Cutting Fabric for Small Houses

[Nancy Lee.]

I am late to the party so I have only completed the 8 Small House 1 units so far. I realize this post is too late for everyone that started in January but I thought I would post it in case it would help quilters who start the pattern late like I did.

Before I started cutting I decided to try to minimize the number of different sizes of pieces to cut. I came up with a plan to decrease the number of sizes to cut by half without wasting a lot of fabric.

The Pattern Directions for all the Small Houses combined call for these cuts:

Pattern Direction Cuts	Total to Cut
1.25 x 1.25	16
1.5 x 1.5	16
1 x 2	48
1.25 x 2	64
2 x 2	8
1.25 x 3	32
1.5 x 3	56
1.25 x 3.5	48
1.5 x 3.5	32
3.5 x 3.5	24
3.5 x 4	8

With my method you would cut your fabric with these sizes:

My Shortcut Sizes	Total to Cut
2 x 1.75	144
1.5 x 3.5	168
3.5 x 3.5	24
2 x 2	8
4 x 3.5	8

I have attached a file to a later post with more details for each house. I am using 30-32 different fabrics so I cut a 3.5" x WOF strip from each fabric and then cut out the pieces as follows:
5 each 2 x 1.75
5 each 1.5 x 3.5
1 each 3.5 x 3.5
In addition, I cut 8 different 2 x 2 pieces and 8 different 4 x 3.5 pieces for the Small House 4 window and roof.

With this method I have been able to mix and match pieces for all the Small Houses with a few pieces left over which I hope to use later in the buildings. It has been fun to have all the cuts done and then play with the fabric combinations before starting to sew.

~Nancy

[Helen W.]

Nancy Lee, What a great idea. Sorry you are late to the party, this would have helped a lot of quilters.
I don't see your files or picture. Maybe try again. I have had a really hard time getting some of my posts and pictures not to disappear. HelenW

[Nancy Lee.]

Thanks and Yes I did have difficulty attaching the file. My post even had to go to Potential Spam Jail for a bit as they thought I was a Bot trying to edit the post :-)

Here is the detailed chart and a photo of my Small House 3 fabric cut, sorted and ready to sew.

[evelynspaulding]

To avoid confusion when cutting sky fabric, I lay the fabric right sides together and cut strips of 5.5" or 7.5". This automatically gives you the 2 face-up or face-down. With these rectangles, you may waste some fabric but it allows you to place them any way needed.

[Dishoo]

I am behind a month myself and also came up with alternate cutting instructions. I know my method will generate more waste, but it keeps me from getting confused both when cutting and sewing. Just thought I would share in case it might benefit someone else.

[Stacey Koehler.]

Barbara,
I am late to the party too, just got my kit washed and prepped and am now ready to cut. How much shot cotton did you have left at the end when you completed your quilt? Do we have more than enough to play with so we can cut using this method? It just seems a lot easier to cut 5 + 5 + 1 from each of the 3.5 strips and then mix and match from there. Not being able to see the subsequent patterns makes me nervous which is why I'm asking how much wiggle room we have with the solids.
Thanks, Nancy for discovering this and putting it all together!

[Barbara B.]

Barbara,
I am late to the party too, just got my kit washed and prepped and am now ready to cut. How much shot cotton did you have left at the end when you completed your quilt? Do we have more than enough to play with so we can cut using this method? It just seems a lot easier to cut 5 + 5 + 1 from each of the 3.5 strips and then mix and match from there. Not being able to see the subsequent patterns makes me nervous which is why I'm asking how much wiggle room we have with the solids.
Thanks, Nancy for discovering this and putting it all together!

Some of my favorite fabrics were close to gone by the end, some I had at least a 3” strip left. My kit had 1/4 yard cuts so I increased it to 1/3 yard cuts for our Kits. If you run out of a favorite, you can easily substitute something else.

[Ruthie H.]

I received my kit on 4\13, now it is washed and pressed, ready to cut. I am excited to start and hope to catch up with you ladies who decided to do this in a timely manner!

[Suzanne C.]

So my twin sister and I are doing this together for a gift for our older sister. We are just getting started. So concerning Barbara Black’s speed cutting for the background, on the one for block J there is a Blue line and Red line. Just to clarify that the Red Line is for the Small House 6” piece and the blue is for the 7” piece. Thanks