Scrappy 16-Patch Quilt - My 2025 Summer Scrap Bash Project
Last summer we had our second Summer Scrap Bash with over 11,000 participants. Hopefully you’ve already seen some of the amazing quilts that have been shared (find them on social media with #summerscrapbash)...but today I’m finally ready to share all the details on my own 2025 Scrap Bash project: a scrappy 16-patch quilt!
The scrappy 16-patch block pattern
For this quilt, I used our free 16-patch block pattern. I originally shared this pattern as part of the first Summer Scrap Bash, but after last year’s Scrap Bash, we made it available to everyone!
I included it as part of the Scrap Bash because, well, 16-patch blocks are great for scraps! My version only needs two 2” x 10.5” strips of each fabric (per block), so it’s perfect for those long, skinny rectangles you never know what to do with. And since the block uses strip piecing, it hardly takes any time to sew one up!
Plus, the 16-patch block has such a classic look, and your fabric choices can make it charmingly vintage or strikingly modern. So what did I go for?
My Scrap Bash 2025 quilt
Because this was a Scrap Bash project, I turned right to the scrap bins for my fabric pull…so you’ll probably recognize lots of these from my past projects!
FABRICS
Off the top of my head, I see the Compass Points I used as backing on my 90s Granny Patch quilt, some scraps from my Duval Upscale Plaid, and Flora Fields Flax from my Hydrangea Knitted Blooms. I wanted a nice mix of solids and prints, which helps create movement in the quilt while also giving your eyes plenty of places to rest.
Plus there are some Fableism and Robert Kauffman wovens along with Essex and AGF linen blends in my pull…so I knew this quilt would end up with plenty of texture and depth! (You might recognize some of the linens and wovens from my Heirloom Nightingale and Palette Picks Patchwork Squares quilts.)
I loved those fabrics enough to pick them for previous projects…and it was so fun to see them again and give them a new life (and a new look) in a scrappy project!
I did decide to keep this quilt’s palette a little more focused than my last Scrap Bash project (the rainbow-colored log cabin quilt). I pulled peaches, purples, blues, tans, and black and whites…but I steered clear of greens, reds, yellows, and true oranges.
When I started mixing and matching fabrics for my blocks, I tried to pair solids with busier prints (because I didn’t want things to be too busy). For some blocks, I did use a subtle print alongside a bolder one, which kept things from feeling like too much.
My pull gave me enough fabric to make 82 blocks. I ended up creating a 9x9 layout, which meant I had one block leftover, and this quilt finished at 72” square…a very comfortable large throw size!
The finished quilt top has all the depth, texture, and movement I was hoping for…and all the different scraps make this feel like a celebration of my quilting journey over the past few years! It’s such a good reminder of everything I love about scrappy quilting.
(We don’t have kits for this quilt, but you can snag some of the fabrics as 1-yard cuts in the shop!)
BACKING, BINDING, AND QUILTING
I decided to pair the busy, scrappy quilt top with a simpler backing fabric…in this case, Art Gallery Fabrics’s Blue Ridge Buttercup from Bonnie Christine’s Year in Petals collection. I think the simplicity of a small floral makes a fun (and surprising) contrast to the scrappy quilt top!
I sent my 16-patch top to Megan at Blue Ridge Quilt Co. for longarm quilting, and we settled on the Simple Butterfly panto by Sew Shabby Quilting. Like I explain in my guide to choosing a pantograph, I always love contrasting straight-line piecing with curved quilting, and this panto has such a sweet design!
I went back to the scrap bin for my binding, making this an extra scrappy quilt. It’s a small detail, but it makes this quilt even more fun!
I love how a pile of scrap fabric turned into this lovely quilt. It feels a little like magic! And it makes me want to keep sewing more scrappy projects…like the Hovering Hawks quilt that’s still sitting on my sewing table. I’ll have to move it up in the sewing queue!
Make your own 16-patch quilt
You can sew your own scrappy 16-patch quilt using our free 16-patch block pattern!
We don’t have kits, but we do have lots of fabric bundles that would look great as a 16-patch. Or you can raid your scrap stash, like I did!
Plus, we have several other free scrappy quilt block patterns you can use:
You can even mix and match them together in one scrappy quilt!
I love how scrappy quilts all look completely different…and I’d love to see how yours turns out! Tag me @loandbeholdstitchery and #loandbeholdpatterns so I can admire your work.
Happy scrappy quilting!
