I recycle my threads. Instead of throwing them away I keep them and put them outside for birdies. I just used a bright green and tossed abunch outside. I'll be seeing it in birds nest pretty soon. Last year I had some bright orange and seen in 2 nests. Birdies love thread

Great idea. I would be afraid my cats and dogs would eat them, though. Maybe if I toss them into the trees.

I chop up my left over cotton fabric and put it out. Makes colorful nests and is biodegradable.

That is such a good idea....I never would have thought of that. I think I am going to start. Heaven knows I always have tons of thread and fabric clippings!

What a great idea and to think you see the results of it!

Just make sure your clippings aren't long enough for birdies to get tangled around their wings or legs! :)
I am a vet tech at a wildlife facility and we've seen some songbirds who have been entangled in the past. Cute idea for colorful nesties though!!
:)

I put little bits (like teeny) of cotton batting in our lilac trees last Spring, and the blue tits and great tits went mad for it. I pulled it apart a bit for them so's they could see how good it was!! I also put the combings from my Yorkies on the same twigs, and they love to collect that as well.
The birds are very cheeky though, I've seen them tugging at threads on towels on the line too.

That is what I do with dryer lint. I save it in a bag at dryer, in spring, I place it out on ground in yard. It is fun to watch the birds picking it over to get soft nesting. Even the sqirrells have taken some.

More great ideas. Thanks. I did forget to mention I chop
them up before putting it out for them. Thanks for that tip.
Wouldn't want to hurt the little ones. You have an awesome
job. :thumbup:

I haven't put any thread out... but I have used scrap trimmings (selvedges, etc) to wrap around the canes of my blackberry bushes to keep the rodents from chewing the bark off during the winter.

Love those ideas ... thread, dog hair, and dryer lint. Who'd a-thunk it?

I think I once saw a TV spot about a lady who used dryer lint for paper mache!

I love the dryer lint idea. . . heaven knows we have enough of it!

My mother used to do that with yarn. I loved knowing that the birds had a soft nest.

Our squirrels love them too. Also leftover pieces of batting. I cut it into strips and put them in a basket this time of the year for nest building. I would recommend cotton though.

Great idea!! I love it! I might start doing that. :)

I heard many years ago that fabrics were not good for birds nests because it stays damp too long after a rain, causing the young birds to get sick (pneumonia???). Things like straw and grasses do not absorb water the way fabric does. Have not been able to corroborate this in recent years. Do you have any idea if this is true? As I recall, it was an ornithologist who posted the warning about putting out fabric scraps for birds, but I could be wrong about that.

Wow that is an awesome idea! I am going to do that for sure!!!

That is a really good thought. Young hatchlings can be very sensitive to things like that. Fortunately, I have an Ornithology lab that is right down the street from my workplace...I will contact them and ask them thier thoughts on this!

I do this with the hair from my pyr. Oh my how they shed! Dh gets annoyed as I brush him in the yard and just leave it for the birds.

Thats a pretty great idea!

i save mine up all winter and then rotary cut them up for the spring. i use a tray feeder so i just throw some bits in each day til they're gone. they really go.

What great ideas. I would never have thought of any of them.

I'm interested in what they say! I was just thinking about this growing basket of tiny trimmings and I'd love it if it could be "recycled" like that!

I was told not to give birds yarn a string because when it gets wet the nest stays wet and the babies don't need a wet bed. I was told to put out hair ( from the dog and beauty shop for the birds.)

That is an excellent idea, however, I remember an incident where a bird got caught in a length of thread and had to be cut loose. So, remember, keep your thread clippings no longer than 3 inches long.

Using Misty Fuse and your small scraps and left over thread you can make interesting fabric. Use it for making journal/book covers, fabric purse, cell phone holders etc... It's a quick fun project.

What a wonderful idea. Hope my cats don't eat any. My mom used to put out yarn, but I never thought about threads.

I recycle dog fur, batting, scraps of fabric and thread clippings for the birds by putting them all in the little suet baskets that you see very cheap at stores. I make sure to cut the thread into smaller pieces because birds can get their feet caught up in them. My birds love my nest building materials and I love watching them hang on the cage trying to decide what to take. Almost like we quilters, minus the cage.

Wow. Thanks for all the great ideas. More to recycle. Soon can cancel the trash man. lol

Ah, if we could only cancel the trash man and the expense, life would be good. Up here in Maine we pay a person to pick it up.

ultimately, we all do. either directly or in taxes. so reuse, reduce, recycle.

What a great idea!. I will begin doing it right away. We should see our first Robin in a few weeks here in Colorado.

OMG!!!!!!!!! i do the same thing!! i do it at home by putting the pile out on my deck and i'm sewing when headed out for a camping trip,i let the thread fly out the window. i call it 'birdie string'. my 3 1/2 granddaughter is doing the same thing though she doesn't quilt she watches me, 'hamma' do it. so cute

Absolutely never gave it a thought. How nice. I have tons of birds, chimpmunks, squirrels, etc. here, including, deer, bear, foxes etc. I'll save all my stuff and next month set it out. Waiting for the snow to be gone!!!

When our Malamute was still alive, the Tit Mice were always going in her doghouse (even while she was in there) picking up her fur for their nests. I never thought about the dryer lint and clippings...great idea!

what a great idea! I love to feed the birds never thought my clipping would help them out. I did try the dryer lint thing and the Mississippi birds didn't like it, get it's too hot here for lint.

i read that the dryer lint can get stuck in their throats and beaks and they can't get rid of it by coughing it out.

My mom had alzheimer's. She lived with us for 2 yrs. She went to an adult camp for about 5 hrs a day. They did lots of activities, one of them was threading cheerios on yarn and throwing them up on the tree branches for the birds.

She loved doing this

Junec, I think I'll try threading some cheerios for the birds, thanks