fabric dregs
 

I have decided that I do not need to use -or keep - something that was given to me. (I am talking about scraps, ufo projects, etc. I am NOT talking about something lovingly made for me.)

The donor may have meant well - or may have been dumping - but I feel no obligation at this point in my life to do any more than say " thank you for thinking of me " with that stuff.

In fact, I have decided I do not need to use - or keep - some of the stuff I bought for myself.

I agree. People knowing you sew will give you just about anything. I had a neighbor who said they were cleaning out his mom's house before she went to assisted living, had a huge bag of fabric that they knew I would want! I figured if nothing else I would take it down (which is what I did) to my mom's Sr Center and let them have at it.

Free fabric?

Over here over here.

(If it's free it's for ME!)

I agree 100%! I will go through what has been given to me and sort into piles...one pile is for will never, ever use...one pile is for I will definitely use, but only after washing....last pile is not my choice, but usable for scrappy after washing. The never use pile gets thrown into a bag and out it goes to donate or sometimes trash (some people don't realize that your 40 year old drapes do not make good quilts!)....anything I keep gets washed and then into the appropriate storage container.

That whole "one man's trash is another man's treasure" surely applies. Surely you can find folks here (DresiArnaz and I for instance) who might love to have some of it (and would pay postage) if you posted photos of what you have.

Wow. DH told me he saved me. Some one from work found out I attempt to sew and quilt. They gave him a large garbage bag full of fabric. I asked him if it was in the back of his truck. Nope in the dumpster. He said it smelled contagious.

Getting rid of excess fabric is easy for me. My guild does an annual sale and accepts donations of quilting fabrics - washed or unwashed, any size, any shape. They also accept donations of fabric and batting for charity quilts and cat & dog "cuddles" for the shelter.

Alternatively, and for anything that's not quilting fabrics, there's a local shop called "Legacy" that takes any kind of fabric donations (including UFO's) and also various sewing/crafting supplies/tools and they will sell it; the profits benefit the local senior center.

AND, then there's Linus project. My local rep is actually a member here, I've had the pleasure of meeting her in person, so there's yet another place to me to donate fabrics. (I haven't yet, but I should...I have some kid-friendly fabrics I could stand to let go of....)

I've been given fabrics a few times and I always tell them that a condition of me taking it is that I will take whatever I can use and then donate the rest. I've never had anybody think that was a bad idea or not give me the fabric - they're just glad to be rid of it and trust that I will do my best to get it somewhere where it will be used. Unless it's gross - I had to toss a big bag full of fabric because rats or mice had gotten into it and I wasn't even going to TRY to salvage any of that nastiness! It went straight from my car into the trash. Ick!

For the last few years I tell folks that want to gift me with 'a lot of fabric found' in the closet that I will be glad to take it but I will use it for pet beds for the shelter. I want them to know up front what may become of it.

I TOTALLY agree with your statement. Time to purge and pass it onto a charity group that will be delighted for the donation.

I purged many things when I finally figured that out. If I had no use for it, it was just clutter. Threw some things away and donated the rest to the thrift shop. Not only did it get rid of the physical mess, emotionally it felt good to let go without guilt.

Good for you. I feel the same way.

Someone gave me and my daughter about 5 garbage bags full of fabric,they said it was nice fabric, and they wanted a queen sized quilt in return.We opened the bags at home and well we gave them back the next day.It was tiny awful thin smelly and nothing worty of a free queen sized quilt.

I'm the one who ALWAYS gets (and loves), the leftovers. Part of it is I get to use things that are not what I would have picked (due to price or colors or prints), but it gives me a chance to try different things. It also makes me think outside of the box. It also allows me to save my money for special fabrics and patterns or classes. This has also made me learn to work with (and not always run to LQS for the newest or biggest or most expensive items), what I have (just as our mothers and grandmothers before us).
When I'm given fabric it is put into groups - small things - used for crazy quilting, to make bindings, etc... Med things - these can be used to help finish UFO's, making mug rugs, etc... Large things - these go into to groups - LOVE - will use on quilts, bags, etc... DON'T LIKE - if it's Polyester (you know the stuff from the 60's and 70's - it NEVER dies) - I will use it in place of batting (it's warm) - it also makes great stuffing in dog and cat beds too.
Like others on this board I will give to senior centers and kids learning to sew and quilt.
So yes I'm one who is never to proud to take others cast offs, because I can find lots of uses for these items. I never feel obligated, I just always see it as fun and a challenge. And as a quilter I'm always open to a good challenge.

