cminor

I am a very new quilter, and don't have much of a stash, but I did get quite a few scraps from my daughters high school sewing class last year. All different sized, all different types and of course all different colors.

I was looking around on the blogs today and came across one that had just a great picture of how this quilter keeps her scraps. She cuts them all into squares of different sizes and keeps them very nicly in containers. OK, I can do that! And it would be good for the "crazy" my husband and I talk about me having. Then maybe they won't seem so overwhelming. Now the hard part . .

How do I decided what size to cut them? I am thinking 6x6, 5x5 and so on. But is that too many different sizes? Then I go back and forth on what if I want something a different size. . . now, I know myself well enough that if I really wanted fabric, I would just go buy some for the project I am working on. My thought here is to make my scraps look a little more appealing to me and maybe I will use them . . what do you think?

Jim's Gem

It would all depend on what future projects you want to work on. Currently I am wanting to make a scrappy Log Cabin quilt so I am cutting my scraps into 1 1/2" strips by 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5".
If you have some patterns that you want to try that use squares, by all means cut into squares.
I have a tendency to let my scraps really accumulate.

cminor

Actually, now that you say that - I really like log cabins. See, maybe this is my problem. I am to indecisive! :)

Maybe I should do strips . . .

Jim's Gem

lol!!

Maybe you should.....

So far I am still working on lights.

Justok

You can't go wrong either way. I like to cut my scraps into 2 1/2" squares and any longer strips into 2 1/2 for scrap binding.

Pamela Artman

Here's how I cut all my scraps (and I had TONS of them, organized by color) while I was recuperating from a broken foot last year. First I cut strips from any scraps that were longer than 12 inches. I cut strips as wide as 4 inches and as narrow as 1 inch, depending on the size of the scrap. If it was 5 inches wide, I'd cut two strips 2.5 inches, if it was 6 inches, two 3 inch strips. I put these in plastic boxes by size, 1", 2", 2.5", 3", 3.5" and 4" and sorted them lights and darks. The remaining scraps I cut into squares, again, according to the size of the scraps. I cut largest squares first, the 5" squares, and then 4", 3.5", 3", 2.5" and the smallest being 2". Anything smaller than 2" I cut one inch off and threw the rest away. I figure someday I will make log cabin blocks with the strips. There are a lot of patterns that call for 2.5" strips, especially Ellenor Burns patterns. My friend made small log cabin blocks with 1" strips and used them for a border and they are just adorable. I had about 8 or 10 plastic boxes of scraps so this took me a long time, but I had nothing better to do while recuperating. I'm working on UFOs this year, but when I'm caught up on all these past projects, I'm anxious to tackle some long cabin blocks using my precut strips. I've already used quite a few of the 2.5" squares for 3 different quilts. I just sorted through them to find the colors I needed. This works good for me since I love scrappy quilts!

Pamela Artman

Just an added note.... I'd suggest cutting strips if you have scraps that are fairly long. You can use strips for so many different patterns and if you need squares, you can always cut them from the strips.

Chasing Hawk

I spent days cutting my scrap material in various size squares (3" to 9") and some 12- 13 inches pieces I left that way for pot holder backs and hot pads. Then I got a neat little drawer unit to store them all in. It's for scrap-booking, but I figured I could use it anyways.

Oklahoma Suzie

great idea

omak

http://www.quiltville.com

you want to know about organizing scraps and what to do with the scraps when they are organized? This is the go-to lady.

I have recently purchased a book by Sally Schneider "Crazy for Scraps" that has become the definitive scrap organization for my needs.
My scraps are now cut into 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", 3.5", and 5" widths.
If you are using a fat quarter, these measurements absolutely use everything in the fat quarter .. from these widths, you can cut squares, rectangles, triangles, or anything else you choose.
And, the final rule from Miss Sally: When a container of scraps get full, you have to make a quilt using that size. ( of course, if you keep buying bigger containers <g> ... all you ever have to do is organize the scraps ... LOL <wave>