I'm jumping in..starting my journey into developing a scrap system
 

Good luck! If your iron is not teflon, the "hot iron cleaner" stuff is amazing!

Using clothes for fabric is a great money savings but it takes time to as Bonnie says 'debone a shirt'. I can spend a week organizing my scraps and I get as much satisfaction from that as finishing a quilt!

Welcome to the QB from the Sho-Me state - Missouri. This post is the most interesting post that I have read on here in a very long, long time!!! I am in awe of your energy and enthusiasm. Lots of luck to you and do not hesitate to ask as many questions as you need to. My advise would be to make a very simple quilt/or block or whatever you decide to make first. I found a book in a deceased friend's bookcase that I almost did not even look at - it is:

Open a Can or Worms - by Debbie Caffrey

It is all about cutting your scraps into 2 1/2 inch strips - she called them "worms" - evidently this is before the now popular jelly rolls. Anyway, uses the same principal. The book then has all kinds of patterns for quilts using these 2 1/2 inch strips. Very interesting.

I can't wait to see what you create with your hard work.

Love the idea of reusing clothing as there are so many in the thrift store that have barely been used.
My only question is why cut it up in strips right away? What if you cut a bunch of 2 1/2" strips and then find a pattern that uses 6" squares and you realize that "that was the perfect print"?
I would deconstruct the clothing and of course depending on how much you have, sort into colors/plaids/creams.
Once you've made a quilt, save your leftovers and store them into marked containers for sizes.
I have a box for each size under 1 1/2" , 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2", 3", ....up to 6" and over. Anyting bigger than 10" goes into a FQ box labelled by color. Yes I know, can you spell OCD...........

Everyone has their own system, I just never precut fabric for the sake of having scraps.

Have fun :) and welcome to the world of never having enough fabric.

Carole

love! can't wait to read more about your progress!

aileen

Try the Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean on your iron. It did wonders on mine when nothing else worked, and it's inexpensive and easy to use. Good luck with the scrap system.

I was going to suggest the Magic Eraser also! Good luck with all your endeavors!

Let the iron cool. Take pieces of the shirts that you are NOT using (rags) and wet them. Then wipe down the iron. Next time you use starch, spray it, let it dry and then iron it. I made the same mistake with the last quilt I made.

I would love the see the quilts you make. I am making a floating stars quilt with my husband's old shirts (he tore 28 expensive dress shirts in the elbows even though we started buying him shirts with longer sleeves). My husband is 6'5" tall which means I have ALOT of material to work with.

BTW, unless you are entering your quilts into shows or selling them or doing a block exchange, the "scant" 1/4 inch is not that big a deal. I don't worry that much about it. Quilting should be relaxing and enjoyable!

We have a Goodwill clearance center not too far from me.. I made two denim quilts from jeans I bought.. I also found a lot of high quality flannel shirts for the rag quilt.. I double bag the bag I get from there, and don't take anything into the house for fear of little hitchhickers.. I go directly to a laundry place, and use very hot water.. The thought of having a bug infestation scares the crap oput of me..

Welcome and I like your attitude and energy! An early quilt pattern that I liked was a log cabin. I love scrappy quilts--they are all I make. Happy quilting!

You have a wonderful analytical mind [sounds like]. Wish I could figure out stuff like that. Good luck. Good start.

I was mentioning your starch issue to my mom and she said to use a press cloth when you use a lot of starch (Back in the 50s and 60s, Dad's shirts all had to have starched collars so she was used to it).

Good to know though. We don't have an outlet store that I know of, but my sister lives in a rural area with a couple of local charity shops. She's already put in a request for them to let her know when they are ready to eliminate all of the past year's flannel shirts, which is by the end of June. Then we'll have a cutting weekend and cut them all up, ready to make a quilt from Bonnie's book (quilts to be tied and donated to mentally ill adults).

Two years ago, we cut up a whole bunch of cast off shirts from the same charity place for my sister's neighbor to make rag rugs (she's 89 -keeps her busy). Cost $5 for a garbage bag stuffed with shirts that couldn't be sold due to something wrong with it. I agree, the shirts take a long time to cut up, but it really helps to have freshly sharpened scissors!

Glad to see another scrapper! My favorite thing in the world is a scrappy quilt. I too devoured Bonnie Hunter's website and have her book on using clothing...Scraps and Shirttails is the name, I think. My storage is sort of limited so I cut my scraps into 2.5" strips or 2.5" squares. Anything more narrow is a "strip." And I only keep bigger chunks if it's about FQ size.

