This was a project taken from an early 20th Century crafting book, Needlework Economies. The idea was that every scrap of fabric, fiber, and yarn could be repurposed into something useful. In this case, a quilt that was something akin to an eiderdown quilt, but much less costly, obviously.
I started collecting scraps and snippets for this project well over a year ago, working on it here and there. Larger scraps were cut into squares, smaller scraps pieced together in strips or crumbs and then cut to size, and all the leftovers were minced into stuffing.
I assembled the squares into pillows, stuffed with various bits of fabric, fiber, and thread. The pillows, I joined into 9-squares, first by hand, then by machine as that got horribly tedious. I recently decided to take what I had (12 of the 9-squares) and make it into a lap quilt. I’ll likely add to it as I generate more scraps, but there were a few other scrap-quilt ideas that I’d like to try before that happens. It’s a small lap quilt at 27"x36".
It is FANTASTIC and I’m beyond thrilled seeing someone make this. I bookmarked this post with the intention to do it, I have scraps gallore and can never throw out even the teeniest bitty bits. It’s the perfect project for someone like that!
Thank you for digging up that link, @Magpie! I couldn’t remember if it had been posted here or over on Deadster. It feels like more than 2 years ago, but then the last 2 years have felt like an eternity.
Fascinating! How is the weight compared to a regular quilt? My first thought on looking at the pattern was that it would be similar to a weighted blanket, but I guess that would depend on your fabric scraps…
I pretty much just paired up squares at random, based on what I had cut. If I had a few dozen pillows made, then I tried to make the 9-squares look as nice and orderly as possible. But, yeah, very random.
I really love this idea!! I think I saw this idea on a BBC show once, the show where they pretended to live on a farm in the past? Not sure which decade/season but I do remember the scene quite clearly. I may have to try it some time. I scrappy sustainable projects.
YEEHAW! Your fantastic craft is one of this week’s Featured Projects! 
scrappy sustainable projects.