Decluttering with Class: The Stash Busting Challenge, Monochrome Edition

Greetings, my thread-loving friends! Today, we're going to embark on a project that might make your color-coded hearts tremble a bit, but fear not! I promise it’s going to be a blast.

We're diving into the deep end of the fabric pool with a "Stash Busting Challenge". And not just any challenge, oh no, we're going modern and minimalist. Hold onto your rotary cutters, folks, because we're quilting with just one color family! Yes, you read that right. Forget the rainbow, we're Zen Chic-ifying this show. Let's get this stash bash started!

Step 1: Choose Your Color Family (aka The Excuse to Buy More Fabric)

First things first, pick your color family. You might be thinking, "But, Brigitte, how can I possibly choose between bubblegum pink and ocean blue?"

Well, the answer is simple - pick the one with the most fabric in your stash. After all, this is a stash-busting exercise, right? In my case - if you look at my first pic above - I made out that chartreuse will give me a good starting point.

By color family I mean: Choose one color from the color wheel and go with lights and darks of it plus neighbors on the left and right.

And if, by some miracle, you don't have enough of any single color (read: excuse to go shopping), you can always expand the neighboring colors a bit.

Step 2: Designing Your Quilt (aka The Big Picture)

Now that you've got your color, let's dive into design. When we're talking modern and minimalist, we want to focus on bold geometry and clean lines. Think outside the patchwork box. Triangles, rectangles, hexagons - the world is your angular oyster!

For our tutorial today I went with my HINT OF LUSTER quilt - ideal if you have tiny little scraps. you just add some solid yardage for the background and have fun using all your little bits. But this is not the only Zen Chic quilt you could use for this challenge. Have you read our last week’s blog post? You will find a lot of inspirational quilts there too.

Step 3: Assemble Your Pieces (aka Where the Magic Happens)

Time to assemble those pieces! Remember, with minimalism, less is more. Keep it simple and let the color and geometry shine.

Don't forget, you're not limited to blocks of fabric. Try out some striped or patterned scraps in your chosen color family. Just piece together what you have to make it fit the needed size. And I used the orangy yellow to spice the tone in tone a bit up, like I would add that tiny bit of chilly to a soup.

Step 4: Quilting and Binding (aka Show off Your Skills)

Finally, it's time to quilt and bind your masterpiece. The best part about a one-color quilt? Your quilting will pop. Keep the quilting design simple - straight lines or gentle curves can add texture without overpowering your minimalist design.

And you can even use up your little scraps for your binding, hurray!

Conclusion

And there you have it - a modern, minimalist, one-color-family quilt that's sure to be the envy of all your quilting buddies. You've successfully busted that stash, and you've done it with style.

If you want to buy the HINT OF LUSTER pattern - here you go: get your download today.

Who knew decluttering could be so chic? Zen Chic, that is. Now, don't you feel enlightened, or at least a bit lighter in the fabric stash? Remember, a stash-busted home is a happy home, and a happy quilter has room to buy more fabric. Happy quilting, my friends!

Until next time, keep those bobbins full and those stashes (reasonably) overflowing!