Betty J

I save mine.......Small pieces of tearaway can be used to float under the hoop, no show mesh can be joined by machine, making the pieces large enough to re hoop, as can cut-a-way stabilizer. Solvy (water soluble) can be re joined between two pieces of photocopy paper and sealed together with your iron. I join water soluble Vilene ( use for lace making) by machine using water soluble thread. It is amazing how far your stabilizer will go with this kind of re use, instead of throwing it out in the bin. Most stabilizer is not cheap to buy. Today I am resorting my tub of stabilizer scraps and re joining the pieces, placing them in plastic bags with a written label on them.

QuiltnNan

i have kept them for a while because it goes against the grain to throw things away. now i just toss them.

quiltingcandy

I use a lot of the water soluble stabilizer - so I keep the scraps. I don't iron them - I have licked the edges like a postage stamp and they stick together just fine or dip my finger in a bowl of water if I am putting a bunch together. Didn't know about the ironing trick. Some of the cut-away I will use a spray-on adhesive and just stick it on the back. will consider sewing the pieces together - it will be easier. The tear-away all depends on the size left - because I have started using a lot of the self sticking - I find that works best for t-shirts and sweatshirts to keep them from stretching and it would take too much and try to save it.

ka9sdn

I just baste them back together and use just like normal. Water soluble just stick back together!

judykay

If you do any kind of hand stitching where you need to draw a pattern on the fabric draw it on the stabelizer instead. I am a hand quilter and do this all the time as I have not found a marking tool that will show clearly with all colors of fabric. I use the wash away kind and do the entire quilt this way.

annievee

I use a lot of Wonder Under fusible--I save my scraps--near iron--and use them all. Too expensive to pitch !

lynnie

i keep my water soluable because it's so pricy. I 'glue them back together. and reuse. ususally between two good strips

Betty J

Thank you for this hint, I never thought of doing that but a great idea. I have used the cutaway to make patterns from also, it is strong and works well.

Rose_P

I definitely use it as you describe. I also will sometimes test a new design on merged scraps with no fabric, especially if I'm experimenting with different colors.

Just today I watched a video in which Karen Hanson of Quilt Expressions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emNxOb-oQfM talks about using Solvy in the way that judykay describes, except for machine quilting.

rryder

Save all of mine and use it on smaller projects, or piece it together for use on larger projects. Works great for my purposes- decorative stitching and or free motion embroidery on a single layer of fabric to be used in art quilts.

Rob