I have had a lot of people asking me how I am keeping my scraps under control.
They know I’m not big on having LOTS of scraps around. I have a small home and studio space so I have to work very smart. I can’t keep lots of bins of scraps.. and honstly i don’t want to.
I love NEW FABRIC… so my scraps are little treasures.. but treasures that need to be USED.
First I do not keep tons of scraps. I enjoy what Joan Ford told me, she only keeps so much then she makes quilts with it. I love this idea. I was talking to Heather Valentine on the radio show yesterday and she said the same thing. Once the bins are full.. make a quilt or donate the fabric!
This works for my space and my interest level for scraps. I want to USE them.
CLICK HERE to listen to my talk with Heather on April 7, 2014 and to Joan Ford on June 10, 2013
I’ve been working on a lot of quits lately. They generate lots of scraps. I either put the scraps into one of my small shoeboxs or into a large box. If both those boxes are full.. ahem… then I pile on my cutting table. yes… there is some overflow allowed
The cutting table pieces ALWAYS get addressed first.. I wonder why?
I am cutting scraps into
- 2″ squares
- 2.5″ squares
- 3.5″ squares
- 5″ squares
- 2.5″ WOF strips.
There are a lot of patterns using these sizes available. Joan has written two great books worth of patterns for the sizes she cuts.. you can get them on Amazon
First i try and squeeze out something from the scrap. 2.5″ won’t work here
So I have a 2″ square
Triangles produce smaller triangles
Sometimes when I’m feeling very thrifty… I will sew these randome triangles together to make squares. then trim those down to a regular size.
When I am short on time or not feeling very thrifty… they go in the bin
So how BIG a piece do I keep? if I can get a few 5″ squares out of it.. and I’m NOT excited about the fabric anymore.. they get cut.
BUT.. if there is a piece bigger than 5″ square and I’m super pumped about the fabric.. you might call it.. hoarding… I call it excited… don’t judge…
Then I do not cut it.
I… Save… it… maybe for a very.. very.. long time…. but that’s another story.
I have at times sewn strips and chunks together.. but I’m trying a new thing to just keep the sizes standard. So for strips… I keep just the WOF strips so they become ‘jelly roll’ strips and allow me to easily use a jelly roll pattern
smart right? Well it works for me.
This bin is getting very full of 3.5″ squares and 2″ squares… soon they will need to become something!
5″ squares are charm packs.. right? PERFECT for many things.
I have been sewing my ‘low volumne’ 2.5″ squares into 6 x 6 blocks for a full size bed quilt. I am SO excited about this one.. it’s going on my bed this summer!
I’m keeping 3 small shoeboxes.. and the 2 large ones.. that… is it.
Once you cut up the fabric it takes so much less space then when you throw it in a bag.. I’m so amazed by that!
Tell me
What are you doing with YOUR scraps?
And click to my FREE PATTERN PAGE for 2 free pieced patterns using 2.5″ squares and one using Charm and more!
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85 Responses
Iwas throwing scraps into totes. After getting two huge totes full I took three or four days and cut them into sizes I use a lot. Now they are in zip lock bags labeled. Instead of throwing new scraps into another tote I force myself to cut them right then and place in corresponding bags. It takes time but not as much time as the first time. I couldn’t feel my fingers for days. I can probably make at least 4 or 5 quilts just out of ‘scraps’.
I am addicted to buying fat quarters! Since I do a lot of English paper piecing with lots of small pieces I have developed a system that seems to work….at least for me. When I need to cut into a fat quarter I cut across the pieces (not up a side). I then cut the fat 1/4 into a 1/8, fold it and store in labeled shoe boxes (the kind you can buy at JoAnne’s, ACMoore, etc) after I ‘ve finished cutting from the remaining piece and it is at least 9 x 10 I fold it and store in shoebox labeled as such. If the piece is smaller the it is cut into 5 inch squares or whatever I can manage to squeeze out! Believe me….a fat quarter seems to last forever!!! I still have a few pieces of one of your fabric lines from 15 years ago!
As I am cutting for new projects, I put all small usable scraps in a scrap bin that I got in the dollar store. The really small stuff I throw away as I go. I keep it next to my small cutting table.