Goodwill takes fabric, too. I've been given fabric and my husband keeps asking when I'm going to do something with it. I appreciate it, frankly. I can make things I probably wouldn't have made.
Dodee

I so agree with you. I say thanks for thinking of me and just get rid of what I don't want/can't use. Any OK fabric gets donated if I don't want it, scraps go to my guild for dog beds and some actually gets trashed (took me a long time to be able to throw out fabric!). I have started doing this with all sorts of things that are gifted to me, not just fabric. People mean well but they give you all sorts of stuff that isn't your taste or you can't use and if I kept it all I would be drowning in STUFF. My college-age children don't understand this but I've told them you get to a point in your life where you realize that you just don't need so many possessions and it's better that I get rid of it now than that they have to sort through it after I'm gone.

In my area, trucks from charities come around frequently picking up usable items. It's so easy, just note the date they will be on my street, put it in the bag they supply, put at curb and it's gone. I hate trashing anything that someone might be able to use. Some things just have to go to the trash bin though.

And me too!!!!

I am talking about things like the cut off pieces from shortening a pair of pants, worn out fiberglass curtains, a worn out flannel sheet that is thin and pilled, a warped blanket ( suposeely for batting), fabric that was stored in mothballs, used faded clothing, etc.

Ah, bear, l know what you mean. I recently learned that my favorite thrift store wants those fabrics also. They bundle any unusable fabrics and sell them by the pound for recycling.

I have been "gifted" with stained t-shirts, musty bedsheets with beer cans printed on them, vintage linens with 40-year-old stains, and wool suiting fabric. You should only keep what you want, set the rest free if you can find it a new home! Or just chop it up for rags and boy have I got plenty of those!

Now that I have become a quilter I agree, don't do me any favors, I have enough of my own scraps and fabric waiting to shine in a quilt project. However, before I started quilting I was at a Goodwill liquidation center (Goodwill's un-solded items sold by the pound) and for 3$ each picked up two boxes of 100 fat quarters. A quilt shop went out of business and donated some of their inventory. I just could not justify leaving them to be recycled and thought I would donate them to a quilting group.

Well, on my way home I stopped at Walmart and as I was walking by saw a lady putting her groceries in her trunk and notice a beautiful quilt and told her so. I than asked her if she knew of a quilting guild or anyone that would love some fat quarter fabric. She said she would love some as she and her friends make quilts for charity and it's getting harder to continue as they are now on a fixed incomes. I told her what I had and offered them to her and her friends to continue with their charity work. She wanted to pay me but I refused. When she insisted i told her I would take 5 of the fat quarters as payment. I loaded up the boxes in her trunk and she had to leave to pickup her great-grand son.

I have always believe things happen for a reason. Two days later i went to the same Walmart to purchase fabric to re-cover my lawn chair cushions and who was the worker that came to cut my fabric, my now quilt mentor Cathy. So, if you can't use the unwanted gift of fabric, smile and say thank you. Then re-gift - this is an acceptable reason for re-gifting and you may even gain a friend or two, Lol.

That stuff goes in my kindling pile! :) Really. We use a wood stove, and my husband says my thin strips leftover from cuttin gout 2.5" or 2" strips or blocks makes great fire starter. Some things just need to be burned/thrown away.

I've only ever had one friend offer me fabric. It was lovely. She'd planned to use it an old house, but moved before she ever got the chance. I used one coordinating solid fabric and made her a simple churn dash lap quilt as a thank you. Every time I go to her house, it's right in her main room, on display. I smile inside every time I see it.

