Modern Scrap Quilts: Playing with Negative Space

by Sylvia Schaefer

Reimagine negative space with scrappy quilts!

Explore innovative techniques to transform fabric scraps into vibrant scrappy negative space quilts! Sylvia Schaefer's approach reimagines the modern quilt aesthetic by weaving small cuts of fabric into the expansive negative space, creating depth, texture, and stunning designs.

Learn how to create gradients, ghost blocks, interspersed improv blocks, add background accents, and more! Discover 10 creative techniques to transform fabric scraps, each with a detailed discussion on using scraps in negative space and a quilt project to practice the concept. Packed with inspiration and tips, this book empowers you to design your own unique scrap quilts or explore the provided projects!

• Create 10 creative techniques and 10 fresh and imaginative quilt projects offering endless opportunities to hone your skills and bust your scrap pile
• Learn how to create gradients, ghost blocks, interspersed improv blocks, and add background accents
• Learn about design elements that might detract from the overall design, along with tips for smarter fabric purchasing

Genres: Quilting

128 pages, Paperback

Published November 25, 2025

About the author

Sylvia Schaefer is an author, pattern designer and award-winning quilter. She holds a PhD in marine science, and her background in science often inspires her quilt designs, both directly and indirectly. Her quilts and patterns have been published in magazines both online and in print, and her work has been exhibited and won awards regionally and nationally, including ribbons at Pacific International Quilt Festival, the American Quilter’s Society show in Paducah, and MQX, among others. In 2017, she was awarded the second annual Craftsy Quilt Designer Fellowship, allowing her to start her own line of printed patterns sold in quilt shops around the world. She has also appeared on camera in Fresh Quilting and Patchwork Nation. Her first book, The Quilter’s Negative Space Handbook, is a guide to designing modern quilts using traditional quilt blocks. See more of her work on her blog.