When it gets too full to add anything to it, I spend a few hours cutting into 2”, 2 1/2”, 2 1/2 x 5, and 5 “ Blocks. Larger scrap pieces get folded and set aside until I am cutting and 5 x WOF, 2 1/2 “ x WOF & 2” x WOF. I cut 1 1/2 x WOF ( I only cut these from solids & blenders for narrow framing strips), Actually if I can get a strip longer than 12” long I cut that as well. I sort by sizes and color. I use these in so many projects that it is something I continue to do.
Oh, very, very, a lotus! I live in Bulgaria, so there is no tradition of making quilts and that is why it is very difficult for me. Your lesson is very useful to me. I have accumulated a lot of waste and I do not know what to do with them and how to store them. Thanks for the help that comes at the right time
st Polk. Kethudov 33 B ap. 22
We just downsized and I fave most of my scraps to our guild, (except batiks) could not part with them.
Now that I have a new sewing room, I a, sure my “addiction” will start again, I really like your idea of cutting in various standard sizes and I will start doing that…even for new batiks. Thanks for the inspiration.
I do much the same: 2” squares, 2-1/2 inch squares, 5” squares, 10” squares, and 2-1/2” width of the fabric. Leftover blocks become hot pads for the table if they are large enough, or mug mats if they are too small.
Great! Loved this and will spend this afternoon cutting smaller pieces for quilting in the future. The triangular pieces you are throwing away can be saved and donated to the local schools for children to use in their art classes. I have a special plastic bag hanging on my pegboard that I stuff all the smaller pieces into and when it is full – donation to schools or senior centers for art projects. Viola! Another use for those scraps that are too tiny to use for anything else.
Once mine are less than a fat quarter, they get cut down. First, 10 inch squares (layer cake) – if not big enough for that then 5 inch square…on down to 2.5 inch square (or strip), and 1.5 inch square. The difference- I then sort them into my various color and theme bins so that they’re handy when I’m ‘picking’ for a project.
I have been sewing for only four years and I try to cut up the scraps at the end of each project. I cut 5″, 3″ squares and 2.5″ tumbler shapes so have three boxes only. I love the idea of making block as you go with them.
I take all the crazy bits and bring them to two art teacher friends who use them for art projects with kids.
I purchased Joan Ford’s Quilt Your Stash book several years ago. Love it. I really love your Traffic Jam pattern and I am really excited to make this one from my 2 1/2″ squares. I am amazed at the organization system. As I am cutting larger pieces of fabric and storing them into small plastic containers. Your idea of using the scraps as soon as the container fills up is a great help as well. Thank you for sharing this information Pat.
In addition to the square sizes that you mentioned above, I keep all sizes of strips, (I label the totes “working strips”…and get a lot of questions about the labels..lol). I also cut out 2 ” tumblers , Dresden Plate wedges, and any small BRIGHT pieces that I call CHIPS…I use them in miniature paperpieced blocks…when a friend hands me a small ziplock of chips I go bonkers! So think of me when you toss those bright chips that are smaller than 2″…lol..
I save mine in gallon plastic bags, each color in its own bag. I think it’s more organized to cut them but I just know as soon as I do I will need a scrap larger than what I cut! Sometimes when I just want to sew I sew string blocks with a waxed paper foundation but I am getting tired of doing that.
I just gave away a whole lot of my scraps to people who needed some and then I am going to make some more scraps while I am making my next quilt.
It might be time for me to use up some of my scraps. 🙂
This is just what I needed to hear! I had started cutting squares, who doesn’t love patchwork right? I also have ziplocks filling with 1 1/2 strip (for log cabins)and 2 1/2 strip (for scrap along). It always helps to know how other people deal with scraps.
I love your fabric. It just makes me so happy to play with it, even in tiny pieces!I made one of your quilts for a friends mom who was in hospital/rehab/home in repeating cycles and the quilt went with her through all the cycles. It brought joy to her and her family as well as the staff in the facilities.
I quilt on a very tight budget and this process you explained will help make the most of what I have, thank you.
Just a btw, it makes me want to cry (almost) seeing those beautiful colors in the bin! Oh, come to mama you pretty little pops of color…. haha
All these scrap techniques create standard sized pieces, 2″, 2.5″, 3″, 2.5″ strips.
