This is yet another attempt at using up the scraps of fabric in my basement. You would think that I would be getting close to the end but no. There is still quite a bit to use up.

This one is good for using up long strips of fabric. I used regular cotton on one side and flannels on the other. It is a quick project that can grow to whatever size quilt that you need. I am still making the lap size that the hospital requested.

Step 1: Gathering and Cutting Fabrics

I used random cotton strips for one side. They were cut 2 1/2 inches wide. You can use wider strips--such as the pre-cut jelly rolls that are available in so many stores. I recommend using only width for the whole project--unless you do a lot of pre-planning and stay organized.

The other side will be alternating light and dark stripes of flannel. All the strips are cut the same width.

I wanted my quilt to finish about 36 inches long. My strips were 2 1/2 inches (cut) so I assumed that they would be 2 inches in the final quilt. You loose 1/4 inch along each edge when you sew the seam. This means that I needed 18 strips for each side of the quilt. I decided to use 19 strips for each side so that the flannel side could start and end with the same color.

I decided not to use batting on this quilt. It gives you a lighter weight blanket this way. You can make this a heavier blanket by adding strips of batting if you want to. I may try using up a pile of batting scraps next time but I chose to make this one without it. The flannel layer makes it pretty snuggly even without batting.

Step 2: First Few Strips

You will start with 2 strips of the top fabric and 2 strips of the backing fabric (I will call this the flannel side).

Lay out a strip of the top fabric--right side up. On top of that, lay a second strip of top fabric face down. Separately, lay out a strip of flannel face up. Lay a second strip flannel face down along the strip. Layer these two stacks with the top fabric over the flannel strips. Pin along one edge.

Sew a quarter inch seam down the entire strip. Remove pins as you come to them.

Flip over the top strip and the bottom strip. Lining up the edges of the two flipped strips. Iron if necessary.

Step 3: Each Additional Strip

Take another strip of top fabric and another strip of flannel. I used random colored top strips but I alternated between two colors of flannel.

Lay out the previously sewn work with the back side facing up. Lay the flannel strip down with the wrong side facing up. Line up the edges. Pin in a few places. Flip over the whole stack. Lastly, lay out the new top strip face down. Pin every few inches through the 4 layers.

Sew a quarter inch seam. Remove the pins as you get to them. Flip the top layer over and iron. Flip the whole quilt over. Flip over the backing strip and iron again.

Add additional strips until you have reached your desired size for the quilt.

Step 4: Binding

Once the quilt has grown to the size you need, sew the binding around the entire outside edge. It is a good idea to give the whole thing a good pressing before you add the binding.

I have an instructable that details the binding process.