8 Ways to Build Your Own Leftovers Quilt

Today I want to share more about how you can make your own leftovers quilt! The basic purpose of a quilt like this is to help you avoid accumulating leftover quilt blocks and instead end up with a scrappy sampler quilt that is unique to you and your work! This is meant to be a long term project, I made my quilt over the course of about five years.

For more details and photos of my leftovers quilt see this post: Fantastic Leftovers Quilt


When I was pulling together a start for my quilt, I quickly realized I already had a couple of leftover quilt blocks in my stash that had similar colors. Instead of starting from scratch I decided to use those blocks as the basis of my quilt for a traveling quilt bee.

I've been in a few virtual quilting bees over the years, and one of the downfalls is that you generally don't end up with enough blocks at the end to put together a big quilt. Knowing how long a traveling bee would last, I also knew I didn't want to wait until I had my blocks back to get started on what I'd need to make. I realized I could solve multiple problems at once by creating a quilt to use up existing leftovers and actively avoid creating new leftovers!


Before we dive into the ways you can build your own leftovers quilt, let's talk about why I think you should consider this idea. In my opinion, there are two big advantages to making a quilt like this.

One: It's great for participating in interactive events like quilt bees, quilt alongs, and classes.

Two: It's a sustainable method for managing your leftovers, revisiting abandoned projects and avoid creating new leftovers.

Without further ado, here are 8 ways to build your own leftovers quilt:

1. Shop Your Block Stash

Start your quilt with an leftover block or two that you already have, or pull a fresh new color palette to work with. You could also start with a quilt in progress that has a few blocks made already, then you'd be even more ahead of the game! This is a great way to give an abandoned WIP new life.

2. Use Up Leftover Block Units

Do you have a stash of leftover half-square triangles, flying geese, etc? Check to see if any of those match your quilt! Personally, these are some of the toughest bits for me to use up, so it feels extra good to use them!

3. Join a Quilt Bee (or two!)

If you want, find a quilt bee to participate in and ask members to use your color palette to create blocks for your quilt. For my quilt, I asked the bee members to make whatever kind or size block they'd like, so that I'd get a wide variety of designs.

4. Participate in a Quilt Along

Want to make blocks for a quilt along, but don't want to commit to making the entire quilt? This is a fun way to participate and add to your quilt at the same time! I made blocks during the Fussy Cut Sampler* quilt along to add to my quilt.

5. Test Quilt Block Designs

This was one of the biggest ways I added to my quilt over the years. Every time I needed to test a new block design or try out a new-to-me block, I made the test block in my quilt's colors. This way I was adding blocks to my quilt and avoiding making more leftover quilt blocks. Win-win!

6. Ask a Friend

Depending on how specific your color palette is, your friends (or fellow quilt guild members!) may have some leftover quilt blocks that would match your quilt. Turn it into a fun block swap!

7. Learn a New Technique

Taking a class or workshop on a quilting technique? That's another great opportunity to use your color palette and add to your quilt!

8. Use Up Scraps
Don't forget your scrap bin. Tame your scrap stash and make a few scrappy blocks for your quilt. Another win-win! I kept a small bag of coordinating scraps separate from my other scraps while I worked on this quilt.


I'm excited to decide on a new color palette to work from for my test blocks now that this quilt is finished. I've made a few already in all hand dyed indigo fabrics, but I'm not sure quite yet if that will be my long-term palette. We'll see!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial! I have lots of other tutorials for everything from quilts, pillows, bags, and holiday items to informational series and techniques. Find all my tutorials here: Tutorials. My online shop is filled with patterns for quilts and bags. Find my patterns here: Jeni Baker Patterns

If you make something using one of my tutorials or patterns, I hope you'll tag me @jenib320 and use my hashtag #jenibaker on instagram!

Happy Quilting!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.