Okay this is a where I draw the line, using crumbs. I believe in going green and using up scraps, but seriously, a Crumb? Doesn't it cost more in thread than to just purchase 1/4 yard of fabric? And how on earth can anyone sew those itsy pieces together without using tons of thread. Is it really cost effective? Or do you crumb users enjoy the challenge? Share with me your rationale, cause I just don't get it.

How small does a scrap have to be to be considered a crumb?

I happen to have a lot of thread from working at JoAnn's some years ago. So it works for me.

I love the challenge... and since I started sewing crumb blocks and using those as leaders and enders (rather than just snip the thread each time like I used to do) it's evened out. I use just as much thread as I did when I was just wasting it like that.

But mostly I just love how cool the blocks look! I use as small as 3/4inch square pieces.

And hey, if you don't want your crumbs, just pass 'em on! Lost of people here (like me) will pay postage to get them off your hands... so you can still feel like you're going green, without having to pull your hair out doing something you hate.

LOL I think it's great...I hate throwing away crumbs and love the modern arty look of "crumb" work, it doesn't look like junk but like a fancy background for all the nice embellishments and pretty threads there are now days.

I've made string quilts using strips from an inch to 1 1/2"inches wide.For small scraps, I seldom save less than a 2-3"sq to use in miniatures.

It's easier to save size/colors by what I'm planning to make next.Controlled scrappy works for me.Just have no room to save wee crumbs.JMO

I'm winding down from making 5" crumb blocks now.
They are addicting - I don't know HOW to stop...there's so much more fabric scraps in my bins! LOL

My Blocks vary in the sizes of the pieces they contain. Some 5" blocks have lots of little pieces (I must have been really creative) and others only have 5 wider pieces (must have been tired).

I've kept the pieces that are too small for me in another bin. I have other things to work on now :)

Well, if I paid for the whole yard, I'm gonna USE the whole yard! Or, pretty close to it. I'd say smaller than a 1" square it's gonna get lost in the fuzz bag. And as for the wasted thread...I've found if I wanna sew, but don't have a project in mind sewing crumbs-strings-scraps feeds the need without doing too much damage. :D

I love the crumbs! Not only is it a challange, but I want to use every possible scrap I can.I have a pattern for a 1' candy corn, it has 5 pcs to it, so a crumb is perfect! I also make some alternitive art and the scraps are perfect for that also, to add a touch of color and texture. ;)

since the crumbs are sewn into blocks, then into quilts where is the waste? you talk about wasted thread...i don't understand, no matter what size pieces we sew together it takes thread, i don't think i'm wasting any by sewing pieces of fabric together, i am simply using it for what it was made for. thread is only wasted if it is thrown in the garbage.

Crumb quilting is a Crazy Quilt technique. I call my version Confusion. It is a form of quilting that has been handed down through the generations. We have just found a way to make the crazy patch without a backing to sew the pieces to.

Yes it is worth it. It is an art form that I enjoy. It isn't all about going green but it is an expression of creativity first and foremost. Each one of the blocks are unique and the finished project has a charm that can't be duplicated.

They are easy to make. You just lay two pieces of fabric together face to face and sew together. Trim a straight edge and add another swatch of fabric. It is a free form don't have to measure exersize that is fun to do! When you are done just cut a square out of the fabric you just created and use it for whatever you are making.

It is so easy I taught a 9 yr old to do it and she made a pillow out of hers and won a ribbon at the local fair.
I also used it for my twin grandsons first foray into quilting. They are 6. They loved it and it was so easy for them to do.

I do miniatures so I can use anything down to a 3/4" size scrap. So don't throw your scraps away let someone else have them that will use them!!

I haven't done a crumb quilt yet, have all the intention of doing so and thus possibly reducing my crumbs, but I don't think it's possible to use them all up, so if anyone would be willing to pay postage, I'll send you a large flat rate box, literally stuffed, PM me if you want. I have 6 large totes full.

I've made a lot of crumb blocks but still haven't got enough for a quilt. The amount of thread used is just too much plus making those blocks drives me crazy. Once I get enough to finish a top, I'm FINISHED with crumbs...never want to do any more!!

But they are fun!
and I make some very nice things with them!

How is the amt of thread any differant than a pieced block?

If this is a form of quilting you don't like then make a table runner or lap quilt out of what blocks you have made and move on to something else you do like to do. Don't stress over it. Quilting should be enjoyable not a hardship to do.

Ok, I don't call them crumbs, I call them scrap quilts . as I make them out of my scraps. I suppose crumps are the tiny pieces? well I am have a bunch of them right now from the quilting I am doing...Maybe I should try one...

What beautiful pinwheels, ok so I now understand how you can be addicted, I'm just not sure I can manage using material smaller than an inch. But it sounds like it would be worth trying. So I will save my crumbs and give it a try. I will let you know if you end up with a new crumb addict or a crumb donator. I'm making a paper piece project now which is generating numerous crumbs. That's what got me thinking and yes I have been saving all those crazy "little" pieces. I'd love to see another crumb quilt if anyone can post a pic. The pinwheels were so cute.

thanks!
these are 4" HST
but I made black and crumb ones that are 2 1/2"
made a purse with them and have a large bag of them left!
I just keep making them!