I've made several scrappies and my favorite recent scrap venture was my "crumb" quilt. Lots of fun and I used one of Bonnie's settings from her book. I posted pics at this topic: http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...p-t183509.html

Anita

I think the best way to go with this is to find yourself some patterns you would like to make and cut according to that. No use cutting 2.5 squares if what you want is 2 inch strips when you finally get to sewing.

The thing with Bonnie's system is it is a Scrap User's system not a Scrap Saver's system and that is how I use it. When starting a new scrap quilt I always start with my precut scraps and go from there. Sometime I don't even get to my FQs.

I think it is a good way to do it, and it sounds like you have it all worked out, Happy scrapping !!!

I had been quilting for several years before I made the decision to organize my stash. It took me quite awhile, but it was so worth it! I wish it was something I would have started doing at the beginning. I cut all my scraps into squares from 1 1/2 up to 6 inches. I love it. Just this past week, I began an applique project and it was fantastic to just pick already cut blocks to use for the individual pieces. Another advantage to using this system, you can just sit down and choose a block size and sew 4 patches, 9 patches and so on. Have a great journey with your scraps and creating unbelievable quilt treasures.

Wow you go girl! I love your enthusiasm!

I use the stuff that you use to clean glass top stoves with to clean my iron. I read it on here and I don't remember who said it but it works great.

try a used dryer sheet on a hot iron. I have an used this method before and it's worked great!!

I don't cut the buttons off old shirts, I just cut the strip of buttons and the sleeve placket with the buttons and pin them together. It takes up more room, but the sets are together. Later, when I sit in front of the television, cut off the buttons and thread them together on big safety pins.

The Goodwill is the place to pick up jeans for making the jean quilts. I bought enough there to make 8 double bed size quilts. I use flannel for the backing and no batting.
But you can sure find alot at the by the pound shopping store . Like you I have to limit my self or the car won't haul it all.
everything goes straight to the washing machine, nevers enters the inside before it's laundried.
Have fun and thanks for sharing you trip there.

Walmart has a good iron cleaner paste, it is by the starch.

Wishing you luck, both with your quilt and getting your iron clean.

I love that you are using the scrap system from Bonnie Hunter. I discovered it a little over a year ago and started using the system. You will certainly enjoy making her quilts. I made a Bricks and Stones quilt from scraps that were in my aunt's quilts. Most of them were from the 50's to 80's. It looks great! I'm working on a spider web from her site. I also made a string quilt. I love being scrappy and doing "economy" quilting.

I have two kitchen garbage can sized bags full of fabric ready to cut. This summer while I'm not teaching school I plan on doing a full day a week or every two weeks just cutting scraps. That should make a dent in the bags. I'm so happy to have a system for scraps. I keep on seeing quilts that I can make scrappy with my stash!

purplepetal i'm in st. louis too. i didn't know there was a goodwill outlet here but i often do not go to the thrift stores because the many different aromas play havoc with my asthma.

good luck with your organizing system. it seems you are off to a good start. i have never deconstructed clothing for a quilting purpose and it hasn't occurred to me to buy clothing for the purpose of quilting though i know many quilters do. i am one who repurposes my clothing by taking it to a resale shop or dropping it off at a thrift store. i have some clothing now that i need to rehome but perhaps i will take another look at them and see what real favorites in the bunch i can cut up and put into my quilts. for removing the buttons i wonder if using one of the eyebrow razors would be easiest to slice them right off. i have many buttons and they are in large tackle boxes (and some plastic bags and a vase:)). i use to collect them but never thought to cut them off clothing. oh well.

on cutting up fabric, i have spent the last 2 weeks cutting fabric squares from 2.5" to 5". for the 1.5" i have found it more useful to cut these into strips. i am working on 2 postage stamp quilt projects and i started out by cutting 1000's of 1.5" squares. after sewing 1000's of these together, experience has taught me it is better to strip piece them so now i have 100's (if not 1000's) of 1.5" strips. my 2 quilts will use 20,000+ squares so i anticipate using all of those strips.:) as for the other squares, i am finding it easier to just grab cut up squares to start on a project. there are specific quilts i had in my project notebook that i cut all the squares for and they are in zip bags waiting on their turn.

