I have two cardboard boxes with the large and the small scraps. But I have been trying to make a few 6" square Heart sting blocks. So a plastic box holding them. When the plastic box is full, I'll see if there's enough for at least a lap quilt. Now that I save scraps, I can see how much money I used to throw away. oh, not good.

I have mine in plastic bins.

Haha! Like what you said. I'm heading there.

Must be your new at this game! LOL!

It's amazing how quickly those scraps add up. I have a big basket I keep under the opening of my sewing machine table and I drop them in there until it fills. I have a blanket chest full of scraps also. Now my favorite quilt is a scrappy one, so I regularly use my scraps and have never needed anymore space than the basket and chest.

I'm struggling with how to organize my scraps too. Haven't read thru all the responses but I will. I have alot more with Mom's stash added. :shock:

Wow - compared to you, I'm a scrapaholic!! I sort mine by neutrals and then by colour groups in RubberMaid totes. I have my lengths (usually 3 yards) folded on a bookshelf, sorted by colour groups. It is so much fun to mix and match when you find a great pattern. BTW, I decided to use up my neutral and pink scraps and made a lovely big log cabin quilt. It didn't even make a dent in my scrap piles!! The one who dies with the most scraps wins!!

Since I started sewing when I was in junior high (more than 50 yrs. ago) I have had a LOT of scraps but I've never really had a system for sorting them until now. Everytime I've moved through the years I've given away large trash bags full of scraps (the last move yielded 4 lawn/leaf bags FULL)but like a lot of you I've come to realize that scraps are very handy. I've recently been going through them and cutting the largest piece I can from the scrap & on down from there. If I have yardage I cut it into 2 1/2" strips. I have a friend who owns a pizza place & she's very generous with her boxes, so I sort my scraps by the size I've cut them & store them in the pizza boxes. So far it's probably the best thing I've done for my stash in years.

i have those clear plastic shoe boxes and have them sorted by size. they can slide under a bed or stack on a shelf. keeps them tidy

I put my small projects in see thru zippered bags. My scraps are all over. LOL I think that's why I love Eleanor Burns.

Please don't laugh, but I use the BIG cat litter jugs with the handles (my cat uses crystal litter). They can stack, they're "grabbable" and they live on two shelves on the wall so they're out of the way.

I sort by color mostly, with a separate jug for batiks, Christmas and Halloween. I also have a separate jug for leftover binding (that's been pressed in half and is ready to use on smaller projects) and bias binding tubes (each in its own ziplock to prevent tangling.

I don't use anything smaller than a 3" square, giving the rest to my guild's miniature quilt bee.

You only have two! I think I have about ten tubs and a dresser full. My daughter tells me I should open my own fabric store. I remember there might be a couple of moving boxes full in the basement and more in the garage from when we moved in 2004.

Toni (sewsewnice)

I FORGOT: I have nother jug for the superthin strips you get from trimming/suqaring up blocks and the rabbit/dog ears you trim from triangles and such go into another for my guild's Art Quilt Bee.

I have at least 6 large totes,plus plastic shoe boxes, card board boxes full of scraps. The only way they are organized is by fabric type, cotton, poly, etc..., I tried to start sorting but there is too much. If you are strapped for cash go to the post office and pickup priority mail boxes for free and mark them by 1/2 in increments Starting at the smallest piece you are willing to work with. Once you have your discard pile you can either throw away(God Forbid) or use them for stuffing, pillow, dog bed, what ever. But start right away or you will be like me and overwhelmed with scraps. Luckily I like to make crazy quilts.

I'll bet your gals in a humid climate have that problem. In the desert there is no moisture - not for our scraps or our faces!

Your post made me laugh! When my BFF and I took up cross-country skiing, we used to say that the women in the desert states would pay a fortune to have their faces packed in snow and we got the same spa treatment for free every time we fell and did a face-plant in the snow!!!

How "true" this is!

Bonnie in Mariposa, CA

2 large totes :lol: :lol: :lol:

Right now mine are all in a commercial type drawer and some in big plastic tubs. But since getting the Accuquilt Go for Christmas I plan on cutting them and organizing them by size and color one day soon.

My DH hates her. He has even been known to turn off the TV when she starts throwing things, even though he is usually very mellow.

