Postage stamp quilts consist of hundreds or even thousands of small blocks of quilt fabric sewed together in a random pattern. The postage stamp pattern has always been a favorite with frugal quilters who want to use up small scraps of leftover fabrics. The look is also popular today with quilters who like to make vintage-style quilts with reproduction fabrics.
If the idea of making a postage stamp quilt conjures up nightmares of struggling with piles of tiny squares, banish that thought. Today's fast strip piecing techniques make it easy to assemble a postage stamp quilt without the need for fussy cutting or painstaking sewing of tiny quilting charms. The basic requirement is lots and lots of 1½” fabric strips. Use strips cut from your own stash, or eliminate much of the cutting by buying precut 1½” fabric strips.
This article describes how to strip piece 6½” Postage Stamp blocks (6" finished block size). Each block includes 36 one-inch squares.
Tools and Supplies for Strip Piecing Postage Stamp Quilts
Basic quilting supplies and tools are all that’s needed to make Postage Stamp quilts:
- Cutting mat
- See-through, no-slip 24” cutting ruler
- Rotary cutter
- Strips of 1½” wide quilting fabric, cut across the fabric width from selvage to selvage. (Instructions assume a 42" usable length in each fabric strip.) Use a variety of different fabric colors and patterns to get a random postage stamp look.
- All-purpose or 100% cotton quilting thread in a neutral color such as beige or grey
- Sewing machine
- (Optional, but recommended) 1/4" quilting foot for the sewing machine
Step-by-Step Instructions for Strip Piecing Postage Stamp Quilts
Strip piecing consists of sewing fabric strips together, then cross-cutting the strip sets into smaller units and reassembling the units into blocks. When cutting strips for strip piecing, fold the fabric in half, trim off the selvages, and cut the strips crosswise across the full width of the fabric, aligning the ruler so it is square with the folded edge. Learn more on strip piecing basics.
Once the strips are cut, follow the instructions below to speed piece a postage stamp quilt. See the photos at the bottom of the article for a visual guide to building the quilt. Click on any photo to enlarge it.
- Cut each fabric strip into two 21” lengths. The shorter length makes the strips easier to work with and less likely to develop curved seams as they are assembled into sets.
- Lay two of the 21” strips with right sides together and sew them along one long side, using a scant ¼” seam, as shown in Photo 2 below. Continue adding strips until the strip set contains 6 strips. Each time you add a strip, sew in the opposite direction from the previous strip. This helps keep the seams from developing a curve.
- Press all the seams in one direction, as shown in Photo 3 below.
- Continue sewing strip sets until all the strips have been joined into six-strip sets. Press the seams on every second strip set in the opposite direction from the previous set.
- Cross-cut each strip set into six 1½”segments, as shown in Photo 4 below.
- Randomly combine six of the cross-cut segments and sew them together into a 6½” square. Each time you add a segment, try to use one with seams pressed in the opposite direction from the previous segment. This helps the segments nest together for easier sewing.
Once all the segments are sewn into blocks, the blocks are are now ready to sew together into a quilt top. 6½”postage stamp quilt blocks are also a good size to use for scrappy borders.
Related Quilting Articles
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- 8 tips for successful strip piecing in quilting. Strip piecing can dramatically cut the time it takes to sew together many pieced quilt blocks. Try these tricks other quilters use for strip piecing success.
- Four easy strip-pieced quilt blocks. If you're a time-challenged quilter, or a beginner who would like to start with a quick and easy quilt, here are four basic blocks you can make fast with strip piecing.
Christine Mann - Christine Mann writes about quilting, home decor sewing, and creativity in daily life.
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