October 2022 tHE mAKING OF fRANKENBATTING! nOT SCARY AT ALL!
All of us have strips of batting that we’ve trimmed from blocks and quilts when squaring up our pieces. I sometimes use these to test stitch width and length, thread colors, etc. The absolute best use of leftover batting, however, is in making Frankenbatting. Just as with Frankenstein, it’s held together with stitches.
There are several ways to assemble Frankenbatting depending on the size of the leftover pieces and it’s future purpose. The first step in the process is to divide your pieces/strips into comparable sizes: long strips from the sides of trimmed quilts, middle-sized pieces and then the smaller pieces. I’ll begin by describing the process for the middle-sized pieces as it best fits our purposes here. I iron any rumpled or wrinkled pieces before beginning.
Medium-sized pieces: Begin with the smaller of your medium-sized pieces. You’ll want to be working with straight edges on your batting so a little cutting will be in order. Lay the edge of one piece of batting slightly over the second piece. Use a ruler and rotary cutter to cut through the overlapping edges, creating a straight cut on each piece. Lay the two pieces NEXT to each other but no longer overlapping, sew a loose zig zag stitch down the length of the two abutting pieces.
The goal is for the pieces to lay flat after sewing. Any type of ridge will create the same in your block. Increase your stitch width and length if a ridge occurs. It doesn’t matter whether you begin on one side of the block, in the middle or in rounds as in a log cabin block. Continue sewing in this manner until your piece is large enough to be useful. I finish the process by ironing the completed piece.
Larger pieces: These pieces usually emanate from trimming and squaring the sides of a larger piece. If you know the dimensions of the piece you’re looking to create, cut the longer pieces to length, remembering to add a few inches for quilting. Once again, overlap the edges slightly and cut them using a ruler and rotary cutter. Lay them next to each other and sew together using a zig zag stitch.