I use Bonnie's system also. I have plastic shoe boxes ($1.00 at Big Lots) with different size strips and squares all cut up. I also have a large plastic box that I have been throwing my scraps in, and my Aunt's stash she gave me. If a piece of fabric is not big enough to fold around my 6" ruler, it gets cut into strips and squares!

Could you identify the "wrapped clothesline bag"? I remember my mother having a clothesline bag. It caught my eye. Please and thanks!

I seperate mine by lights, medium and darks. SOMEDAY I will go back and redo same as well by size. String verses squares. I do not have enough to hide either, my sister in law owns a shop and last summer she gave me quite a few scraps and then I dug through her garbage for what she was throwing out !!!!! I beg her to save for me haha....

I have a cartoon on my refrigerator. Two farmers are talking with a silo in the distance behind them. One farmer is pointing to the silo, and the other farmer says, "Grain? No, that's where my wife stores her fabric!" Makes me chuckle when I stop to read it. I only wish I had one, as it would be a great place to store it:-)

I through mine a plastic bag and then when the mood takes me transfer them to individual bags by colour.

Color or type ex Christmas or flannel

I definitely don't have a system, but I find that boxes are better than bags. I've got both, but I'm getting ready to get rid of all those bags. They're hard to "stash." Boxes can be stacked.

Oh gee whiz! I just gave away, to a church group, 3 garbage bags of scraps. I felt guilty giving it away but it needed a home. I figure by the time a make an entire scrappy quilt I will have enough scraps again. Hope they enjoy them, and good luck with your scraps.

Do you make scrap quilts? If so, when you get an acumulation of scraps its time to make a scrap quilt.
If you do not make scrap quilts, theres no reason to save them.
Sell/trade to quilters who make scrap quilts.

Rubbermaid bin...I even took the time to iron and fold each piece to neaten it up...didn't last long when I rumbled thru it trying to find pieces for Applique...back to a mess...There's got to be a real solution to scraps you can never use them up I've tried. Even made a Crazy quilt (King size) and tons are still left...

Yesterday I took my scraps to our quilting get together..and I cut all sizes of squares..put them together in groups..what was left I cut into strips for my strip quilt..now ready to make some charity quilts..you girls have me on a roll..lol

My strings are stored in gift bags according to color, squares and rectangles are in a drawer sorted by size. I use my strings as enders/leaders and store those blocks in a boot box.

I cut my scraps into 2 1/2" or 3 1/2" strips by color, roll all that type of color up together & tie it with a tiny long scrap strip. They are in a matress covering bag, zipped up so I can see all the different colors by sizes. I don't applique, only strip quilt, so this works for me! The bad is BIG & wonderful to look in through the plastic.

I tend to cut my scraps into 2 1/2" strips, and store them in sandwich bags. keeps them from fraying and I can sort through them without getting tangled up. Anything less than 1/2 yd gets this treatment, anything more than 1/2 yd goes back on the shelf.

Mine is similar to this site. I have bought photo boxes for my scraps starting at 1.5", half inch increments to 6.5 and then go to a larger storage unit. When a photo box gets full I make a scrappy quilt to help empty the box. Right now I am cutting down some of the 3.5" and 4" larger sizes to 1" to 2" strips for my scrappy strip quilt. My 2.5" I do not cut down.

Hah! We had to build an addition onto our house so I could have a place to store all my quilting fabric/embroidery machines and supplies/sewing supplies. You are just getting started, Luv! I keep the fabric in see through tubs and in a six fioot six-drawer chest. I like the see through tubs the best, and I organize them by the size of the cuts they contain. I had always thought I would do it by color groups, but the farthest I got with that was my collection of FQ's.

I use plastic sandwich baggies then I put them in flat storage boxes. I Paper Piece & most of the blocks only need 5 or 6 inches of scraps.

I have a rubber maid tubby full of scraps.

The totes that I use are for Christmas wrap & I have 5 of them. Plus I have more in RubberMaid totes.

Hi everyone: thanx for your tips on the "rag quilt sure helped,, getting to "sraps "I have a 1/2 dz of the storage bags you use a vaccum and it "shrinks" down to nutin, they hold lots I also have uhum (last count) 4 tubs full, my husband said if this keeps up he'll go sleep in the den.. guess what .. I have the bed to myself.. I don't think I'm evil,, yes he came back.. lol ;-)