At the end of last month, Prairie Flower Crafts (a quilt shop I love shopping at when I go visit my mom) announced an Ugly Quilt Contest. I've participated in an ugly quilt challenge before, so I knew I wanted to do this one too!
The challenge was to use three one-yard cuts of "ugly" fabric to make a quilt top using one of Fabric Cafe's free 3-yard quilt patterns. The rules for the contest said you could use any cotton fabric, but it had to be made into that exact pattern. I immediately began the quest for my "ugly" fabric!
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking the links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!
I have a box in my stash where I keep some vintage fabrics that have no assigned purpose. There were some really great contenders for "ugly" in there!
And although the three shown in the bottom of the photo do seem to coordinate, I didn't feel like they were "ugly" enough to win the challenge. In Kansas City, there are a couple amazing fabric shops that sell donated and vintage fabrics. I set out to find some fabrics to coordinate with those in my stash. Yes, I planned to actually purchase ugly fabric. I know, I know. Crazy!
I found some great contenders at Fabric Recycles. They have a fairly large selection of fabric organized in color order. It's so hard to consider anything ugly when it's in color order! I found the metallic gold zebras and red/purple blender there - both vintage, though I have no idea how vintage.
My next stop was Scraps KC. Another amazing place that *always* has a vast selection of art materials. They don't have as much fabric, but I still managed to find a "gem." The striped fabric has a desert scene in the background with cactus. Totally goes with zebras, right?!
Although, once together, maybe they weren't so ugly any more?? Hmmm...
The pattern went together really quickly. I used Aurifil 50wt #2324 Stone as my top thread, but lots of random bobbins of 50wt in other colors that were leftover from other projects.
It's made using strip piecing, so you piece together strips first, then cut the blocks from those strips. (Get the free pattern here if you might like to try it!)
Both my metallic zebra fabric and striped desert fabric were directional, but the pattern needed one fabric to be turned 90 degrees. I decided I would turn the striped fabric sideways but leave the zebras horizontal.
The quilt top measures about 44" x 59", and didn't turn out as ugly as I expected!
I'll turn in the quilt top next week to the quilt shop so it can be included in the contest. Then once I get it back (hopefully with a gift card for winning!), I'll quilt it on my longarm with some of the extra fabric as backing and binding, and then donate it locally.
Want to see the other "ugly" quilts I've made?
THIS ONE was for another ugly quilt challenge!
And THIS ONE used a stash of vintage floral fabrics!
What constitutes ugly fabric to you? Do you have any ugly fabric in your stash??
Now it's time to share what you've finished this week! Link up so we can see! (Interested in hosting TGIFF? Nudge, nudge! Sign up here!)
Reading about these fabrics and this quilt gave me a chuckle, Laura! I do love the overall colors of the quilt. The print details are what makes it quirky.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your struggle to find ugly fabric! :D That quilt actually looks beautiful in its "ugliness" - lol!
ReplyDeleteHow fun - that fabric really gets *un ugly* when all quilted up! Nice job!
ReplyDeleteYour are right that the fabrics don't seem ugly when they are hanging out together. I wonder if there's a life lesson in that? LOL I did laugh that you went out and *purchased* ugly fabric. I don't really have any I thnk is ugly, but sometimes older fabrics are donated to me for my charity projects that I wouldn't have bought myself. Sometimes I see fabrics in shops and think, "Who in the world would have designed something like that and thought it would be easy to sell?" =) Your quilt looks great to me, and I don't know if it can win an ugly contest!
ReplyDeleteHi Laura, I wish you luck but frankly the quilt isn't that ugly. I looked back on your other two ugly quilts but the one that I thought ugly was the tumbler quilt and only because the colours were sort of dull. I guess I have my answer - dull quilts for me could be considered ugly. Take care.
ReplyDeleteSuch an entertaining post in that who knew finding ugly fabric takes almost as long as finding three desireable fabrics for a quilt.
ReplyDelete