What do you do with yours?
 

When you are quilting (straightline on a dsm for me) and you see you are low enough on bobbin thread that you don't think you can do another complete pass, so you change out your bobbin.....
What do you do with that amount of thread that was left on the bobbin? And, I don't hand sew, so that's out. Sewing a button on is the only thing I can think of, but it just feels wrong to throw it out.

thanks for any ideas!

Life is short. I throw it out. Now, if the country was in a great depression, I would find a use for it. But it isn't, so I throw it out.

I try to stop at an inconspicuous spot, like in a ditch, or on a patch with a busy print stopping on the exact color of the thread. As for the extra on the bobbin, I will keep it with all my other partially filled bobbins and use it later either in the bobbin, or as the top thread when I am machine basting or working on a small project.
Now when all bobbins are "full", and I need a new bobbin to fill, I choose the bobbin with the least amount of thread, and/or least likely to use, pull the thread off it and trash the unwound thread. That is what I do...hope it helps you to decide what to do. Jane

I am amazed at the amount of thread that is wasted when quilting. I used to save it all but it was around for so long that some of it was rotted. Now, I just throw out those small amounts. Shameful waste but I am trying to downsize and not hoard. My parents and grandparents were pack rats and they needed to be. Every scrap of every thing was precious. I used to save a lot of things but no more. As I age I keep thinking that, after I'm gone, my children shouldn't have to wade through so much 'stuff' so I am becoming a minimalist in every aspect of my life....I buy less, I keep less. Just last week I once again sorted through my closets and sent 2 bags to Goodwill.

I have numerous bobbins, so if I stop and change to a full one I just put the partial in my bobbin holder and use it up piecing later. Generally when piecing the color doesn't matter- isn't going to show. I don't waste much thread. I might use 10+ different colors/ threads piecing a quilt top because I'm just using up partial bobbins.

this is what i do also

That's what I keep telling myself to be like! I'll keep trying!

I wrap the thread around an old shop plastic loyalty card and use the thread for basting usually for English Paper Piecing. When it gets too big, then I throw the extra thread away.

When I lived in a house that had an woodburning stove I would put cotton threads and cotton scraps (ONLY COTTONS) into an old saucepan with candle nubbins or the bits of wax from scented jar candles, melt them all together, poured the mixture out in an old cookie pan and once cooled break or cut it up into pieces to use as firelighters. Made the room smell lovely.

Some of the members in our quilt group save thread, tiny scraps and cuttings for a charity that sells it all on to a company that pulps and shreds it down for commercial and industrial uses.

HettyB

I have a small container that I toss my thread in, once it gets full I put it in a gallon size bag, with the intention of making a "thread bowl", I just haven't had the time to do it.

I'm another that uses it up when piecing. I have an LA and bring in my partially filled larger bobbins and wind that thread until the smaller bobbins for my regular sewing machine.

If it's less than 10' or so, I probably toss it, but often I'm left with enough to fill at least one smaller bobbin, and that is too much to toss.