What size is most useful?
 

I am trying to cut up my scraps.
Is 2" square useful or should I do 2 1/2" square?
All advice would be appreciated.
Kirsten

I'd say to go with the 2.5" cut size. If nothing else you can always cut down but you can't make the small cuts bigger. Recently I found a bunch of unused Y2K squares and started looking at options -- there are a lot! So many that I could probably spend the rest of my quilting life doing nothing but working with 2.5" cuts.

The 2" finished design unit is a very common, 1.5" is less so.

With 2.5 you can easily combine them with 5” squares which is common in many patterns.

It takes days and days when I start cutting scrap into squares. Of course I start from the largest to the smallest. 2.5 is the smallest I make. I will then save the smaller pieces or odd shapes to be used for crazy quilts or even DWR quilts if I can fit my template into a smaller place.

I don't cut my scraps. I sort them by size to be cut later for whatever project I'm working on. If I need 2 1/2" then I look in the 2 1/2" box and the 5" box.
What if you find a pattern that uses 3 1/2"? Also if you cut things down to 2 1/2", then you will get an awful lot of waste on some pieces.
Having said all that, everyone has a system that works for them and makes them feel more organized, so it's just a humble opinion :o)

four 2.5 inch squares sewn together would only make a 4.5 inch square (unfinished size)

1" - 2-1/2" can be used in strip quilts. I don't cut my strips down as they can also be used as sashing strips.

I just cut a bunch of 2" squares as the scrap was too small to try and squeeze a 2 1/2" square. I figure i can sew a bunch together and eventually I will have a bigger square made up of 2" squares.

When I cut my scraps I cut the largest square I am able to and work my way down. Generally the smallest I cut is 1 1/2” square. Or 1 1/2” x how ever long.
I think it is best to think about what kind of quilts you make- what will you use. If you do appliqué small pieces can be useful but if you only make big block quilts you probably won’t use those little pieces. If you are interested in making scrap quilts then check out the website for a scrap Quilter ( like Bonnie Hunter) they generally have a * system* and usable size range they recommend.