After reading the book “15 Minutes of Play” by Victoria Findlay Wolfe, I found that I could take all my odd shape scraps, like from paper piecing, and 1/2 square triangle cuttings, and make found fabric. I had a lot of asian fabric scraps that I couldn’t part with, and while it seams the scraps multiplied during this process, and I have more now than when I started, I create about 50 pieces of fabric that I am going to make into a quilt, and I contemplating whether I should trim or keep the odd shapes.
I also took up English paper piecing hexagons (I now know there are other fabulous shapes as well), and bought the cardboards in 1/16″ increments from 1/4″ (4/16″) to 1″, and in 1/8″ increments to 2″. I used 100’s of charm squares with 2″ hexagons, that was my introduction, and then I found that I wanted different sizes to maximize the use of my fabric scraps. Now I have 2 big bins of completed hexagons sorted by size, batiks, Christmas, … and gone through a ton of scraps
I only recently started cut mine into the sizes you listed 1 1/2 inch strips. I wish I would have done this a long time ago. I freed up a whole shelf and I celebrated by buying more fabric. I do not have an addiction! If i keep repeating that I May eventually believe it…. lol
I got Joan’s books and love them, and use the same system. Now when I finish a new project, I do cut any scrap leftover into the biggest sizes I can get from them – 5″ square, 2.5 strips and squares, 2.5 x 4.5 rectangles (geese!), etc. Anything closer to a fat quarter or larger in size goes back into the yardages stash. I have two small tubs with the squares and rectangles — one tub light colors, one tub dark – and a bigger tub with 2″ and 2.5″ strips, my scrap jelly rolls. My plan is to make at LEAST 2 quilts from those tubs this summer. Its a great system, a great idea. Cut your scraps into the sizes YOU prefer to use. Cutting all the accumulated scrap was time consuming initially but it’s easy peasy to keep it in order now the system is in place. I recommend it.
I took a few Scrap Therapy classes when they were new 🙂 Ever since, I do NOT let my scraps sit in piles wrinkling. They sit flat until a project is over and they they get cut and binned. I do save pieces larger than 10X15 uncut. I have to thank Scrap Therapy for saving my sanity. I hate to throw fabric away. I save orphan blocks too.
I cut scraps 2″ strips for strip quilts. 4×8 for brick road quilts. 6″ for scrap quilts. My quilt group makes quilts for homeless children. Last year I donated 20 brick road, all made from scraps. The back is either yard sale finds or pieced together larger pieces. I keep all my left over binding and also use it on the donated quilts. I can completely make a quilt in a day. A child is warm, thre scraps are out of my house. Win win all the way around.
Pat you know I am cutting mine into usable pieces and at they moment all the lights are cut, and I am working on the darks. I do need to get some plastic boxes to store them in, but that will have to wait another week as this next weekend is full with a finishing class all day Saturday and Sunday with friends and with subbing long term I am too tired to go shopping after work.
I save all my scraps also but if smaller than 2′ I will use for leaders and enders. If I have a long 1″ strips, I use those for testing different stitches. I will use a seam ripper to cut batting from the trimmed backing on my quilts. Then trim up the long strips for future. Scrappy quilts are in my mind but not yet under my machine
I spent a lot of time pressing and cutting scraps … still have another BIG tote to sort, press, cut apart!! but, I now have colored plastic shoe totes (got on clearance and took all 6) … squares are sorted by color … first, I had it by size – but when I started doing applique’ .. having a color per tote was easier!
now, I love the idea of taking just a handful – make a bigger block .. put aside … and build, build, build (no, it’s not hoarding!) LOL
I have two large (kitchen sized) trashbags full. I will deliver them to anyone in the So Cal area 🙂
When I’m done with a quilt I will take left over fabric and cut it to standard sizes that I can use for other things. If I have something that is at least 6″ wide WOF I will keep that with my fat quarters. I will cut 2.5″ strips out of anything at least 10″ long. Then cut 5″ squares (which can be cut down to 2.5″ squares later if need be). I don’t have a lot of scraps yet, so I don’t sort by color, but by cutting leftover fabric after each quilt it is a lot easier to find something that I can use in other projects. If I need 2.5″ squares I can look in that bin or the 5″ bin.
I do keep smaller scraps so when I want to sew, but don’t want to have to think, I can put my “strings” or “crumbs” onto a foundation and make blocks for a mug rug or pot holder, or even a scrap quilt. I hate to throw out any fabric if I can help it.
