Scraps, they are breeding in my sewing room and probably the sewing rooms of most people that sew. They seem to double as soon as you turn your back.
When I began my quilting journey three and a half years ago, I finished my first quilt and looked at the pile of scraps and thought “I’m not sure what to do with these”. I went through the pile and anything over 5 inches I put into a bag and the rest I threw out.
Once I had made a few quilts and used smaller pieces of fabric in my work I thought that I was wasting fabric when I threw out the scraps so start saving everything over 1 inch and giving away the tiny scraps to the local nursery to be used to glue on pictures.
My scrap pile grew so quickly, so after a few months of sewing, I had enough scraps to make 3 lap sized quilts, which I made. Using scrappy wadding pieced together, scrappy backing and all the little bits of thread left on bobbins from other projects. I felt really pleased with myself once I had made these as they had cost nothing to make.
Pretty soon, the scrap pile had grown again, I bought a large Tupperware bucket and spent 3 weeks cutting up the scraps into strips and squares of various sizes and storing them in the bucket. Last year, I made another 2 scrappy quilts and 1 top which I donated but it didn’t make much of a dent in the scrap pile.
I started to be very strict with myself and after each project was finished, I would cut up the scraps and store them before beginning a new project rather than be faced with days of cutting up scraps like before, this made them easier to deal with.
This year my scrap bin lid would not shut so it was time to tackle the scraps again. It was so much easier to do this time around as they had already been cut into usable sizes.
So far, I have made one quilt top however I have enough scraps for at least another 4-5 quilt tops, so this is the next few weeks assorted out for me!
Occasionally when I look at my scraps, I do feel a little overwhelmed by them and just want them gone but I can’t bring myself to get rid of them as it is just such a waste. But once a quilt top is made, I feel a real sense of achievement, it’s almost like getting something for free at the shops.
I have decided that every year I will dedicate July and August to using my scraps and the rest of the year I will sew whatever I want, it is a compromise that hopefully I will stick to.
The other thing that I decided is that I will make bags, coasters, table runners and lots of other things with the scraps and not just quilt tops, as sometimes smaller projects are easier to deal with and not so time consuming but just as rewarding.
Slowly but surely, I’m learning to love my scraps and I love seeing pictures of scrappy quilts that other people have made.
Thanks Maggie. I spent August using up my scraps and have made 5 tops and one almost finished but could probably make another 5-6 tops before running out of scraps. They just multiply!
Your scrap makes are super. I think you are joining the scrap addicts!