Ticker Tape Quilt Along Week 1: Cutting

By now you all have probably figured out that I love making more than one version of the same quilt. So during this fun quilt along, I’m going to share some “making-of” photos & videos of 2 different versions. I made a smaller version of Ticker Tape with a Navy background last fall, and I’m making the larger version with a Turquoise background now.

So for this week’s assignment, make sure you have a copy of the Ticker Tape quilt pattern and choose the size that you’ll be making – from Lap to Queen. Then gather the fabrics you’ll need for the size you’ve chosen. For the Turquoise Double Size version, I’m using my Dazzle Dots Snazzy Squares in Turquoise for the background, along with one full Dazzle Dots strip-roll.

I specifically chose how many strips of each color I wanted in the precut bundle when I designed my Dazzle Dots line. There are 22 fabrics in the collection and a total of 40 strips in the bundle, but I only included 1 strip of a few fabrics I thought would make great backgrounds, and 2 of everything else. That way you can set aside that one strip (like the turquoise I chose) and then still have enough fabrics to make all the blocks.

After you are happy with your chosen fabrics, follow the cutting instructions in the pattern on page 2 to cut out all of your pieces. Now here’s a bonus tip: I prefer to cut all of my pieces to the correct size rather than strip piecing them. This will make your blocks more accurate, reducing the chances that you’ll stretch your blocks out of shape.

Here’s what it looked like after I cut out all my pieces for the Lap Sized Navy version:

Keep all of the background units together and organize your colors so that all of the same fabrics are together. Thinking ahead to sewing the blocks next week: you can make the blocks coordinated, or super scrappy. Since I’m making 2 quilts, I’m doing one of each technique – so stay tuned for more details next week!

Let me know what questions you have as you make this quilt. I’m here to cheer you on every step of the way! If you’d like to share pics of your progress and get feedback from me, please share them over in my Christa Quilts Group on Facebook.

Until next time, happy quilting!!