A scrappy quilt binding is a great way to use leftover fabric strips from your stash. Instead of cutting the entire binding from one fabric, you piece together strips from several different fabrics. The result is a striped binding that can echo the different colours already used in the quilt, or even add something totally different.
Choosing fabrics for a scrappy binding
For the quilt shown here I used fabrics that are a mix from light to dark in value. The colours vary between browns and dark pinks. This makes the binding appear more scrappy than if I had chosen fabrics that were all similar in value. However, both approaches are equally good – just know that you'll get a calmer result with fabrics of similar value.
You can mix as many fabrics as you like. This is a good place to use leftover pieces from making the blocks, and you could also add some extra from your stash or scrap bin.
Cutting the binding strips
All strips must be the same width. I prefer a 2½ inch wide binding.
The strips do not need to be the same length. I have some very short pieces in here, but generally, I like to use anything from about 8 inches and up.
Small pieces can work, too.
Sewing the binding strips together
Place two strips right sides together (RST) at a 90 degree angle, and sew the short ends together using a diagonal seam. This is the same method you'd use when joining regular binding strips. In case you're not familiar with how to do this, check out my binding tutorial.
Continue adding strips until you have a long binding strip.
The total length should be enough to cover the entire perimeter of your quilt plus about 10 inches extra for corners and joining the ends. I also have a tutorial on how to calculate how much binding you need.
Preparing the binding
Once all the strips are joined:
- Cut the corners off, 1/4 inch to the outside of the seam.
- Press the seams open.
- Press the entire strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together.
The binding is now ready to be sewn onto the quilt in the usual way.
A place for the “problem fabrics”
A scrappy binding is also a good place to use fabrics you are not very enthusiastic about.
One of the fabrics in this binding has cartoon-like cows on it. I never really liked that print very much, I think it was gifted to me in a bag of scraps – but the colours worked with the quilt. Once the fabric is cut into narrow binding strips, the motif becomes less apparent because the pieces are so small.
It is a useful reminder that a fabric you do not love on its own can still work perfectly well when it becomes part of a larger mix.
Can you spot the cows?
The scrappy quilt
The binding shown here is from my scrappy version of the Waffles & Jam quilt pattern.
All the fabrics in that quilt come from my stash. Some are from the 1990s, some from the early 2000s, and one brown floral that I suspect might be from the late 1970s. Mixing them together in a scrappy quilt makes them feel surprisingly cohesive, especially when the colour palette stays consistent.
A scrappy binding felt like the natural finishing touch for that quilt.
The Waffles and jam quilt pattern is in my shop, where you can also see other versions of this versatile quilt pattern!