Moira in N.E. England

Last year we had wardrobes fitted in my sewing room (spare bedroom) and I use a single one with shelves for my sewing resources.

Because I don’t have a lot of space I try to just buy what I need for a project. I often buy pre-cuts rather than yardage so there is often something left.

I have storage boxes that fit the wardrobe shelves and have fat quarters in one. When I finish a project I cut what is left into 5 inch squares as I seem to use these the most. These go into another box. I have another box for long strips 2.5 inches wide for scrappy binding.

I know someone, somewhere, might use the bits I don’t want but as I don’t know that person or of any groups or guilds in my area I ‘donate’ them to the bin!

patricej

I agree. (and if you don't like leftovers or scraps, share them with others who do.)
My biggest quilting regret is the enormous stash i have.
All the money i spent on fabric - a lot of which i don't even like anymore - would have been better spent fixing up the house, saving for old age or emergencies, etc etc etc.

i still do some impulse buying, but try hard to shop my stash first then only buy what i need for the next specific project.

QuiltnNan

I accumulated a large stash as well... I don't even want to think about how many times I have moved it with me. A lot of it I don't like either. But all of the quilts I make now are for donation. So someone else will like those fabrics.

rjwilder

I do not have a stash, I only buy fabric when I'm starting a new quilt. I have a small list of quilts I want to make. When I'm nearly finished with one I start to look for coupons and sales and buy the fabric I need. I also buy 1/4 to 1/2 yard extra for mistakes. I have purchased some fabrics that I just really liked for tote bags, purses, wallets, zipper bags, etc. I do not keep scraps, I don't like scrappy quilts, just not my thing. I keep a few scraps of my current project to test sew after I clean the bobbin area and change the needle.

Macybaby

If you don't want to build a stash, don't shop sales! I started out doing well, but then the LQS had an "end of bolt" sale where if you bought what was left on the bolt, it was half price.

And then I'd be traveling, and visit shops and places like MSQC and Marshall's Dry Goods - and end up buying for stock just because the prices and select was so much better than I could get locally.

And then I went totally over the edge - one of the two fabric shops in my home town went out of business - at 75% off, I really went to town! I'll admit that I love my stash, even after just moving it to a new home. But that process made me motivated to use up as much as I can before I retire in 9 years and have to move it again!

rryder

I have a moderate sized stash, probably between 500 and 600 yards of fabric that is fat quarter sized or larger plus about 200 yards of processed scraps. I consider anything smaller than a 10” square or strip to be a scrap and “process them by cutting into sizes that I typically use. I do a lot of improvisational piecing and like scrappy quilts, so this works for me. I also save strings for string quilting, selvages for selvage projects, crumbs for crumb quilting and pieces too small to sew the traditional way that I use to make new fabric and scarves. I don’t toss any fabric, no matter how small. I manage the size of my stash and scraps by designating specific containers for them and when the containers are getting too full I have to make them into something before starting anything new. My stash and the way I manage it has evolved through time and will probably change again as my quilting journey continues.

what I do at this moment works for me since I enjoy the challenge of working with bit and pieces. I also shop my stash first for all my projects.

Rob

Quiltah Mama

When I started on my quilting journey, I was only buying fabric for the quilt I was working on. As things changed in my life, and the budget was not as tight, I was able to impulse buy on occasion when I saw I fabric I just couldn't live without. I've also had an opportunity once to buy a whole storage unit of quilting items including totes and totes of fabric. After that my stash grew tremendously. I also go to the state quilt show and have been to New Hampshire to a few of the larger shows where there is worldly shopping available and fabric that is not available near me that I have added to the stash.

So the point of my reply is when I started quilting it was for projects only, then things changed in my life to allow me to shop and travel for quilting fabric for the "just in case" quilts. I do however limit my stash to my current storage area in my studio. I use the clear sweater size bins so I can see whats in them, and sort it by theme, ie: batiks, solids, farm, flannel, ect.... I discipline myself and do not allow my fabric storage space to grow beyond my current area, and so far that works for me.

Reading through these post I can relate that we all have a thrifty side to us, and I was saving my small scraps to use into a scrappy type quilts, which I have made several of, but I have recently realized that I prefer not to make scrappy quilts. I still save the scraps, organize them, and cut them into squares or 2.5 inch strips, and save them until I have a gallon zip lock bag pretty full and donate it to the local thrift shop, I know someone will come along and appreciate them.

I'm sure you will find the right balance and what works for you.

Onebyone

I keep scraps in a big container and when it's full I give it to someone that wants it. I may use out of it off and on but never embraced the scrap using much. You can get overwhelmed with scraps over time. I know some that feel guilty not saving scraps and keep bins full of them to look at I guess. You can always make scraps. No need to keep every one.

zozee

You are doing well to shop for one project and use it immediately. Your scraps will breed and grow effortlessly. (My theory is that those little colored dots on the selvages are a fabric’s reproductive organs.)

I use clear plastic shoeboxes with lids from the dollar store. Put cute labels on them, sort by color, and try to set scraps in there neatly while they’re still ironed. .

rryder

LOL Zozee- that made my day. I'm going to steal that one and the next time someone asks me why I have so much fabric I’m going to pull out my box of selvedges and show them how many reproductive organs there are on a yard of fabric


Rob