For our songbirds
 

Along the lines of saving scraps to stuff dog beds: It will soon be the birds' nesting season, and when building their nests they love to use the tiny bits we trim off when squaring blocks or straightening seam allowances. Just be sure your pieces aren't too long--about an inch and a half is good. (Longer than that, baby birds can get them tangled around their legs, and that's a disaster.) If you put the scraps in the branches of shrubbery or low trees, birds will find them.

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Great idea!!!

Actually, fabric scraps can be toxic to baby birds. They retain moisture too long after rain, so the babies are much more likely to develop pneumonia. It's better for birds to use grasses, reeds, etc. that shed moisture rapidly. Also, any unwashed fabric scraps would have chemicals that are probably not good for birds.

It's a suggestion from the Audubon Society. And all my fabric is washed before use.

i'm saving all my scraps from my Dear Janes for the birds. i think the ground critters like them too

Oh, what a colorful yard we weave....

I will have to remember to wash them, chop them up further before putting them out. It is fun to check my robin's nest for any quilting fabric. She comes back every year under my deck, and likes to drive my little dogs crazy. I think it is a game they play.

What a great idea! During nesting season, I usually toss my DH hair clippings in the yard. He has really coarse kinky hair. Sadly though, with each passing year, there's less to offer to the birds. :)

My fabric is always washed before I use it. When the tiny scraps are laid out in the sun for awhile (and rain), any residue is gone. If the fabric scraps smell, then you know they are still toxic.

I've been thinking of doing that, too!