1" strips are the smallest I save. I have made a lot of scrappy quilts. I have containers to store them in.
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O.K. Now you are all going to get a good laugh. I actually ran out of fabric on one of my first quilts so I sat and sewed up some of my scraps. They are trimmed to 2 1/2" squares and most of them have 8 pieces in them and one or two have 10 pieces. (All green). I don't actually know what I will do with them - it will have to be a wall hanging as I don't think they would take much washing. I do like small and am playing with a few ideas for after I have completed several quilts. One wall hanging I saw pictures of (it might even have been on this site) was of fall trees and the foliage was like fabric confetti in graduating golden hues. So I am not sure where my minimum is yet either but I have saved anything over 3/4" by 3/4". Give yourself some time before you give them away.
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Originally Posted by par4theday
(Post 7964995)
I like to sew all my strips together down to 1 inch wide and 2 1/2" long, and make fabric out of them. Cut into strips for borders, or within the block, one can get very creative with them.
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2" is the smallest I will save. I sometimes regret it, because I have tiny pieces waiting for a rainy day that hasn't happened, so I might bring my saving size criteria up the 2.5" or 3".
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The size scraps you save should be based on the kind of quilts you make. If you like applique really small can come in handy ( I never know when I’m going to need an eye, or a berry) if you like string quilts long, skinny strips are saveable. If you ever make kennel quilts ( or pillows, padded items those slivers, tiny pieces can be used as stuffing. )
anything You think you will never use you can pass on. I never send my scraps to a landfill, there is always someone willing to pay postage for what I have no use for. |
I do have a modest size bin labeled crumbs and I only throw colorful pieces in that I might use later on.
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You can make crumbs........just a bunch if scraps sewn together haphazardly, then cut into whatever size square you decide on - like "making fabric". A good no-brainier if you just wants to sew with nothing really in mind, and soon you will have a good stack of blocks to play with, and a few less scraps!
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I have a 1 small bin that has pieces about 1"- 2" square, I love to do applique on my embroidery machine and I am always using very tiny pieces for that. I keep pieces from 5" square to fat quarters together in another bin and everything bigger is yardage.
Smaller than an inch goes in the garbage and I keep my tiny scraps limited to that one bin. |
Now, themadpatter, this only applies to me. I don't save anything smaller than a 2.5 X 2.5 Over time I have learned that is the smallest I ever use. So, what keep the little stuff that will not be put to good use. I do have a quilting guild friend who makes 1" postage stamp quilts so I donate scraps to her but many I just toss the little ones out. I won't use them and it is the special few who use smaller scraps. Three cheers to those who use the itty-bitty scraps. Love my 2.5 X 2.5 and use LOTS of them! WE all have our passions, right?!
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Always an interesting question. When I sew I let my scraps fall into a basket beside my cutting table. When it gets full to overflowing (like it is today) I sort it out into piles by color. I trim the pieces of odd slivers that came about as I cut elements of the previous projects. Then I put them in plastic bags by color and store them in drawers. This gives me maximum opportunity to choose what I need. For a long time I cut them into strips and squares-only to find that I needed something 'bigger' and had to cut into my regular stash storage. I encourage my quilting friends to come and see what they can find and use. I might add that when it comes to batting I keep each type and brand and type separate. I cut all scraps into the largest square or rectangular shape and sew them together with zig-zag stitches and make large pieces which I use in other projects. I do not mix them at random because each type behaves differently after being washed and I don't want that sort of look.
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