When I went looking for a piece of batt to layer the friendship quilt from last week’s post, I couldn’t find one big enough in all the leftover pieces from previous projects. I didn’t want to cut into a new batt for this small project, so I decided to piece some of the chunks I had. I learned a simple way to do this years ago, and decided it might be of help to some of you.
Typically the chunks we want to piece together do not have even edges. This trick makes them fit perfectly. Simply overlap the uneven edges.
Place a ruler on the overlap, being sure there’s some of each piece past the edge of the ruler and cut.
Remove the excess batt.
Then stitch the even edges together with a “Z” stitch. I recommend matching your thread and making the horizontal stitches about 1″ apart. Don’t pull them tight ~ just enough to cause the edges to lie comfortably against each other.
Once stitched it should hold together well enough to layer and pin the quilt sandwich. And once finished the quilting will hold the batting secure. This is the batting being pieced for my runner (note needle almost half way up).
The “Z” stitch is a temporary stitch, so be gentle as you put the sandwich together. I personally would rather do this than purchase batting tape. Do you have a way you prefer? Any other ideas for using up scrap batt?