A Super Simple Improv House Block Tutorial

The very first quilt I ever made was a bunch of improv houses! They were all different sizes, extremely scrappy and colorful and I just put them all together by adding strips to the blocks willy nilly until I had a quilt top.

Improv quilting might not be what most would consider a great beginner quilt project, but I disagree! Improv is pretty uncomplicated actually, and can be the perfect way to start, especially if you don’t enjoy having to cut a hundred pieces out before you even start sewing.

I recently got a bug to make a second go around of an improv house quilt and filmed a tutorial for you all too. My house quilt has since become a whole ‘nother thing, with trees and an apartment building, but let’s just stick with the basic house tutorial for now!

Watch the video tutorial below and you’ll see exactly how the houses go together AND you’ll understand how easily you’ll be able to make these houses your own by adding extra doors, windows, levels, chimneys and anything else you feel your house needs.

Improv houses can be made in any size, or you can make yours uniform. I’m making mine different, letting each house come together as it will. Then I’m turning them into a neighborhood of sorts (I can’t wait to show you more!) Next up will be an improv tree block tutorial, so make sure you stay tuned for that and subscribe to my YouTube channel to be sure and catch it right when it’s up. I’m usually a week behind with the blog posts, so YouTube is definitely the best way to keep up with my newest content as it’s published.

If you’re new to improv quilting, you can read this post to learn more. It’s truly my favorite! There is SO much room for creativity involved and it feels like the kind of puzzle-solving brain can get really hyper focused on, I just think it’s so, so fun.

I wanted to put little characters and pictures in my doors and windows, so to supplement my scraps, I ordered some Heather Ross scraps from Etsy! I love Heather Ross fabrics and I know many of them have little animals and other things, and I was right. The scraps I got greatly added to my scrap stash for this project! I recommend shopping for fabric scraps for a variety of reasons, which you can learn all about in this video.

I hope you’re inspired to try some wonky houses of your own and that you become as addicted to making them as I am, hahah.

Cheers and Happy Sewing!

Nikki