.
Shortly after the live, the video will be available on YouTube. If you want to watch with closed captions, please note that it may take YouTube 24hrs. to process the captions.
This is a choose your own adventure quilt project. It's easy, and I'll offer lots of options so you can create in a way that is enjoyable to you. Need some inspiration? Here is a link to my giant Pinterest board. Look for the House section.
Start gathering your fabric. You choose what you love- this project can use just a few fabrics, or a whole scrappy rainbow. I chose a low volume neutral background. I will make houses out of an assortment of the bright cheery fabrics below.
Thrifty Fabric Ideas: Upcycle your cotton clothing into your blocks! Save those jeans or even buy a shirt from a thrift store. If you know a long time sewist, ask if they have any scraps you could have. Keep an eye on discount/clearance fabrics at the store. That's how I found my background. Don't forget to tell your social media friends what you are making and what color fabrics you need. You never know what might turn up! #happyquiltyhouses
I'll offer 3 possible ways to create your blocks. All fabrics can be cut as you create your individual houses.
glue fabric in place on a background block. Stitch around the outside of your shapes for a raw edge applique.
Easy Appliqué Construct house elements with traditional block piecing and sewing.
Use double sided fusible to hold collage elements in place.
There are 3 ways to quilt your blocks too.
You can create a pieced quilt top and have it traditionally quilted in a method of your choosing.
I will be using the simplest quilt as you go method. Each block is quilted as it is made. The quilted blocks are sewn together in a patchwork fashion.
Quilt As You Go (QAYG) Backing fabric is added and attached by stitching in the ditch.
If you want to turn your blocks into a rag quilt, you can. You will sew together a layer of cotton, flannel, and each house block. Your seams show on the front of the quilt and get snipped to create the ragged look.
Each week of June and July 2026 I will demonstrate techniques live at 4pm CST. In August we will work on assembling our blocks into a quilt. I do hope you will join us for this weekly summer quilting bee! I cannot wait to see your house projects!
Supplies Needed
basic sewing notions:
sewing machine - like this pink Singer
a free motion foot and/or walking foot for your sewing machine (not critical, but helpful if you have them.)
washable glue stick or washable glue: if you use the raw edge applique method
Steam a Seam fusible: for a more secure applique or collage. Requires ironing.
bamboo batting: this requires an 8" distance between quilting stitches, so you won't have to quilt heavily if you use bamboo batting. If you plan to make smaller sized blocks, regular batting is fine.
Flannel for rag quilt option: 4 yards for a throw sized quilt. It will be cut into squares, like this cute rainbow flannel layer cake
Fabric: you will need an assortment of cotton fabrics to create your houses. Scraps, strips, fat quarters, and yardage are all useful.
Background fabric: I will demo 10" squares. I bought low volume yardage to cut, but you could also use precut 10"squares. One layer cake will make enough backgrounds for a throw size quilt. Here's a Kaffe layer cake.
5" Precut squares: I will demo how to turn two 5" squares into an improv house block that we place onto a 10" background square. If you like this technique you can use several packages of 5" charm squares.
The above links are products that I like. Amazon pays me a small commission if you choose to support the blog and purchase through my Affiliate links. Thanks!
I can't wait to see what you create! Please share your pics on the Happy Quilty People Sewing Bee Group on Facebook. On your own posts, tag #happyquiltyhouses
You deserve time and space for creativity. I'm so glad you are planning to sew with us.
Holly Jo
Frequently Asked Questions:
What if I don't like improv? I think you should challenge yourself to try it. You might like the freedom of it.
What if I really, really don't like improv? Fine. Here's a free pattern. It requires 8 charm packs plus background fabric.
Could we do this in person? Yes, I think this would be a fun class or retreat quilt! email me with teaching inquiries holly@happyquiltypeople.com
I've already started on some other house pattern. May I still hang out and sew with the online group? Yes, because a set time and a group help us stay motivated to finish projects!
What if I don't want to make a quilt? Great, you have fewer blocks to make! Anything goes here- make some pants, a table runner, a wall hanging, etc.
I'm a mixed media artist. Fabulous! Create along with us however you want!
Cautions For Kids:
If your big kid can safely cut fabric and keep hands away from the sewing machine needle, I think they will love the creativity of this project. Adults need to use the rotary cutter to prepare fabric/batting/flannel squares. Young sewers can use a washable glue stick to attach fabric shapes to background blocks. I think tweens will love choosing fabrics and designing houses. Have kids use fabric clips instead of pins. And lastly, grownups should do the ironing if any is necessary. I'd put the free motion foot on and let them have fun! They can draw with thread as they quilt their blocks.
Want to include your little kids? Let them draw houses on fabric blocks with fabric crayons or markers, and a grownup can sew them together.
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