regarding your iron, from my garment sewing days i learned to always use a pressing cloth. sewing clothing you work with a lot of interfacing and it can gum up an iron quickly. i always had a tube of hot iron cleaner handy but using a pressing cloth works. i don't use spray starch for quilting, it bothers my asthma (the flourocarbons) but i imagine a pressing cloth should also help with this or perhaps letting the fabric dry before pressing it would help. but certainly replacing gummed up irons can be an expensive venture.:D find a cleaning/preventive measure first.:thumbup:

quilting is a journey and a wonderful constant learning experience. for as many quilters as there are, they are at least that many different techniques to arrive at the same place. opinions will vary. as you experiement, you will find the techniques that work best for you. tips are invaluable. some you will find that you really need to jot down for future reference. for example, recently i saw on a blog a quicker way to do triangle corners using blue painter's tape. the standard way is to draw a diagonal line on the back of the square and sew down that line. well i have 2 projects on tap that are using 100's of triangle corner blocks and i really did not want to draw that many lines. the tip was to line up a piece of painter's tape on your sewing machine in line with your needle and guide your fabric along the line. 250 triangle corners later it works like a charm. i kept measuring to make sure i was on the diagonal and yep i was. see pics.

good luck with your quilt journey and perhaps we can catch up with one another in st. louis. i hang out sometimes with the modern quilt guild, meetings in richmond heights. and i met a wonderful quilter this past weekend (i bought a sewing machine from her) who hangs out at bits & pieces quilt quild and jackman's (lqs) monthly quilting ventures. i hope to see you around.

mary
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While picking your pounds of fabric, don't forget the 100% cotton sheets, bedskirts, pillowcases and curtains!!! Great for quilting and much easier to deconstruct than clothing.

As many others said, this was a great post to read. Sounds like you are headed in the right direction. For the iron problem, I also use the Magic Eraser. I had some fusible stuck to my iron and the eraser took it all right off. And about your 1/4" "problem". Bonnie Hunter did a post not too long ago about a tool called Machine Seam Gauge & Adhesive Guide. I immediately bought one as I have several machines that all sew a bit differently. This little tool is great for figuring out how to get a 1/4" (or some other sizes) seam allowance from your particular machine and foot .... and it only cost a few bucks!!! One of her readers mentioned using Scotch Reusable Strips for lightweight mounting (the kind for mounting pictures and such on the wall, I think) to mark the 1/4" on the machine bed rather that the adhesive strip that comes with the tool (or if that strip wears out) because they can be removed without leaving a residue. And yes, I love all the great information that is posted on the QB too. And I really love when quilters share information about what worked and what did not worked for them in the quilting process. Welcome aboard and enjoy!

I haven't read every single reply here, and maybe this has been said, but there is a great book - "Scrap Therapy - Cut the Scraps" by Joan Ford. She has a system where she cuts all her scraps into 2", 3-1/2" and 5" squares. When you think about it these sizes can be combined into tons of different blocks. I recently spent a week cutting all the scraps I had stored in a clothes hamper into these square and now they are all neat and tidy and waiting to be used in some great scrap quilt. Now when I finish a project, I cut the scraps into squares right away (if they're smaller than a fat eighth) and store them in the appropriate boxes and I'm all set!

Use dryer sheets to clean your iron.
Just iron over new unused dry sheet, not only does it clean your iron, it also makes the room smell great

You are off to a great start! Keep up the good work and I know with the QB you will always find lots of encouragement!:)

This is a wonderful idea. I bought some Hawaiian shirts at thrift stores and garage sales because I want to make a Hawaiian scrappy quilt. Too bad my time is so short here...they are very common for a $1. A man's shirt makes quite a few strips. :) we leave in a few hours for Poland, but I have some suitcases full of fun fabric..including quite a few different Hawaiian fabric scraps!

PuplePetal, I am close to Columbia, in the middle of an Amish community. I am in the process of putting all my fabric on boards. I just didn't know what to do with or how to sort the small stuff. I think sorting them by color is a great idea.

Good luck and welcome to your new addiction! I think this is one of those journies that you have to find your own way. What works for me might be totally opposite to what works for you. After you've been into it a bit, you will see what works and what doesn't. Happy quilting! P.S. It really is okay to "pet" your fabric.

Good Luck! Can't wait to see your quilts!

Here's proof that the scrap storage system from Bonnie Hunter works - I joined an on line mystery quilt project that, as a first step, said "cut 682 two and a half in squares". I said - no prob! I've already got them cut! And here's the result: