Monday, December 18, 2017

What to Do with a Mini-Charm Pack

I am a lover of precuts—jelly rolls, charm packs, and layer cakes all have their place in my stash and in my heart. I like having a cross-section of certain fabric collections, and buying precuts is less expensive than investing in fat quarters or yardage of an entire line.

Each kind of precut has its advantages and disadvantages, but I think mini-charm packs—sets of 2.5-inch squares—are the least practical. There’s only so much you can do with those tiny pieces of fabric. When I received a mini-charm pack of Kate Spain’s Voyage at my guild’s fall retreat, courtesy of Moda Fabrics, I knew I would have to put those squares to good use right away, lest they wither away unused in my stash, so I challenged the other retreat-goers to sew something with their packs and present their creations at the December guild meeting.

I decided to make an En Pointe Bag, from Kairle Oak’s tutorial on Moda Bake Shop, which proved to be a cute bag and enjoyable sew.

The colors in Voyage are gorgeous!

Everything for this project came from my stash, including the Essex Linen exterior, Lotta Jansdotter lining, and Denyse Schmidt binding.

The interior of the En Pointe Bag features a single pocket.


A binding along the top gives the bag a clean finish. No turning required!

Note to my future self: If you make this pattern again, remember you veered from the instructions a bit. That is, you interfaced the patchwork panel, pressing it lightly with your iron just enough that the interfacing would fuse. This technique worked well and gave the final project the body you were looking for!

The bag is interfaced, which gives it great structure.

The other participants in the challenge came up with different project ideas. One person made a reversible bracelet. Another designed some baskets. Others made everything from potholders to mini-quilts. It was fun to see how we each took the same little bundle of squares in our own direction.

If you are the owner of an unused mini-charm pack, I ventured into the From Bolt to Beauty archives to find other projects you could tackle with your precuts.

Earlier this year, I made ornaments from a mini-charm pack of Basic Grey’s Juniper Berry ...


And back in 2015, I followed a free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop to make this runner. (The instructions call for mini-charm packs, but you need so many of them that cutting up a charm pack will yield all the printed squares you need for the runner size. I used scraps for my version.)


Do you have other recommendations for using up a mini-charm pack? It’s only a matter of time before I have another in my stash!


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23 comments:

  1. The bag is beautiful! I think challenging yourself and your guild to use the charm squares quickly was a wise decision. Do you get to keep the bag?

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  2. Such a beautiful bag, Michelle! I love this post and your review of the tutorial. I’m so glad you thought to line the insert. That is actually the way that I made my bag, but somehow forgot to add the piece to the cutting directions.. Coincidentally, someone asked me about it yesterday and I made the correction to the tutorial. Again, well done!

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  3. I actually find Honeycombs to be the least versatile. Nice bag!

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    1. Yes! I forgot about the honeycombs. Moda seems to make them with very few fabric collections, too. I have to admit, though: a local quilt shop had a honeycomb of Bonnie and Camille's Happy Go Lucky. It seemed to go unpurchased for *years*. If I could go back in time, I would scoop those hexagons up in a heartbeat!

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  4. Pretty bag Michelle, great use of the mini-charms with this. Another tutorial on the Moda Bake Shop is the Quilted Patchwork Pouch by Julie Hirt, which is great for the mini charms also.

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  5. I've used mini charms to make a set of placemats - I do a row of minis horizontally and bisect it with a vertical row. (I have pics here: http://quiltingwithjannette.blogspot.ca/2015/06/a-few-things-ive-done-this-month.html)

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  6. This certainly is a sweet bag! I have to confess the only time I had a mini charm pack, I didn't use it, but gifted it away!

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  7. I like your bag, what kind/weight of interfacing did you use on the patchwork panel? And did you only do the patchwork section and not the linen above and below it?

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  8. Your bag is amazing! I am in awe of bag makers!

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  9. The bag looks great. Love the fabrics you paired with the charm pack. Merry Christmas!

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  10. Very nice bag - I love when I'm able to make an entire project from my stash.

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  11. I love your notes to your future self... basically the whole reason I blog:-) Another beauty, and a great way to use up those mini charms!

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  12. very pretty -- I generally purchase the mini's to get a feel for the fabric line with out making a commitment for a layer cake/charm pack ... and I have a drawer of mini's to use up ....

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    1. Excellent point! Yes, I've done that with the larger charm packs. Sometimes when I want to color match a fabric but don't have it in a local quilt shop for comparison, I'll buy a precut before committing to yardage.

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  13. I’ve made Christmas stockings from mini charm packs. And a nifty pincushion / thread catcher which sits by my sewing machine. Your bag is awesome!

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  14. That's a really great bag! The mini charms work great for hexagons. They are just the right size.

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  15. Your bag is so pretty. I may have to try it, since I have a few mini charm packs and always get a bit "stuck" in thinking of how to use them. Thanks for the ideas!

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  16. It costs a lot more per yard to buy pre-cut fabrics than if you buy yardage. With pre-cuts you have to deal with zig-zag edges. Most pre-cuts are too small to wash before using. To me, other than FQs, pre-cuts are not something I buy.

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  17. I love your bag. Such a great size and I love the prints paired with the linen.

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  18. Your bag is great! I made a pattern from Moda Bake Shop called Scattered Squares Pillow. Several friends attended Road to California and received mini charm packs in a goodie bag. One friend wanted to make matching pillows so I gave her mine and she cut me 40 various red squares from her stash in exchange. Win-win . It's large, 18 X 18 and the red fabrics transition from Christmas to Valentine's Day. I have yet to use Essex Linen. I love the look and may have to venture out there!

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  19. That is a great charm pack. I think I have a charm pack that needs a pattern. Thanks for sharing.

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  20. I saw this bag when it came out, and it is on my list to make. I love how yours turned out. One more idea for the mini charm packs is kitchen towels. You could use this tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts. http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2015/10/simple-patchwork-dish-towel-tutorial.html I think they are adorable!

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  21. I love the bag. I often struggle with them too and end up cutting them into 1-inch hexagons.

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