I use the 1 1/2" sqs. And sew them 25 at a time ( all by hand ) to make a 5" sq, set them aside and before you know it you have the makings for a postage stamp quilt...I forgot them must be from different prints..no two alike.Very interesting to see how many prints there are in this world!

I save extremely small pieces as they can all be blended with stitching, into another piece of fabric that I can use somewhere else. Lots of people give me their scraps because I love them - crumbs- I think some of you call them. I collect even smaller than 'crumbs'. Perhaps I should call it 'dust'...

Love that quilt that made itself. Great idea!

We have no kill shelters in the area and they love getting "scrap bag pillows" - I use left over fabric and batting to make pillows of differing sized and fill them with scraps as well. The cats and dogs in the shelter make great use of their softness and they are washed and dried until they wear out!

I recently cleared three boxes of creased up scraps by chucking the small bits, and cutting all the rest into 2 1/2" strips, as I've just been bitten by the Jelly Roll bug!

I know several people who have gone to the 'Scrap Therapy' classes, they learn specific small cuts and get the patterns to use them. Then keep their scraps cut and sorted. I would suggest finding out more about Scrap Therapy items from your LQS if you want to save scraps and make use of them.

I have seen tote bags and throws made strictly from scraps and they are very nice.

Longarm

For me, I save it all, you just never know! I think I may have a little problem thou! LOL

I use the scrap therapy method...cut 5", 3.5" and 2" squares... or strips if I can. Anything smaller gets thrown out.

2 1/2 x 2 1/2 is the smallest I save, otherwise I would go nuts with organizing scraps. Mostly I save 5x5s

Me too.

I don't save anything under 2X2, a size I think I can use in a quilt block. I sort lap quilt fabrics and childrens fabrics.
These scraps have been pressed and placed in neat stacks in my scrap box so I can easliy search for fabrics.

I also save one and a half. I 'm making a sixteen patch. I'll probley never finish it in my lifetime.But love saving them. I cut them as I go. I liked your idea of sorting them. Thank you. Fayz

I am bad because I save every scrap until I decide what to use it for. I recently did some Sunbonnet Sue and you need very small scraps for some of that.

I get a newsletter on quilting and today's tip was "when cutting for a quilt to cut remainder fabric in squares or strips. Squares are 2". 2.5" and 3" strips are 2" and 2.5". They are stored in plastic containers by size. Then they are ready if you want to do a scrappy quilt." Take care.
Linda

I love your quilt! What pattern is that? I am not only interested because I love the quilt, but I am now sorting--again, my scraps, and finding a lot of little ones.
I also discovered that Oatmeal Boxes are perfect for storing scraps! They hold a lot, and they stack!
Mariah.

I smallest pieces I save are 1 1/2 inch squares. I try to do what Bonnie Hunter does. Cut your scraps right away and place them in a container or a box for future use - all of the same size. She has great suggestions on her website.

I save everything that I think anyone can possibly use, usually about 2 x 2 or up. We give most of our scraps to "The Piecemakers" quilting club at First Baptist Church.

I used to limit myself to nothing smaller than 2½" square, but with all the adorable string quilts and postage stamp quilts I've seen lately, I've had to rethink this rule. Now I save everything that might reasonably be used within this lifetime (since it's the only one I'll have). It's a personal thing... some people don't want to bother with little miscellaneous pieces; some people love the challenge of finding ways to use them. There is no right or wrong on this - it's just a choice. Which one are you?

i save my scraps as well i like making the mini tumbler and postage stamp quilts plus i sewed strips together and then cut them into a hexagon shape makes for a different quilt top this is my no name quilt top

What do you do with your crumbs, I have a bunch :?: :P

I think 2.5" squares are about the smallest I save. I let my scrap box pile up and then usually cut charms and strips. I usually sort by size after that.

More years ago than I like to think about, Nancy Ziemann did a show in which she used tiny pieces (crumbs) to make a woodsy scene; then she covered it with a sheer fabric and quilted it to hold it all in place. It was gorgeous, and I thought at the time that that was probably the most economical use of fabric I had ever seen. You might check her site and see if she still has anything like that. It was very interesting.

I save two and 1 half inch squares, nothing smaller. I make scrap quilts a lot. Diane C

Thanks for this discussion. I am new to scrap quilts and I save anything that can be cut into a 2.5" square. I cut scraps into 2.5" x 5.5" first for a coin quilt. Then I cut smaller into the 2.5" square. I am sorry to say most of the rest gets thrown out. I store large pieces in a garbage can and then cut when I want to. When I first started saving scraps, my DH saw I had a partly full garbage can in my sewing room and threw them all out!! He was doing a good thing collecting trash, but I think I hyperventilated when I saw my scrap can was empty!! Thanks to the thrift shops around here and a friend who gives me her scraps I have a full can again.

quilters! please consider using scraps to stuff dog and cat beds for shelters before you throw the scraps out.

