Free Scrappy Pineapple Block Pattern

So after about a gazillion email requests I have finally gotten around to posting the free Pineapple Paper Piecing Block Pattern I created to make the Scrappy Pineapple Beach Bag you have seen in a previous post.

I really do love the bag and have found it to be incredibly useful. I drag it to quilt guild, on plane trips, on the boat, and wherever else I may need to tote a ton of stuff.

Go download and print the FREE Foundation Paper Piecing 6 inch Pineapple Block and start using up your scraps today!

Scrappy Pineapple Beach Bag!

UPDATE 3/12/2010: I have uploaded the FREE 6 Inch Paper Piecing Pineapple Block Pattern to the previous post - it can be found here:  Free 6 inch Paper Piecing Pineapple Block Pattern

So here is what I made using my "Chip Basket" of scraps. A super huge beach bag that was made entirely out of scraps. First I made 19 six inch paper pieced pineapple quilt blocks using 100% scraps - and small scraps at that! The blocks made quite a dent in my Chip Basket and the lid is now neatly back on the container that was overflowing less than two weeks ago. For absolutely no new cost I have a very functional, very cute, large tote bag that is big enough to hold a beach blanket and at least three beach towels. In the photo below it has three large towels in it with room for much more!

I had exactly one yard of the lime green fabric, and that became the backing of each section of the stipple quilted beach bag. I pieced the batting from scraps by giving each piece a clean cut, butting them together and then zig-zagging them into larger pieces. This diminished the pile of batting scraps I had stacked up. I covered some ugly olive drab cotton webbing I had with some purple strips of fabric I had left over from a previous project, and that became the handles. Even the binding used up bias binding pieces I had leftover from Quilted Toddler Bibs I have made as gifts and for pattern cover photo shots.

I took this photo to give you some idea of how large the bag is. I really love how colorful, bright and happy it turned out! Oh, and I covered the inside seams with seam binding made from the lime green fabric - still from that same yard of fabric.

Here's the bottom of the bag.

And these pouches are made from four patch blocks I never used from a block swap. I put webbing straps on the back of each bag which will allow them to be snapped onto the pole that runs up the dash of our boat. The red one is for my husband and the purple one is for me. It will keep our wallets, phones, camera, ID's, etc., handy, safe and secure while we are out on the boat... yet more scraps used up! I just had to share this project and give everyone ideas regarding their scraps. The fun part of this project for me was that I literally didn't buy a single new item to complete this. I just kept digging until I found what I needed to complete it! Dig into your scrap buckets and start sewing! What can you come up with?

UPDATE 3/12/2010: I have uploaded the FREE 6 Inch Paper Piecing Pineapple Block Pattern to my previous post.. You will find it at the end of that post.

Scrappy Pineapple Quilt Blocks

UPDATE 3/12/2010: I have uploaded the FREE 6 Inch Paper Piecing Pineapple Block Pattern to end of this post.

What you see above is my "Chip Basket." That's what I call the little container that I throw all my scrap bits of fabric and odd half square triangles, wonky strips and any other little leftover fabric pieces that accumulate as I piece together quilts. I even save those first cuts of yardage you are left with after you square the fabric up prior to rotary cutting. Either way, we all have these little scraps. As you can see by the photo my Chips had grown too large for the container I was keeping them in and this past weekend I thought I should go purchase a larger bin. "HOGWASH," I said out loud, as I quickly came to my senses! I decided right then that I would start using them up!

The Scrappy Pineapple Block to the left is what I came up with. I vowed to myself, and now to all of my online quilting buddies, that I will make one of these blocks every single day, no matter what, until I can at least put the lid back on the Chip Basket without having to sit on it to get it latched. Believe me, the bin can't stand that level of abuse...

I was given the most marvelous gift from my Quilt Guild secret pal recently and that helped me decide what direction I wanted to go. She had bought for me the June Tailor Perfect Piecing Transparent, Blank Foundation Sheets for paper piecing. This is a marvelous product, let me tell you! I stuck it in my printer, and it printed up the block lickity split. It is so easy to use, you can see right through it without having to hold it up to the light, and it tears away like butter but only when you are ready to tear it off! The photo to the right shows a block before I sewed on the scraps.

Here is the back of two blocks. See how easy it is to see through and thus to work with? It is a gift from the quilting Gods, in my humble opinion.

And here are Saturday and Sundays blocks, even sewn together. I have put the free 6 inch Paper Piecing Pineapple Block on the end of this post for everyone to use. Dig into YOUR scrap bins and make something bright, happy and useful today!

(you can scroll to the bottom of the embedded pdf file and click on "download" to print...)

Pineapple block 6 inch