How to Curate Fabric for Scrappy Quilts

See how I choose colors, buy remnants, and even thrift fabrics to use in scrappy projects. Take a look through my stash, and see what I would add or discard.

Start gathering fabrics in a color palette you love and be ready to create!

My Christmas fabric stash contains both new and thrifted fabrics. Where I can, I will include an affiliate link so that you can purchase the fabric if you wish. I receive a small commission if you purchase from my link within 24 hours of adding it to your Amazon cart. Thanks for supporting the blog and forum!

How to start a fabric stash - even if you haven’t chosen your sewing project yet!

1. Pick a Color Palette

Above is a fabric with many colors that I like. Think of this as a cornerstone set of colors. Plan to use this as main fabric. It could be repeated often in squares or used as a sashing or border.

Here is a Riley Blake vintage ornament print that would make a good piece to base a color palette on.

You could choose a fat quarter bundle like this Moda Tiny Christmas pack of 31 fat quarters. A color coordinated fat quarter bundle would make a great cornerstone color way.

Here is a Moda Holiday Essentials 20 fat quarter bundle with traditional reds and greens.

This Kimberbell bundle of 9 fat quarters has colors similar to my collection.

Next, look at the individual colors in your main fabric. Add more of these.

Pinks, blue, 2 greens, red and white

Take a good look at your color palette and name the specific colors so that you remember what to look for. For example, do you need baby blue or electric blue? Take a reference photo.

Tip: if you pick colors you like, you will end up with a cohesive palette.

There is some magic to this principle. If you love a soft yellow, but dislike a bold yellow, you are going to choose fabrics with the soft yellow you like and this will create synchronicity through your chosen fabrics.

2. Choose your vibe.

You can see I like vintage Christmas prints, so I’ve collected around that look. You might like Mid Century Modern or Calico Cowgirl. What look are you drawn to?

3. Get a container, box , or jumbo zip bag to keep your stash together.

Here is a clear storage bin similar to mine.

I also keep projects in Jumbo Ziplock Bags.

1. Shop Sales!

   
   

When I started gathering Christmas fabrics, I just knew that I wanted a scrappy Christmas quilt someday. When I found sales or remnants I liked, I got them.

If you have time, you can source fabric inexpensively by thrifting or hitting sales. Know when fabric sales happen at your local stores. One local store has Fat Quarter Friday with discounts on fat quarters. (This seems to guarantee I am never there on a Friday!).

For a seasonal/holiday quilt: Big box stores may put fabrics on sale prior to the holiday or season, as well as immediately after. An independent quilt shop I frequent puts holiday fabric on sale the 3 months following that holiday.

Thrifting:

I love a good men’s dress shirt for its fabric potential. Look for all cotton (not stretchy) with a good smooth weave. I think men’s dress shirts can be one of the best quality clothing fabrics readily available.

How I think of the thrift store price, to know if I’m getting a good value:

Quilters are familiar with fat quarter size 18”x22”. They usually cost around $4 where I live.

When I look at the back of a large men’s dress shirt, I imagine the fabric below the yoke to be fat quarter size. The two front panels and sleeves give you more fabric.

So if my thrift store shirt is marked $5, I’m easily getting more fabric than what I would spend on a fat quarter.

Bottom line: get the thrift store garment if you love it.

Avoid: any clothing with multiple stains. One stain I would work around, but multiple stains might indicate a messy garment that could have other spots that would show up with time.

Shop Estate Sales, garage sales, antique stores, and charity sales.

My local quilt guild announced a quilter’s estate sale, and I picked up some great fat quarters and vintage blocks.

I also got the Hoffman Pink Poinsettia panel, which I think has fun possibilities, at the quilter's estate sale.

I think it will make an interesting quilt backing. I see framing it with a solid dark green that would look like an extension of the leaf color. Buy it here.

We have a local charity organization that takes donations all year and then has a huge garage sale. That’s where I found the corduroy & table runner fabric shown in the video. Side note- I scored some fantastic Nieman Marcus vintage floral curtains at this sale. They will make their way into a quilt someday!

Here is Robert Kaufman Christmas Red Corduroy in 57" wide cotton.

If you know what size quilt you want to make, you can use the Robert Kaufman app to calculate how much backing and binding you will need. If you don’t know your size yet, go ahead and get 2 yards for binding if you find a busy little print you love.

This FIGO bow print would make a good binding. I'd use cream color thread.

You can use a bed sheet for backing! Keep an eye out at discount home stores for cute sheets! Look for a high thread count and quality fabric.

How about an adorable aqua flannel with French Bulldogs or a soft flannel Christmas Grinch?

Throw in the extras:

If you have matching thread or a cutting template, include it in your project bin. If I have a printed quilt pattern I plan to use, I put it up front to remind myself the plan I have for the fabric.

Once I found a cute display quilt at a fabric shop. They didn’t have instructions, so I took careful photos, printed them, and put them with that project box.

Quilt I found on display at Sew Much Love Quilt Store in Granbury, TX

Keep mindfully collecting, and before you know it, you will have a stash ready to sew!

Much love,

Holly

P.S. Tell us about your fabric collecting on the forum!