Iceblossom

I also have friends who say the thing about "if it's still ugly you haven't cut it small enough" but I've seen some pretty awful fabrics over the years!

I buy a lot of my fabric at thrift stores, often in big bags. I sort through and toss the non-quilting and otherwise hard to use small pieces. Larger pieces that aren't quilting suitable accumulate in a bag until I have enough to donate back to the thrift store.

I've been trying to reduce my stash and make it easier to deal with -- but always remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Recently I sent some large pieces of yardage that I decided I was never ever going to use but I thought might make a nice rug like people are doing nowadays, the recipient thought it was great just the way it was.

I've been lucky enough to make some friends here on Quilting Board, one of who makes crumb quilts. I keep a flat-rate postage box by my cutting table and all the scraps from my fussy cutting and those less than the minimum size I want go into the box and off to her. I've decided that I don't really want to store anything smaller than 6.5" wide, and nothing shorter than a 6.5" square. Recently I filled an entire box with nothing but 2.5" strips and squares -- seems that size is always used but I just don't want to deal with them any more. I can always cut a 2.5" piece off of my 6.5" strips and they are easier to store and sort. I've tried different ways of organizing them, usually semi-color based but sometimes I'm just looking for florals, or non-florals, or civil war, or whatever it is it isn't the way they are organized.

String quilts or making fabric out of fabric is another way to use ugly fabrics. Again, cut it small and dilute the ugly with less ugly. A friend of mine was doing an ugly fabric challenge with her small group and was at a loss of what to do with it. We chatted a bit and she string pieced the ugly fabric into pieces big enough to make a tote bag and won the contest.

Stitchnripper

I made a couple of quilts from "ugly" fabric, but cut the pieces small. One is quarter square triangles, and one is a strip quilt, one is a Jacobs Ladder, and I used muslin for the solid, and they came out great. I love them. I don't normally buy fabric unless I need it for a project (yes, I know I am a strange one!) so don't have a stash. But I do have some pieces of fabric I win at the shop, or someone gives me, and three giant bins of scraps. I love my scraps.

Onebyone

I don't think of any fabric as ugly, only good or bad quality. I do not keep bad quality fabric no matter how pretty it is.

LindaJane

I make rag rugs and I have found that ugly gaudy prints make great rugs because you really only see color in the rug not the pattern or design. And sometimes these ugly fabrics find me for little or no cost which is a win win.

bearisgray

You are right - I've seen some adorable prints on fabric that I would not use - for anything -
and have seen some prints I consider yucky on fabric that feels wonderful and that would work up well in a quilt.

dove1615

There is a Facebook group that makes quilt blocks out of "ugly" fabrics. Members make one or however many blocks they want, mail them to the leader for that month. The leader makes up the quilts for a charity. Its fun to see "the Uglies" and know that they are being used for a good thing. Check out The Ugly Block Challenge on Facebook. Members can choose to make a particular block or not.

sewbizgirl

Life is too short to work with ugly fabric.

Jo Anne B.

The quilt I am actually keeping for myself is made from the oddball fat quarters that I didn't know what else to do with. Love, love love my quilt. I'll post a pic after our local quilt show in late Sept.

SillySusan

I usually have trouble parting with most fabric, ugly or not, but the thin flimsy stuff I can pack up and send to the thrift shop in one second flat!

NikkiLu

I knew a lady that used the drapery fabric, upholstery fabrics, etc. and made purses out of that Ugly stuff and she made a good living doing that!