I sent you a PM :D :thumbup:

Rhonda wrote:
"How is the amt of thread any differant than a pieced block?"
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I am doing the crumbs by joining teensy-weensy bits of fabric...1" and even less.....so getting enough to make a block takes a lot of 'crumbs'. You have to join all those little pieces before a block can be made and they don't fit together easily because of the wonky shapes so there's a lot of trimming. It just seems like it is a lot of thread or perhaps it's just my imagination. I'll go ahead and make the top because that's what I started out to do and I have almost enough blocks.

Now if we're talking about scraps that's a whole different matter! I LOVE scrappy quilts but a scrap to me is no less than a 2.5" piece and I square these up as I go or they are already square because they are leftovers from making a top.
Those I like to put together.
Perhaps it's a matter of what I mean by 'crumbs'.

I do Crumbs, I love to take the back side of the triangles
that I cut off and make squares out of them. I made myself stop doing this for a while but am back to it. I really do love half Square Tri.

OK, I get why you claim additional thread since there's more sewing involved in each block then there would be with larger pieces . . .however, as has been pointed out, they're gorgeous. I LIKE the more intricate designs of the crumb piecing :)

Yes, I agree scraps which I consider 2.5 sq or bigger I have made but it's the crumbs I have yet to try. I haven't tried thentiny string quilts either, I think those are small pieces too.

I love those blocks and had never heard of crumb quilting. I think i may have just found a new project for this week-end!

Wow, and I've been throwing scraps away. What a great idea. I will have to try that.

OH MY, do you know how many hearts you stopped? throwing them away???
if you do not want to save scraps some schools still have art classes at least in elementary and the teachers are always thrilled to receive donations to help the kids. the budgets for the teachers to get supplies are almost non-existant. and kids can be very creative with a box of fabric scraps!
or if you don't want to give them away (although you've been throwing them away) put out an offer here on the board, there are members who will buy them from you, members who will pay postage for you to send them or members who really can not afford to pay but could really put them to good use.
it is heart breaking to hear of people throwing out what others would do so much with...

Here's a pic for you guys of my crumbs quilt in progress. Each block is 4 inches.

Had to read the whole thing, and YES my heart stopped! Did not know what was meant by 'crumbs', now i do, and I LOVE it! Even at that I have never thrown so much as a thread away. I bag it up and use it for stuffing. Made a big pillow for the cats stuffed with all these leftovers. Last week my grandson (11) came to quilting club with me and one of the gals (has more patience than I) helped him make a pillow. I didn't have any stuffing with me and he was impatient so he stuffed it with the scraps in the bag we keep at club. Worked great, and he was tickled pink.

love the scrappy look!

I think I like my scraps better than yardage. I can't tell you how many times I've been tempted to chop up everything I have! :roll: I even love playing with the selvages!

Do what makes you happy. That's the best part about quilting.

I saw a demonstation once on Simply Quilts where the lady took tiny scraps and laid them on a fabric and then overlaid a netting over that and quilted it down. It was an interesting idea. Then she used that to put in a quilt treating it like a piece of cloth.

Here is a link to some of the stuff I have made with my confusion technique which is somewhat the same as the crumb technique. I like to do a few other things with the technique such as cut off a section sew in a piece lengthwise and readd the cut off piece. It makes it appear that the lengthwise piece is laying ontop of the underneath joined confusion. There are lots of things you can do with crazy quilting and crumbs in particular. I think the artistic appeal far outweights the cost of thread.

My Confusion directions and pictures of some of the things I made with it.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-30920-1.htm

The crazy quilt hearts are down in the middle. Sorry you can't see the little ones as well as I would like but you get the idea. The confusion ones are in the bottom under the others.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-35281-1.htm

I had a lady save her tiny scraps from a 30's quilt she made. I stripped together 3/4" strips and made her a checkbook cover and a coin purse and keychain from it all. Those tiny scraps have meaning for miniaturists! They would be great for anyone who makes Doll Quilts for Doll Houses.

Thanks for the great thread!! I've been dying to make one of these :D
The photos are awesome!!! :D

You are too funny!!! CHOP CHOP lol

Maybe we should have "Crumbs" as a theme for the doll quilt some month, might be fun lol

I save my scraps for string or scrappy quilts. I did make crumbs once or twice but don't care to do it again for several reasons: I hate to work with really small pieces of fabrics,
you use lots of thread (I used spools and bobbins that had only a little thread on them) and you need to buy fabric for the sashing which sort of defeats the purpose of using scraps.
I like the idea of saving little scraps, trimmings, small pieces of thread and batting in a fabric pillowcase that will be used as a doggie or cat mat/pillow. May in Jersey

I just asked the question, what is a crumb, but reading on I found the answer. Thanks for the pictures and the information. I'm going to try this.

I use a lot of them for PP.

That's a work of art! Thanks for posting it. 80

To me anything under 1 1/2 inches goes out. However it goes into a bag for a friend who does mini's. She will get a bag of little pieces and spend hours sorting and planning where to use the small pieces. Her quilts are gorgeous though and I admire her ability to use all the tiny fabric scraps.