Oh, and I probably had about 4 yards leftover after making her quilt!

There are church quilt groups etc., that love to receive fabric scraps. I'd have no problem donating fabric I didn't need.

I love to either find treasures at garage sales or be gifted scraps. Until recently I just couldn't let go of the poor quality or thin pieces. Finally just decided I had more than enough fabric to last my life time and it was just better to let go. Kept a few pieces for FM practice but the rest are gone with only a little twinge of guilt.

I decided that I have enough fabric and patterns to last for the rest of my life [age 67]. So when I had good leftover fabric
I called my town's city hall to get the number of the Senior Center and they were delighted to get it for their quilting
group. It made me feel good and a little less burdened by the crush of fabric clamoring to be made into quilts..

I appreciate free fabric very much as I make donation quilts. If the fabric is not right for the donation quilts I make I pass it on.

I agree 100%. I know what I like to quilt with and use. If it doesn't fit the bill, I don't bother to keep it and donate it immediately to our community quilts or put it on the free table at Guild if it isn't usable in a quilt. I have put all sorts of craft items on the table and someone always seems to want it.

Good Lord! I can't imagine anyone believing that such fabric would be useful. That kind of "gift" comes close to being insulting, I think, or maybe just a lack of comprehension of what sewers and quilters do. I'd have no problems throwing away something that should have been thrown away by the "givers".

Please donate it too goodwill! I am always on the prowl for fabrics there. I am that person who will often buy those UFO's and complete them. My only prerequisite is I have to like the fabrics to begin with. I love making something for next to nothing!

I recently went through all of my personal bins and got rid of five black trash bags of odds and ends I knew I would never use. My friend has a craft booth and is on a budget. (she is putting her child though college). There was so much I couldn't even think straight while searching for a piece, "I know it is here somewhere". Now these are not all quilting fabrics. Some were denim, upholstery, and assorted blends of dressmaking weight. I say personal bins, because I have a bin on donated fabrics I pull from for a designated charity everyone knows I support.

It is liberating to help someone else and manage the amount of fabric hanging around that I have gathered for years.

Yep I use the extra fabrics for the rescue to make bandanas for the dogs. Or I make beds. I was gifted with a huge trash bag of velvet, velour and have made many things. I am using the velvet/velour scraps for a crazy quilt I am going to make ..

I agree sometimes a "gift" is no gift... its a burden. I was given bags of fabric and the contents was truly trash worthy.. filthy rags and what looked like old underwear ( I did not investigate closely). I called the gifter and inquired gently if maybe they had gotten bags mixed up .. nope ..

I'm in the process of moving and have donated quite a lot of fabric for my guild's garage sale. While going through what I wanted to donate I realized I have a lot more that I will never use so when things settle down I'll be ridding myself of more, a lot more! I've also gotten rid of a ton of things that were given to me (not quilting related) over the years and there will be even more in the coming weeks. It's actually tiring to keep making decisions and I need a break, but the divesting of "stuff" is not over by a long shot.

I have learned to tell anyone who is offering fabric scraps to me, that I will try to pass it on to someone who really needs it, but I have so much stash now that I will never use it all up. I have 4 bins now of scraps that need to be sized and cut, then stacked. I feel blessed to have this much fabric, and I know there are a lot of quilters that will be thrilled to have it.

And me too! As long as not moldy or smelling of cigarette smoke.

I donate and love getting donations! The world is round after all!

This is where you can put it to good use making charity quilts. Some churches welcome fabric as they make quilts for foreign missionaries

Our quilting group is always happy to accept donations but on the condition that we may re-donate items we can't use. We have had all sorts of fabrics donated because if you don't quilt, you don't know! Personally, I love scrappy! I'm saving medium/dark strips for a plus quilt. It will take me a while to accumulate 200some more different ones before I can start it but I'll get there. In the mean time, I'm always checking out those donations. By the way, we've had some scuzzy stuff given to us that had to be disposed of immediately as well. People can be thoughtless.