Saturday, June 28, 2025
10 am – 3 pm (break for lunch at 12 pm)
Holy Family Room
St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church
2061 Patton Chapel Rd
Hoover, AL 35216
To get to the Holy Family room, park behind the church and go in the back entrance. Head to the back left corner of the foyer, go down the short hallway, and you'll walk straight into the Holy Family Room at the end. The room is within hollering distance of the foyer if you get confused.
Cost: $15 per person (guild member)
Depending on interest, a boxed lunch option may be available from Chicken Salad Chick (additional $11.50-$15.50 plus tax).
Space is limited to approximately 20 people due to the size of the room.
Do you have fabric, yarn, or fiber scraps that are too small for you to use but you can’t bring yourself to throw them away? Would you like a fun, gratifying, low-risk, quick project playing with color? In this workshop, we’ll explore confetti crumb quilting to make a mat out of tiny scraps. We’ll make a “pocket” out of tulle and fabric-lined batting, stuff it with scraps, quilt it, and then add a binding around the edges. This is a great scraps stashbuster project.
You choose what size mat you’d like to make. The sample projects shown are approximately 13” x 8-9” rectangles intended as sewing machine mats.
Suggested uses:
- sewing machine mat
- houseplant mat
- decorative centerpiece mat for a table
- coasters
- lap mat for spinning (make each side a different contrast, light or dark)
- cut shapes out of the mat with cookie cutters to make Christmas ornaments
Note: These mats may or may not hold up well in the washing machine. If you want to use them as placemats, for example, where they might need regular washing to get off food or other residues, you might want to make a test sample and wash it a few times before committing to a bigger project.
Measurements are not given for the fabric, tulle, and batting below because those will depend on what size mat you want to make. We recommend making a mat around the size of or smaller than a placemat while learning this technique since manipulating the mat during quilting without the little pieces shifting can feel a bit juggly. A lap mat for spinning may be a challenging size but doable, especially if you aren’t aiming for a precise design with your scrap placement. Whatever size you choose, make sure your backing fabric, batting, background fabric, and tulle are an inch or two bigger all around than your desired finished size.
Definitions: The backing fabric is the fabric you will see on the underside of the mat. The batting is layered on next. Then the background fabric, which will be seen from the right side of the project. The background fabric is to fill in any teeny gaps between the scraps with color where the batting would otherwise peek through. If you are okay with the batting color (usually cream or white) peeking through, then you can skip the background fabric. Our binding will be cut in 2.5” strips, but you can use a wider strip if you prefer. A wider strip such as 3” might also be easier for those new to binding since these mats are a little thicker and lumpier than the average quilt top.
Type of fabric: Woven quilting cottons are the easiest type to use when learning this technique, though your scraps can be various types of fabric so long as your sewing machine needle can go through them. If you are experienced with using other fabrics such as polyester satins, corduroy, flannel, etc. for your backing and/or background fabric, go for it.
If you would like a headstart on the technique, below is the main reference video. We will not be making ours exactly the same way (ex. we are using batting instead of foam), but it is very similar.
Confetti Crumb Quilting by Stitch with Rachel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwSkOnoU_1k&t=998s
Payment options are the same as guild dues: You may pay by cash/check or mail your check to Jennifer Lackey, 1907 Saulter Road, Birmingham, AL 35209. The fee can also be paid using PayPal. Please mark it “friends/family” and NOT “goods/services”. Use this address: paypal.me/GBFiberGuild or use our gmail account gbfiberguild@gmail.com
If you do NOT have your own batting and/or tulle, please notify the instructor while registering so that these can be purchased in sufficient quantity in advance. The instructor will also have extra fabric “confetti” in various colors and a limited quantity of binding if you do not have enough of your own.
Basic Skills: You must know how to wind your sewing machine bobbins, thread your machine, change the sewing machine needle, install a walking foot (if using), and operate your machine. You also need to know how to operate your rotary cutter safely (if using) and possibly change the blade if it’s dull. Proper pressing technique isn’t important for this project, but basic familiarity with an iron is recommended.
Supplies
- sewing machine (don’t forget the treadle and power cord)
- sewing machine needles: you may prefer a titanium or heavier needle for this project. If you can, bring both regular sewing machine needles for quilting cottons (usually a medium) and heavier needles just in case.
- extension cord
- optional: a sewing machine bed extender if you plan to make a larger mat
- optional: walking foot (a regular presser foot is ok)
- thread for machine quilting
- 1-2 pre-wound bobbins
- optional: thread that matches binding if machine-binding
- scissors
- Wonder clips or pins
- cutting mat
- rotary cutter
- quilting ruler(s) (a long one for cutting straight lines)
- piece of fabric for backing
- piece of fabric for background
- piece of tulle
- piece of batting
- fabric for binding
- assorted fabric, yarn, and/or fiber scraps (“confetti”)
- optional: some larger bits of fabric, lace, etc. to float on top of the design (see the blue sample mat in the photo)
- optional: hand-sewing needle, thread, and thimbles for hand-sewing on binding (if you prefer, you can machine-sew the entire binding)
- optional: cookie cutters, embroidery floss, tapestry needles, and thimbles for sewing binding around raw edges if making Christmas ornaments out of the mat
We will ask 1-2 volunteers to bring an ironing board, iron, and water spray bottle for all to use as needed. We may also need 1-2 power strips.
We’re excited to see what everyone makes!