Since I applique, I keep everything. I could use a good de-stashing of the scraps, I'm sure.

I can not thank all of you enough for all your imput....I am now asking my local friends for their scrapes and will start a crumb quilt soon. I just finished a labor filled crazy quilt on a foundation with extreme embroidery..... Crumb quilts seem like so much fun, I expect never to return to the labor intensive crazy quilts again.
It was interesting how each and every crumb quilt is differnet.....

All my scraps are sorted by widths. I have been going crazy making string quilts (they are now called Strata Quilts not string. I use pieces as small as 1" strips (not squares). I have made a 10.5" x 10.5" square quilt, already quilted, Blocks of 5.5" x 10.5", being quilted now and strips sewn together that are the width of Calculator tape (2.25"). I use the tape as the base. Have one colored and one in only blacks and whites (my piano keys). This is going to be used in a border somewhere.

I am having fun. I have even broken down and cut up some larger fabric to give me more strings. They don't even have to be the same width, can be 1" at one end and 2" at the other end. The smaller squares will eventually end up in 4 or 9 patches and worked in someplace. As long as I square the block when I finish have no trouble putting them together.

It depends on the kind of quilts you make. I've done some fused blocks, where I was cutting strips that were 3/8" wide and then cut triangles out of those. I know that sounds a bit insane, but I did do that. So I save strips that are an inch wide. Most fabric is kept together by color in plastic covered boxes in my sewing room.

Hello all... go to our search engine and type in "Mindless, Mindless, Mindless S & C" A few months ago Rosyhf posted this wonderful saga of a really neat quilt... I still have it bookmarked! You'll love it!!

I have squares cut down to 1.5" because I recently did a swap for them I am thinking about doing more as I am slowly talking myself into one of the postage stamp quilts and I believe that is what size you need for those.

I save all my scraps...you just never know when you (or someone else) needs just the "right" piece for a project. I ran across this when I needed an orange piece for a carrot nose on a snowman I was appliqueing. I found it in my scrap bag!
Also, it is nice to be able to help others on the board when they are looking for scraps. Someone just recently asked for salvage edges, so I decided to start saving those too!

I save down to 2" squares until there are strips and then I save down to 1 1/2".When it comes to squares and strips I don't sort them by color but I so have all of my other scraps that are less than a FQ or Qtr yd in boxes by color. I am always going back to them for scrap blocks. I guess what you save depends on how much room you have to store them or how obsessed (I should say thrifty) you are.

The only scraps I don't save are less than 2 inches. Then when Sometimes my scraps run to almost a yard. If don't particularily have something to do with it, it is scrap. When I have enough "scraps" I sell them.

Love the comments I get re: my scraps. Thank You very much!

Years ago when I was cutting blocks for quilts I cut the left overs into 2.5",2" and 1.5' squares and threw them into their separate bags and then when I didn't have a quilt to make I used those pieces to make rugs and tops for the toilet tank.The smallest ones I used for the top of the tank and the 2.5" ones for rugs. You can use whatever you want for the backs of rugs and tank covers. I have used denim and just about anything. If you want somethin on the back of the rugs to prevent them from slipping sew that on first. Fold your squares in half and start in the middle and leave the same amount of space on either end make a turn and come back up one side of your first strip and go back down the other side . Keep doing this until you have the whole piece covered. I'll try to post a picture of the tank cover.

Judy[/quote]
I have happily received packages of 'crumbs' from several members on this forum :-D . I just love rummaging through the package looking at all of my little treasures. I am addicted to making crumb quilts and now I think I will start saving for a postage stamp quilt....woo hoo.

As Bonnie Hunter says, "the fabric in the scraps costs just as much as the yardage that it came from" (not an exact quote). She makes "new" fabric from her scraps and then sew quilts from her "new" fabrics.[/quote]

Your blocks are so pretty. I love these scrappy blocks and try to make quilts with them as often as possible. Not only that, but when I give them to family they are always praised as though I had made a prize winner. 8-)

i save all the scraps i make fabric bowls to match what i made the person in mind. for example i am making a quillow for my son with matching dresser or tabletopper and when i am done will put the scraps into a bowl to set on the dresser or whatever, figure he can put keys, change whatever to gether instead of all over the dresser. if there is more material left he may get pillows to match too. when i am done not much material is left.

I made one like yours and Bonnie's, using 2 1/2" sqs. Really fun and attractive. I don't have time for much smaller sqs than 2 1/2", but do a lot of crumb piecing, with 1" min, if brite enough to sparkle. Cant' bear to waste anything!! :D

I save anything wider then 1" and longer 2"s
Wolflady

I save two and a half inch strips- the rest I give away. If its an odd shape or short piece I will never use it so its best to find it a new home! Scraps can really pile up!