Another great idea for scraps, is having an exchange with your other quilting friends and getting new to you fabric.
Started doing this and unreal how you can use them in bags, totes, placemats, and all kinds of projects.
I am using every speck of scraps over an inch wide. I cut out many pieces of 3X3 paper and I am sewing the scraps on,trimming, then saving until I have enough squares for a quilt top!
I told clothlparcel know about new line, they have great Price’s
I don’t have a quilting budget so I save all my scraps. I have a plastic drawer system that I put my scraps in by colour. I also have a drawer for “strings”. When a scrap drawer gets full, that’s usually the main colour of my next quilt. I don’t cut to sizes because I don’t want to be limited to those sizes.
I have 5 little trash cans under my sewing table that I put scraps in by colors. I said once they are full, I will cut them up just like you have done. They are full…and need cutting 🙂
I love this idea!!! Thanks for sharing… When I find the time I am definitely going to clean up my scraps to save room and tidy things up!!!
I’ve recently met a few young quilters (20s and 30s, mostly stay-at-home-moms busy with little ones) who want to quilt but think it takes SO MUCH TIME to cut out all of the pieces. I have started putting together pre-cut quilt kits from my scrap boxes. What a great feeling to empty a scrap bin and encourage a new generation of quilters!
wow, that’s very impressive!! that’s all the “stash” you have??? does that mean that your’re cured or does it mean you never had FHD {fabric hoarding disorder}?
Phew, that’s what I need to do, and I keep telling myself so! I may have to make that this weekend’s project, because my paper bag is taking up waaaay too much floor space! Thank you for the idea!
~Brandy
I did that with denim from blue jeans – I cut squares as large as possible and went down in size from there. I have stacks of denim ready to be made into utility quilts. Now I need to do that to my cotton/quilting scraps. Just haven’t done it yet. I like the idea of keeping only squares and strips and not odd-shaped pieces of fabric.
I’ve always LOVED my scrap quilts to I save anything I can get a 2″ square or bigger. Last week I took out all my scrap boxes and bins (and there were MANY) I had 6 large plastic totes full. My friend helped me sort them all by genre and color. Now that all the smaller scraps are sorted by color I’ll take on my two huge boxes of fat quarters. I have some scraps that are cut to 2.5″ squares, 3.5″ squares and 5″ squares, those are in small plastic totes. I’m slowly working on getting them organized.
you are inspiring me to go thru my scrap tub and make something useful out of it ! Thank you !
christine
After reading one of your earlier blogs about cutting your scrapes, I bought Joan Fords book Cut the Scrapes. I have been working on that ever since. It is amassing how much less space it takes up, and how freeing it make me feel! So thank you Pat for all your wonderful posts.
This is something my local quilt shop shared recently. Cut scraps into 2.5 inch squares and sew as beginers and enders as you piece (which helps save thread) and when you have enough, you can make them into something like a quilt or a sashing on a quilt.
I’m very thrifty with my fabric, since I too have a very limited space to quilt let alone store extras. Right now I have 2 glass candy jars for scraps, then a small bin for my fusible applique scraps.
Thank you Pat, I have been saving my scraps because I am currently in the process of making a scrappy spider web quilt. Once I finish that (almost there). I will use your plan, and as I have a quilting friend who enjoys making crumb quilts I plan to gift her with what is left as she will use anything 1 1/2 inches or larger.
Thanks for all you great ideas!
Love your ideas, Pat! You keep me going! I have begun to cut 2.5″and 3″ squares, and have a decent collection. For the moment, I am holding onto bigger scraps.
I’m in the collecting stage at the moment. When enough builds up a new scrap quilt will be born. I can’t remember if I shared this with you or not. Here is the last scrap quilt
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/305330049708189764/
I save my scraps and use them to make baby quilts which are then donated to the local crisis pregnancy center.
Usually I sort by color but i havent cut anything down to a regulated size> I probably should just donate all of it. but some of it i love and I think once I have a week to organise I will cut down and organise better. ans maybe find a few treasures to make a really scrappy quilt.
I really like how you use your 2.5″ squares and sew them into 6×6 blocks. I could easily do that and then store them for later use.
Thank you for the tips! Love your little candy frog in the pic! My sister gave me one because I collect frogs!