How to use fabric charm packs in your dollhouse
One of my most asked questions as a mini-quilter is where do I get my fabric?
There are two main issues when it comes to finding fabrics suitable for miniatures:
- Teeny tiny small prints are of course the holy grail of mini fabric, but they're not always so easy to find!
- Fabric is usually sold by the metre/yard or at best quarter metre. That's a LOT of fabric if you only need a few square inches for your mini project.
Wherever you are in the world, you probably have a quilting shop nearby, or at least online. And if there is, I would recommend looking for charm packs and layer cakes in the pre-cuts section.
I regularly shop with The Sewing Studio who stock a great range of pre-cuts in the UK. For this blog post, they very kindly gifted me a Mini Charm Pack and a Charm Pack from the Moda Fabric range, so I could show you how I like to use them for making 1:12 scale dollhouse miniatures.
First off, a quick guide to Pre-Cuts
Charm Pack
A charm pack is made up of several 5" squares of fabric, usually from one range and coordinating. You might get some repeats, but they usually have decent variety.
Mini Charm Pack
Same as a charm pack except these are an adorable 2.5". Perfect for adding a little bit of variety to an existing fabric stash for just a few ££.
Layer Cake
Similar to a charm pack, but these are 10" by 10", which means you can also back a quilt with them.
Jelly Roll
Several coordinating fabrics cut into 2.5" strips - usually around 44" long. You get a lot of fabric to play with in a jelly roll!
You'll need to search to find the right pre-cut for your colour scheme and with small enough prints for dollhouse miniatures. Thankfully the Sewing Studio includes a second photo with all the included designs. Super helpful!
How to use your pre-cut fabric packs
Whichever size you choose, pre-cuts are perfect for micro-patchwork.
The smallest pre-cut is a mini charm pack, and from that I can get 4 x 1/2" square patches or 4 x 1/4" hexies - two of my smallest and most favourite patches to create 1:12 miniatures.
If that sounds a little fiddly, I'd recommend starting with either 3/4" squares or 1/2" hexies. You'll want a regular charm pack - I can get 9 of each patch from each fabric piece. With between 20 and 42 pieces of fabric per charm pack, there is more than enough to make a quilt front, and them some.
For all this I use the same hand sewing technique that is commonly used for larger hexie patterns - English Paper Piecing - but I do it on a tiny scale. You can find out exactly how from my digital tutorials, available here.
Here's what I made with the beautiful Mini Charm Pack and Charm Pack I was given by The Sewing Studio:
I hope this has inspired you to give mini sewing a go in your dollhouse. Please do share your creations, I love to see them!
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Have fun mini friends!
Anne-Marie
