NZquilter

I have never tried to officially organize my scraps... I have always let them grow organically, in all shapes and sizes, and then cut them to size when I am making a quilt. Last month I went to a garage sale and they had Ziploc bags stuffed with random quilting scraps for 50¢ to a $1! Some were newer fabric, some were from the '80s and some were completely unusable. I decided to sort by color and then trim them down using Bonnie Hunter's scrap user system. I've never tried her system before, so I'm curious if others find it a solution to the craziness of scraps? I absolutely love scrap quilts, and in this economy, I am very grateful for my stash of scraps!

Also, lately the thought of cutting a million triangles or something for a quilt seems very daunting! I am wondering if having pre cut sizes of scraps ready to go, like BH scrap user system, would make it more manageable. I wonder if slowly trimming scraps down in a few spares minutes a day for the next couple of months would pay off in the long term. Thoughts?

Iceblossom

Short form: Yes, I think doing bits of scrap patrol with available moments of time and sorting is a fine way to organize/prepare fabric.for future project. Baggies are a wonderful way to store sorted little bits but they do slip and slide you might want something more the size of a shoebox to put the baggies in. I also found it handy when I was organizing to periodically count what I had and write it on a sticky pad size piece of paper inside the bag.

Longer form: I tried cutting a lot of different sized strips and/or squares (and triangles for awhile) and found that it didn't work so well for me. Whatever I wanted wasn't what I had and it took a lot of time and coordination to get them to work. After several years I gave up on the concept and now don't keep anything smaller than 6.5x6.5" square. My least successful scrap system was having a laundry hamper of small bits. For me it was unpleasant to work with and everything always needed pressing and I had to go through the entire thing just to find the red bits or whatever it was I was looking for.

2.5" (2" finished) squares is a common cut down size and was the most useful for me. There are plenty of patterns that use that size. With the math of the points of triangles, you need 7/8ths for the pointy sides instead of the standard 1/4". That is, if you took your 2.5 squares and sliced them down the diagonal, your (2) finished HSTs would only be roughly 1.5" inches (finished) which is kind of small for me. If you sewed on that diagonal line instead of cut, you would end up with (1) 2" finished HST that would match up with your squares and a scrap bit that would end up about 1.5" again. If you have a specific idea of a triangle based quilt, I would cut down to the size you want instead of figuring out what to make with the size you have!

Clear as mud? Playing with fabric (including cutting stuff down) is soothing to me and often tells me what the fabric needs in the future. Especially when you have a lovely bundle of baby love takes up most of your time

dunster

Scrap management is something that I struggle with too. I have found that my AccuQuilt Studio with strip dies makes it much easier to cut the scraps into various sizes, but I haven't been using those cut-up scraps much, except for 1.5" strips that I cut into lengths for log cabin quilts. I'm winding up with a lot lf 2.5" strips, mostly leftovers from binding. Any ideas on good scrappy patterns from 2.5" strips?

cashs_mom

I've been using Lori Holt's Scrappiness is Happiness system to tame my scraps. It's easy. I use 2 1/2, 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 inch sizes and cut scraps down to that size and then put them in separate plastic boxes. It has already helped me to use up some scraps and to cut my fabrics down to usable shapes and sizes.

cjsews

I have a horrible time sorting/organizing my scraps. I have decided to sort by color. Then I will make one or two color quilts to use each pile. Hope this works for me 🙃

GingerK

I cannot sort by colour because my scrap quilts are never ever controlled! The only rule I have is that I will not sew two pieces of the same or similar colour together. And that has also failed on occasion, when I'm putting blocks together. I cut 1.5, 2, 2.5 inch strips and squares. I also cut 3 inch squares to use in making 2.5 inch HST's. Some people would say that I am crazy for the 1.5 inch stuff, but I make a lot of totes and they are perfect for miniaturizing a pattern. I store them in clear plastic shoe boxes. I like that the boxes stack.

A good friend and fellow quilter gave me a great hint. I often draw out a block using graph paper, but also, often do not include the info as to where I saw the block or the name of the pattern if available. And I often end up with a piece of paper that I cannot decipher. My friend told me to take some scraps and make a sample block, then put it and the graphed pattern together for future reference. Genius!!!

b.zang

I'm in the process of making a scrappy quilt that inspired me to cut a lot of scraps. The quilt needed 3.5 inch strips cut into various lengths which dictated what pieces I pulled. I had a lot of 2.5 pieces so I cut them into potato chip quilt size and the rest into 1.5 strips for strip blocks. Cutting for days on end was a bit tedious but I feel that this has helped with some of the overflow. I was keeping tiny bits, thinking that they could be useful one day for paper piecing but after 20 years of finding patterns that don't require paper piecing, it's time to let go. I want to get better at scrap quilts and ultimately want to truly feel like I'm using fabric I already own.

joe'smom

I would have seen those bags of scraps and run the other way, LOL.

I don't know what it is about scraps. Maybe I just don't have the energy to deal with them. Maybe the idea of them short-circuits my brain.

Has anyone been mailing scraps to other members lately? Have you found it to be worth the cost?

quiltingcandy

I have sent off more scraps to folks here just so I wouldn't feel bad about getting rid of them. Haven't done it since my sister joined a sewing guild and they wanted them. I like scrap quilts but somehow never used my left overs. Even watching Jenny Doan sew all the little pieces together to make "New Fabric" and think to myself, "I can do that." But then never happy with my results. I do have a lot of applique dies so I keep scraps for them. Trying to organize for me is only by color. I don't cut them down because I found when I did when I went to use them they were the wrong size. So the cutting waits until it's to be used.

lindaschipper

With two of my machines on the fritz, I have time to cut scraps. Concentrating on 2 1/2" blocks and 2 1/2" x 5" this weekend. I have a large tote full of full and partial jelly rolls strips left over from when I made "My monster quilt" and I haven't even gotten around to those yet, but have been working on stuff laying around and a paper grocery sack filled with odds and ends. Will seperate out the baby/toddler/juvenile prints from everything else. No doubt that just from scraps alone I'll be able to make about 8 quilts. Oh, and I have about 5 complete jelly rolls and some charm packs also.....why do I keep ordering more fabric??