Also be on the look out for auctions, I lucked out on one that had a lot of fabric that I will post later. Got a good deal on it to.

I did a similar thing when I used a mattress pad for batting: I was going to throw away the part that covered the sides of the mattress when I realized it was similar weight to my embroidery stabilizer, so after I cut off the elastic I rolled it up and am going to use it next time I embroider quilt blocks. Money is tight so necessity is the mother of invention!!!

Getting back to the point of this thread, instead of what the word cheap means to people, I think the shirt idea is a good one. Never really thought about it. I think it's fun to think of different ways to use fabrics and especially if it saves us money! I like to save money.

Go back to the utility quilts made during "hard times" - people used a lot of stuff we wouldn't even think of putting in a quilt - and some of these quilts are still around - maybe worse for wear, but still around.

Sugar sacks, old suits, the "good" parts of worn sheets and clothing - a little fade was not a big deal then.

"New - unused" fabric was a big deal for some folks.

Love your idea!

Have never thought of a thrift store but that does open up a huge way to collect fabrics for a scrappy quilt. Will have to look at some around here.

I have found that you can find fabric at a reasonable price.But I will not pass up a good buy. I like to make a baby rag quilt with nice chenille, I found a 3XX chenille robe for $3.49 it had about 4 yards. Lot's of people here are selling there fabric at a low price. I am loving it!!! And many are giving to others. My sister said I hold on Washington so tight that he cries. LOL

thanks... it's a good idea for scrap biscuit patches,

I knew she meant less expensive and know we all are just chatting and not to be taken so seriously in the wording.

Great Tip :thumbup:

I have a friend who always uses muslin for her backings. I use inexpensive muslin (pre-washed & ironed) for foundation piecing. Good ideas.

Said very well. I also agree that many of us are having to decide to buy a less expensive fabric if we want to continue to quilt. For those who can afford the beautiful Moda and similar fabrics, I am so happy for you. At one time I thought nothing of buying the higher cost fabrics and do still enjoy them so much. However, my circumstances have changed drastically, so I am now happy to have pretty fabrics that give me more money for the necessary expenses. There will always be those quilters who do not have to make that choice which is wonderful. We all know that there is such a difference in the feel and quality of fabrics, but sometimes, the desire to create helps us to make the tough decisions so we can continue to create gifts for our love-ones.

It is wonderful that we have such a diverse group of talented ladies who are willing to share their vast knowlege so we can all enjoy this wonderful craft. Thanks to all for sharing your skills.

well said :thumbup:

Funny this came up ... I happened to be at my local Humane Society thrift shop last week when a truck dropped off dozens of queen size sheets from the Hilton hotel downtown. They were the very soft, white on white stripe hotel sheets that feel like silk on your skin. What had happened, the driver said, was that the pressing machine had ripped each of them in one particular spot before the people running it found out what was happening. So they had to dump all the torn ones. The store was packed to the ceilings with all kinds of stuff that day, so the manager just put all the sheets (they were very clean) in big boxes and put a sign on, 50c each. I started looking through and found each rip to be about 3 or 4 inches long and way over on the side of each sheet. So I scooped up about a dozen, took them home and repaired the rips in about 6, and gave them to my daughters. The rest are going to be quilt backs for my newly "economized" quilts. They won't look the same as my former quilts, but they'll have such nice, soft backs, who will care? Necessity is the mother of invention!

:wink:

When my grandfather died, my mother cut up his clothing for quilts. His flannel pajamas were pretty well worn, but I remember seeing her cut them apart and press it out with other like fabric scraps to use for the batting.

When I was a kid I lived with my grandmother and she was always making quilts for us, for my parents, for auntie and her family and uncle too. The church we went to had a basement and the priest we had, Father Ryan, and lots of second hand clothes that he sold for 5 & 10 cents, sometimes 25 cents. Gram would go over there and pick dresses, blouses, etc. Buy a bunch for couple dollars, bring them home, wash them even though they were clean but they weren't Grandma Clean. She would cut those up and make quilts. I still have couple of Gram's quilts and she has been gone now for over 30 years. She wouldn't dream of buying new fabric for quilts as she brought up her little family during the depression era. I think that period is something we are all starting to experience in some form.

Someone needs to start a used fabric store. :) I bet it would work.

I often use 100% cotton bed sheets when I am making string quilts. I've never had any problems using them and can get a whole lot of blocks from a queen size sheet that I've paid only a $1 or 2. I've even used button-up shirts that I've found at thrift shops. I wouldn't call it cheap; I call it recycling.

Exactly the same here. I buy kingsize sheets for a £1 or £2 at my local charity shop, cut them into squares and use them for foundation pieces. Also you may need just a few pieces of a solid colour, I buy mens cotton shirts in all sorts of solid colours ranging from black through to bright and pastel colours. If I go to any jumble sales I always look out for good quality curtains as they make for good backing for quilts and wall hangings, also the curtain linings again come in handy for foundation pieces.

Bed skirt middle, Can you show us a picture of how you used it for a scrappy quilt?

I make lots of scrap quilts for different groups and think buying fabric for scrap quilts defeats my aim to use up what I have. My guild gets lots of fabric donations, often some are too thin to use for quilts so I use them for string foundations. Goodwill store is opening in my area and I'll be there often scouting out 'bargins' for my quilting.
May in Jersey

Excellent tip! I am going to try that - Thanks!

hi,i'm a new quilter,but i started out learning to use better quility fabric like kanscity trouble and i find it to be the best, but i never hade a diamond till a few years ago and just the feelingof the value made me feel like i was worth something and very special.. value of a prduct makes the difference, get the best you can aford..

I am using the centers of bedskirts that are made out of that flimsy stuff instead of cheese cloth when I make jelly.
I had a lot of it and out of cheese cloth and went looking in stash for something that was thin to strain the berries in. Anyway is sure beats spending money on cheesecloth.

as for the skirts I used them to make curtains and because of the design, when hung in the sewing room, you can not tell at a glance that there are four lengths serged together for each panel of curtain. Also a few years back, I used skirts to make a shower curtain out of and also able to make valances by adding some to top which forms the pocket in the back.

At the time, I found the skirts at an outlet for a dollar a piece.
Now all the outlets are gone, but if I find any again at a cheap price, I will buy some to use for jelly bags, even if the skirt lays around in stash for a while.

I love the idea, thanks for sharing!I also use used fabric dryer sheets for foundations using smaller blocks!

sounds interesting but I learned to always use 100% cotton.

I use the bedskirt middle for a foundation for crumb blocks and also for string quilts. I made a daylight and shadows quilt as a string quilt by putting all light strips on one side of the block and all dark strips on the other side of the block.

Thank you for the tip. God bless. Penny

NOTE re Dryer Sheets: they are highly flammable.