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Originally Posted by gaigai
Originally Posted by beewild
First I would like to say thanks for all of the invaluble tips that I get from this site. It has made me a better and smarter quilter in soooo many ways! I don't post much but MUST read every day to make my life complete. LOL. I need to know if I am crazy or just plain stingy for thinking this way so please help! OK here goes. I made a queen size quilt from the Brasstown Star blocks. The pattern had me cut 4.5" squares from fabric 1, and from fabric 2 & 3, 2.5" squares. Take a 4.5" square, place a 2.5" square on opposing corners and sew across the diagonal of the small square. cut off the corner 1/4 away from the seam, flip and press, repeat on the remaining 2 corners. what you end up with is a 4.5" square with a 2" square in the center of fabric 1. Now as I was working on these blocks and my scrap pile was growing I got more annoyed that I was wasting so much fabric! With all that being said this is my question.... would you have altered the pattern and cut the pieces to the correct finished size and done it that way or would you have followed the pattern? With the prices of fabric these days that added up to a lot. I figured that I wasted appoximatly half of the fabric used to make these!!! I did finish the quilt but it costed me almost twice as much? After my very long winded explaination my question is what would you have done?
Thanks in advance for your advice. |
Originally Posted by Patticake
What I do is sew 5/8ths of an inch from the seam for the pattern out toward the corner then cut off the triangles and throw them in a zip lock. Once the quilt is done I decide if I want to use them right away, put them away for later, or stick them in a box of scraps. The box of scraps, when full, is sealed and I post on this board under Free Offers and Donations.
To find this page, go to home at the top of any posting; select the "All Sections" at the bottom of the list, change the notation on those you want to see to Subscribe and then you can post that you have a box of scraps for free. If you want to have the recipient pay for postage, just make sure you say that in your post. The hardest part for me is deciding who to send the box to as I usually get several immediate responses. I feel better about not wasting fabric (because I used to toss the scraps in the garbage) and I get to share with someone on this board who loves to use little scraps. With the price of fabric continuing to rise, I like to feel like I’m using all of it for something good. :lol: |
Originally Posted by alageeps
what do you mean use as leaders????
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1 Attachment(s)
i had left over hst's made from doing larger triangles on corners of squares. they were quite small so i added more triangles to them and made larger and used them on side borders on this quilt.
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Originally Posted by gaigai
Pitch 'em. Unless you do scrappy. I don't worry about "wasting" fabric. If there are two different ways to piece a block, and one is easier than the other, I could care less how much fabric it "wastes". I don't consider it a waste. If it bothers you so much either save them and use them for something else, change techniques, or give them to someone who really will use those bitty pieces. Mine go in the trash. I've decided not to keep anything smaller than a fat quarter, and even then, I know I'm probably NEVER going to use them.
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i save all my scraps under 2.5 - 3" square and keep them in a special container. the trash can. life is too short.
edit: the size is rising. |
I sew like MTS does and started a scrap stash for giving away, even if they use them for stuffing. My trip to the dumpster (live in an apartment) does get lighter and I feel like I am giving back for all the knowledge I get from this board.
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Originally Posted by craft phanatic
I would have sewed those little matching triangles together and made a mini! Could have put it on the wall in the same room as the quilt and it would have matched perfectly.
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I save all the little triangles & use them as headers & enders while working on other projects. You most always get two so I sew them together. It saves thread plus gives me two small half triangles sewed together & when I have several of these, I make little star blocks out of them. The star blocks end up being 5 inches on up in size. You can then alternate a star block & a plain block to make a scrappy star quilt, pillow, place mats, table toppers or pot holders out of them.
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I always sew a second seam and cut between. What you call waste is a small 1/2 sq triangle for me to use in another quilt.
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Originally Posted by MTS
This pattern?
http://www.strictlypetsupplies.com/_...k-Party-Series (and for the life of me I have NO idea why the Google search resulted in a link to a pet supply site.) :roll: You're talking about the Snowball blocks, right? The other way to make them is to cut the center square (Fab#1), cut 2 other squares (Fab #2 & #3) and cut them in half on the diagonal, and then sew those triangles to the four sides of the center square, to make a Square-in-a-Square block. Personally, I prefer the Snowball route (a pretty standard technique)...I don't EVER have to deal with triangles and a bias edge (not even if it's inside). And, btw, I only trim the underside of the smaller squares --- I always leave the center square corners intact. And I toss those little cut pieces. Others sew them together or use them as leaders. The added layer in that part of the block causes no problems or issues (maybe it would if you were hand quilting), and actually causes less distortion in the block by keeping it square. So, to answer your original question, in this case, I would have done it exactly as the pattern instructed. :lol: |
Originally Posted by beewild
I did sew the little corners together and ended up with about a thousand little 1" squares because I couldn't bring myself to throw them away! Maybe I could use them after all. thanks!
When I have to sew a tiny square on the corner of a bigger block, I sew on the initial sew line...diagonal corner to corner. Then before cutting it off, I sew another seam ½ toward the point. When I do this before I cut it I don't have to worry about placement of the two tiny pieces. You can then make a little "table mat" with all the tiny ½ square triangles! Waste not, want not! :-D :thumbup: |
I went on a quilt retreat a couple of weekends ago. We were asked to put all our scraps into a bag which was placed in the middle of the room. One of the ladies uses them to fill dog beds which she gives to the local vet. He sells them and all the money raised is saved until there is enough to pay for the complete training of a guide dog or companion dog. To date they have paid for 17 dogs.
May be you could talk to the vet in your area and start something wonderful. Just a thought. |
I stitch twice across that corner with 1/2" between the stitching lines, cut between them and save the HST (half square triangles) which are the "leftovers" ... I am not sure how small the triangles are that I have saved, but I just stitch them together in 5 block rows (25 to the block) and then stitch the blocks together at a later time. Great for a scrappy baby quilt or as part of a sampler quilt.
I do it for exactly the reason that you have stated - - fabric is not cheap, and scraps are my favorite things to play with. I put all of those HST into a shoe box size plastic bin ( I am SUPPOSED to make them into a quilt when the box is full, but I haven't had time to follow through, but there is always tomorrow, eh? ;-) ) <wave> |
Originally Posted by bamamama
Originally Posted by gaigai
Originally Posted by beewild
First I would like to say thanks for all of the invaluble tips that I get from this site. It has made me a better and smarter quilter in soooo many ways! I don't post much but MUST read every day to make my life complete. LOL. I need to know if I am crazy or just plain stingy for thinking this way so please help! OK here goes. I made a queen size quilt from the Brasstown Star blocks. The pattern had me cut 4.5" squares from fabric 1, and from fabric 2 & 3, 2.5" squares. Take a 4.5" square, place a 2.5" square on opposing corners and sew across the diagonal of the small square. cut off the corner 1/4 away from the seam, flip and press, repeat on the remaining 2 corners. what you end up with is a 4.5" square with a 2" square in the center of fabric 1. Now as I was working on these blocks and my scrap pile was growing I got more annoyed that I was wasting so much fabric! With all that being said this is my question.... would you have altered the pattern and cut the pieces to the correct finished size and done it that way or would you have followed the pattern? With the prices of fabric these days that added up to a lot. I figured that I wasted appoximatly half of the fabric used to make these!!! I did finish the quilt but it costed me almost twice as much? After my very long winded explaination my question is what would you have done?
Thanks in advance for your advice. Another use for them would be fabric postcards. |
i would save the scraps for another project.
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