Quilted offcuts and practise pieces
 

What do you do with the offcuts/trimmings when the quilt has been square and trimmed ready for binding. Some areas are quilted, others not but have the quilting motif markings, some are still attached to the batting via spray baste, other pieces with fused batting. I have a weighty bag full of the stuff.

If the top fabric hasn’t been quilted or fused, I sometimes pull it apart, hand wash it before it goes in my scrap bin for scrappy quilts. It seems such a waste to throw it away especially the batting. (I don’t make toys or smaller projects to use it as stuffing). All the batting is cotton and 95% of the scrap fabric is 100% cotton with the other 5% polycotton.

There are also a number of 12 inch quilt sandwich squares that I have used to practise FMQ and do tension testing on a HQ Sweet 16.

Any ideas?

Hetty B

I use the batting strips in my Swiffer. They work great for picking up stray pieces of thread and cat hair.

I use my practice pieces for pads between my china plates. I just but them apart and serge the edges. However, I have about as many of them as I need so I don't know what I'll do with them in the future.

Mine go in the trash - Just don't have the space or inclination to save stuff that I will probably never use.

Pet beds. Cats and dogs do not care if the blocks match or coordinate.

I have sewn large and big batting pieces together for free batting. Once I quilt the quilt no one would ever know.
I have time to do it and so I do.

I sew some of the batting pieces together and use them in other quilts. I’ve been experimenting with painting the smaller batting pieces to use as elements in art quilts.

as far as practice pieces or sample blocks, I usually pit a quickie binding on them and use them as trivets. Some of my practice quilting pieces get saved to use as reference materials- they really come in handy when I’m having trouble deciding how I want to quilt a piece-

as far as the fabric from squaring a quilt goes, depending on how much and what size, I will either put it in my scrap bins for use in other projects, or it may get used in a string quikt, or if itks just some really thin strips I put them in my shoebox of strips to be used in making clothesline trivets and bowls.

orphan blocks get put in the UFO pile- sometimes they get used in sampler quilts or in art quilts, or if thry’re large enough they get turned into pot holders or table toppers.

Rob

The "trimmings" go into my basket for pet beds.

Depending on size, I sew together and use in other quilts. If long strips, I use them for tote shoulder straps and bags I make for the rape crisis center. Wide strips can be sewn together for table runners or wall hangings. I don't keep a lot of these scraps because I'd need a room just for them..lol... Great idea for hardwood floor dusting. I'm gonna start doing that! Awesome idea! I pitch my FMQ practice squares unless I want to keep a particular pattern. I have a few squares for that purpose or I'll forget.