deblam53

I have 20 squares in the broken dish pattern that my husbands grandmother hand sewed from leftover fabric from her house dresses, kitchen curtains etc. They are at least 40 years old. They are not perfect squares and one or two are about 1/2" smaller than the rest. I hate to cut the others down as her hand stitching and knotting will be cut off.
Any suggestions? Most of the fabrics have a white background. Maybe add a little trim on the edges?

Feathers-N-Fur

I would sew a frame around each block, either all the same fabric or alternating different colors. Then you can square up the framed block without cutting the original piecing.

PaperPrincess

Add a border to all the blocks before joining them. The difference will be less noticeable it they are all bordered. Remember, if the block is half an inch off, it will only be 1/4" on each side, which is minimal.

ManiacQuilter2

I had this problem all the time at the last guild I belong to with the block exchange. The best way to salvage them is to attach an oversize triangle to all four sides of the block and then trim them down so they will then be perfectly square. Here is an example:

deblam53

Thank you so much for these ideas! I wanted to add more fabric anyway so that it would be at least a decent sized lap quilt. Any of these options will break up the hodgepodge of these vintage leftover fabrics.