A Really Nice Quilt Idea

Occasionally, I come across a stashbusting quilt idea that is novel, but easy to do. This is a baby Rail Fence quilt with a twist. The quiltmaker is Stephanie Driel in Australia who is a member of our Stashbuster's group. She uses half-square triangles in the center of each rail. What a great way to use up fat quarters! This would look great even on a queen-sized quilt. Easily, this would go together very quickly with quick cutting techniques for the HSTs. The solid-from-a-distance fabrics really make this work for me as it gives the eye someplace to rest.

Rail Fence Busts Stash FAST!

I want to first point out the the example quilt was all new purchased fabric, not stash. That said, if you have novelty fabric or a large pattern you want to show off, this is a very fast pattern to make and would use stash quickly.

This was the original inspirational drawing done by a member of QATW in EQ5. I like the orientation of the rails as well.


To make my rail fence alternating blocks quilt, here's what you do. Fussy cut your novelty fabric(s) using a 6.5 inch square. If you have an overall pattern, you can just cut fabric into 6.5 inch strips, then subcut to squares. Select 3 (or more) solid-from-a-distance fabrics that look good with your novelty. Cut into 2.5 inch strips. Sew 3 strips together. Press to one side making certain that you don't don't get any little folds in the front. Using a 6.5 inch square, trim off selveges, then cut 6.5 inch squares. Repeat until you have enough rail fence blocks. Decide on an orientation and sew row-by-row. I start on the bottom and work up-I find it easier to catch mistakes along the way.