I usually cut scraps into 1 1/2 inch strips and save them for scrappy log cabins.

I quilted a wall hanging for a customer last year made from all salvages. It was really unique.

I never thought about donating these to a school art department. HA! Great idea.

Sandra, I make quilts for babies to teens who are in hospitals, in family crisis and CPS emergencies. I use as small as 1x1 sqs. if I have enough to work into scrappy quilts. When someone has lost everything the cherish the gifts of strangers. I even use old flannel sheets and blankets for backing and it works fine. One person's trash is another man's treasure.

scraphappy, desertrose, and I think along the same lines! The center of this quilt I just posted used 1" strips.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-110446-1.htm

It is one of just many I have made from leftover narrow strips.

I throw the shards into a clean wastebasket and use them to stuff new dog beds. If they are at least two inches wide and several inches long, I save them for strip quilts. froggyintexas

The smallest I save is "EVERYTHING". I have a nice container next to the machine that collects all odd shapes for paper piecing Pineapple blocks. These blocks are 5" and have 45 pieces in each block.

I also double sew all corner triangles, so there is a small basket catching these HST. They finish at 1 1/2".

I am a hostess on Yahoo for "Postage Stamp Quilts". We exchange 1 1/2" squares 4 times a year. This is my FAVORITE size.
With each swap I get 1,250 more squares. I am working on an Irish Chain with these. I am using Kona-Snow as the constant background.

Anymore 2 1/2" squares look huge to me! I still have containers full of these strips. I have them sorted by color. And a large tote with all the neutrals. They can get cut down of course.

Like I said...I save everything. The selveges are used to make rugs and to tie up garden plants.
XOXOO Subee

I use anything down to 3/4" Please don't throw them away. There are lots of people who would love to have them.

I just received an email from my BFF in CA and she sent me pics of her scappy quilt. She found a wonderful older lady (82) in Loomis CA who was advertising that she would cut your scraps into any size blocks for a small amount of $. Well, she did my BFF! My BFF had her cut the scraps into 4 different sizes ranging from 6 inches down to 1 1/2 inch blocks. At first I thought 1 1/2 blocks?! OMG! But looks at the results I received today. I need to find a person like that in Nevada! I have a very large garbage bag of scraps that I think are worth keeping. But then I think all my scraps are worth keeping!!!

I use Bonnie Hunter's scrap saver system and the smallest I save is a "string". no narrower than 3/4 inch but must be 11 inches long. I do no save crumbs, I know she does. And I save left over HSTS from other projects.

2 1/2 " strips or blocks come in handy.

Ditto.

I don't use small scraps but I put them in a bag and when the bag is full I mail it to a friend who is going through kemo and had to sell everything to pay all her bills. She uses them to make small gifts for the doctors and nurses that she sees on a regular basis.

I save the selvedges I cut off, if they have the dots and writing, or are especially pretty... Later I'll make some selvedge creation out of them, maybe placemats.

The little scraps too small to sew can always be used to stuff something! Waste not, want not, right? ;O)

The smallest that I have ever worked with is i1/2. Did not enjoy it thou.

Some of my quilting friends are saving small scraps to fill dog and cat beds for the local humane shelter. Might be something for you to think about?

Hi,

An 1" is the small I will keep but I used far smaller.

Hope everyone has a great weekend , very cold here in Bflo, NY in the single digits tomorrow


Pam

When I gave away my scraps, I sent pics so people could see what I had.

I keep small pieces in ziplock sandwich bags. I have the plastic bins and sort by color. When I am looking for a piece the bags slide and are much easier to sort than digging through fabric pieces. I reuse the bags when I finish off a piece.

If you want to put every last scrap to use, take it to Goodwill or such. Mark the bags "Recycle" They can sell the unwanted fabric and clothing which is then recycled and kept out of landfills

About an inch and a half for postage stamp quilts. Can't get muych smaller than that and still have a seam.

What a great scrappy quilt!

i am currently saving 1 1/2" strips to do a nine patch with 3" blocks......but i do save even smaller pieces for small applique pictures.....gina

1 1/2 squares and strips.

At my last quilting retreat, one of the girls saved all our scraps to give to a friend who makes beds for her local animal shelter. She uses larger pieces of fabric to sew a pillowcase bed, then fills it with scraps. The beds are completely washable and recycle even the smallest pieces of fabric.

i save anything over 2.5", scraps or strips. under that i call trash
and i have a special container for it.

this is norine and I have never made scrap quilt lookinf for instructuions as in what size? do they all have to be same size? dont know where to start can anyone help? norin

when making humanitarian quilts, i work with squares down to 3" and use the smaller ones more for the baby sizes.
its nice to go thru my pieces, and cut as large a square as i can ...then put them into seperate boxes. i prefer the 1/2" sizes ( 4 1/2, 5 1/2, etc)...makes it easier to count how many blocks you need. (a 9 1/2" makes a 9" finished block, therefore, it takes 9X10 for a 90" wide quilt....then figure how many for the length you want.) 9 1`/2" comes out perfectly for the big quilts. i avoid triangles for Humanitarian, when i know someone will wash it on a rock in a 3rd world country! any scraps are great for the crazy quilts, etc. not much goes to waste.

2.5" squares...

Since joining here, I've learned to save it all.. Seems people find a use for it no matter how large or small. That makes me feel good. Material is so very expensive now days, so why waste. :) happy quilting (((Hugs)))

been there done that, have sent my sister 2 boxes or more! :thumbup:

I save it all, do not cut it into strips or squares until I am ready to start a new project. Use the smallest scraps for crumb blocks, postcards, collages, etc.

You should send them to someone, people make pet beds for shelters, use super small scraps as stuffing, some even use selvage, nothing is waste, someone wants it

Bonnie has a bonus quilt going on her site. It's 1 1/2" squares, 1 1/2"x2 1/2" rectangles (makes the flying geese) & 1 1/2"x4 1/2" sides. This is what I just did with that. I even did the piano border with the 1 1/2"x4 1/2". It was all done as leaders & enders, hardly knew I made it. It is a baby quilt.