Buried in Fabric Scraps? This New Book Has Creative, Modern Ways to Use Them!

November 14, 2025

What do you do with your fabric scraps? Do you save every last bit of fabric, or do you limit your scraps to larger pieces?

I’m thrilled to share a new book with you, written by my quilting friend, Sylvia Schaefer. Modern Scrap Quilts: Playing with Negative Space is Sylvia’s second book on incorporating negative space into modern quilt design (the first book is The Quilter’s Negative Space Handbook), and it is packed with even more great information.

Today, I am sharing some highlights from the book, along with a mini quilt top I made that was inspired by the section on ghost blocks. Then, we’ll do a giveaway so one of you can receive a digital copy of the book! Make sure to read to the end to see how you can win.

(Note: I received a free review copy of this book to write this blog post.)

Modern Scrap Quilts: Playing with Negative Space

This book includes patterns for ten quilts, but the information about each technique is the best part of the book. Each technique of scrap usage is thoroughly explained so you can use it in other projects and designs, meaning you are not limited to projects in this book alone.

Sylvia Schaefer reimagines modern quilting by blending scraps into expansive negative space for depth and texture, with 10 creative quilt projects and techniques using fabric scraps.

Modern Scrap Quilts is divided into four main sections to break down different methods of scrap usage:

The Basics: Scraps in the Block and Echoing Block Shapes
Filling In Blocks: Accent Blocks, Ghost Blocks, and Contrasting Blocks
Improvisational Piecing: Pure Improv Negative Space, Structured Improv Piecing, and Created Fabric
Color Gradients: Foreground Fade-Out and Gradients in the Negative Space

Background Information

As Modern Quilters, we often think of negative space as a field of solid color, but Sylvia provides ample technical and background information about why and how to create dynamic scrappy quilts that embrace the use of negative space. This includes information on how the foreground and background fabrics relate to the negative space, basic color theory, and how different types of fabric prints can be used to create a relationship with negative space.

Fabric Requirements

Sometimes it’s challenging to determine how many scraps you need and whether your scrap sizes will be suitable for a project. One of my favorite parts of this book is the diagram that appears in the corner of the page next to each pattern, indicating the size and quantity of scraps required for the project. For instance, the project associated with this diagram utilizes a small number of small scraps. More details about this diagram are explained early in the book, so you will know what to expect as you begin a project.

Quilt Designs

In addition to quilts with complete patterns provided, Sylvia also includes numerous sketches of other potential quilt designs to illustrate how each concept can be applied in various design scenarios. In the diagram below, we see how a simplified version of a key block can be simplified for scrappy use in the negative space of the quilt.

These diagrams also provide an opportunity to consider how the scale, layout, or density of scrap usage affects the overall aesthetic of the quilt, which will help you to avoid potential pitfalls as you create your own designs using these techniques.

Using Ghost Blocks for a Mini Quilt Top

I found the use of ghost blocks in the Accent Blocks section of the book to be particularly inspiring, and I started pulling out my scraps to make a mini quilt top inspired by Sylvia’s Homeward Bound design.

The background of my quilt consists of a half-yard of Grunge fabric with a few chunks cut out, combined with low-volume scraps, and the foreground highlights green scraps. I discovered that most of my scraps are actually too tiny for four-at-a-time flying geese, so I ended up using a stitch-and-flip technique.

I was inspired to experiment with ghost blocks in this mini quilt top.

This mini quilt is the perfect size for a cushion cover, so I think it will soon become one.

Giveaway!

I’m thrilled to team up with C&T Publishing to offer one of you lucky readers a digital copy of Modern Scrap Quilts. This opportunity is open to readers residing anywhere, and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog post telling me something about your scraps. (How do you store them? How big do they have to be for you to keep them? What is your favorite project you have made with scraps? etc.)