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.

And it's better for you and your cat. Swifter fluid is toxic to animals, so it can't be good for humans.

Consumer Reports says that's not true. https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...myth/index.htm

I make a lot of mug rugs and table runners so use my off cuts that way. I also piece my batting sometimes. It sounds like you don't do either of these, so why not give yourself permission to throw them away?

I square up batting scraps, zig-zag them together and use them in smaller projects. I do not mix batting types becaue, after washing, they do not behave uniformly. I put the fabric cuttings into the scrap bags=by color to use later.

I recently made a cat bed using the clippings in the waste basket as the filler. My kitty loves it. She can snuggle right down in that. I used that idea of an old sweatshirt as the base with the clippings as the stuffing. I think you can find the idea online somewhere. Since she is long-haired and sheds a lot, I also sewed 2 pieces of flannel together as a small "quilt" to toss over it for easier cleaning of the bed. Too, it covers up the errors in the construction and she doesn't care!

As for your blocks or practice pieces. If those are of appropriate size, finish them off and donate to a NICU for use with their tiny people. Some may be appropriate to be comforting to parents of those babies are born way too soon and are so little that a small quilt is just the right size.

There are many places for this other than the trash. There are many people who would love to have them and make use of them - if you can find such people.

I have an empty "pillow" in my sewing room into which I put all scraps of batt that cannot be sewn together to make a larger batt. When the pillow is quite full, I sew the top shut and sell it at my garage sale. They have always sold.

I make lots of small projects like quilted bags and placemats. The bigger pieces get fused with the fine iron-on tape made for this purpose and used in quilts. It's a quick process and I can't even tell the tape is there. You have to lay the two pieces to overlap slightly and rotary cut neatly through both, pulling off the overlapped area so that the two pieces butt together perfectly before you fuse them with the tape. I have used at least a couple of different brands, Dritz and one from Connecting Threads, and both work great.

I’m with you. There are somethings that are just not worth saving and need to be tossed.

It does bother me to throw the stuff you describe away. I have been making pet beds and donating them to a local shelter. I know I won't use them and I have enough junk around here.

One year when my scrap bags were too full and my scrap batting bag was also full (and I had a number of bags for both) I took them to the local quilt show and donated them to sell. I couldn't believe how fast they sold. I felt good getting them out of my sewing room and glad that the quilt guild got the money and that someone was going to put them to good use.

I tend to keep things for my 'good intentions', but sometimes my good intentions tend to overflow and I just get overwhelmed. Then it is good to clean it out.

I make dog beds with the scraps I just use a old pillowcase or make a pillowcase with drapery fabric.

I used one of my practise FMQ pieces as a cover on a heating pad that is just too hot on the lowest setting. I just stitched another piece on three side so it is like a small pillow case. I used a piece of an old heavy woolen skirt to make a pad for under my sewing machine. It is much quieter with the pad. One or two layers of batting would work as well. If you don't want to deal with them what about putting out an advertisement -I think you would find that someone would be happy to have them. It seems a shame to put them in the landfill.

Cutious, how do you label these?

I donate scraps and left overs to a SR center in another county. It's a place where money is in short supply, but enthusiasm for quilting is not. Generally, I am not a scrap quilter, so that works well for all involved.

Great idea.

That would make a great pet bed, too.

I'm a hoarder.... Someday I hope to have time to play with my scraps and all of the ideas in my head. Right now, there's barely time to sleep.

You all have some great ideas!