A Zig and A Zag : First Cutting Instructions

This post is part of an ongoing series of posts for A Zig and A Zag Quilt Along I’m hosting here on my blog.  You can join in at any time!  You will find the links to all previous steps in my sidebar.

Okay! I know that some of you are anxious to get a start on this quilt and I don’t want to keep you waiting. Don’t worry if you don’t have your fabric yet, you can start at any time. I’m not going anywhere. 😉

Just a quick reminder of what we are doing here.

A Zig and A Zag : First Cutting Instructions

I’ve had some questions about different background options if you are doing the rainbow version of this quilt. It’s a little tricky because you are looking for another neutral that shows off the 14 different fabrics. But I threw together a few options for you to see. I really like the light aqua one personally but I’m such a sucker for blue.

A Zig and A Zag : First Cutting Instructions

The aqua plus the original and a couple of other options.

A Zig and A Zag : First Cutting Instructions

So…you want to get started?! I do! I do! Because this quilt is strip pieced, the first step is fairly simple…we’ll be cutting some strips. Go figure. Since we are working on all of the colors at one time, there will not be too much to each step each week. Just realize that you are doing the step for 7 rows and 14 fabrics…so it adds up. But trust me, it is more efficient to make the quilt this way rather than a row at a time.

For my own clarity I will refer to the colors throughout my instructions from the original rainbow version with a white background.

Cutting:

Background Fabric

• Cut (2) white strips measuring 1 7/8″ wide per fabric the width of the fabric. With 14 fabrics that adds up to (28) white strips measuring 1 7/8″ wide by 45″.

• Cut (1) white strip measuring 6 7/8″ wide per fabric the width of the fabric. With 14 fabrics that adds up to (14) white strips measuring 6 7/8″ wide by 45″. Then cut each strip into (6) 6 7/8″ squares. You will have a total of (84) white squares 6 7/8″ x 6 7/8″.

Rainbow Fabrics

• Cut (4) strips measuring 1 7/8″ wide per fabric the width of the fabric. So you will have (4) strips of each of the 14 rainbow fabrics measuring 1 7/8″ x 45″.

And that is it for the first step! So there are a lot of strips to cut and many of them are just slightly less than 2″ wide. Do yourself a favor and put a new rotary blade in your cutter. It will make your life easier. Also, I prefer to cut skinny strips like this with a really long ruler and cut across the folded width of the fabric. So you end up cutting about 22″ at a time. But do whatever works for you!

And I’ve started a couple of threads in my group over on flickr for you all to share in. Unfortunately blogs aren’t really set up for all of us to talk to each other. But flickr is…so hop on over there and share your blogs, your photos, your questions, your progress…heck share whatever you want! But that will be a great source to get support.

6 thoughts on “A Zig and A Zag : First Cutting Instructions”

  1. I bought my greens, oranges & purples today! I don't have much choice in those in my own stash, so I finally used a gift card that I won at my guild MONTHS ago. 😀
    I'll shop in my stash for the others & after I take care of a couple of prior quilty commitments….a zigzagging I will go!

  2. I really like the aquaish and yellow combination. Was it designed with particular fabrics in mind or is it just a mock up? I would love to buy the fabrics it is designed off of if it was designed with fabrics in mind.

  3. the aqua and yellow combination is just a mock up, but I'm sure I could come up with a fabric selection for you in those colors if you need some guidance. I love to pick out fabric. 😉

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