Now is also the perfect time of year to put your scraps out for the birds to build nests with. We feed the birds all winter long and in the spring rather than putting suet in the suet holder put in your scraps. :-)

I have used small scrap strips as tomato ties and they are still in pretty good shape at the end of one season, so I would say it may take a whole for the pieces to break down in the soil.

yes! I do not put my scraps straight into the soil, but I always put them in my compost bin, along with all my shredded paper.

Use them on the outside of pots.Put out a box of the birds to use for nests.

Yepers!!! I have thrown out thread scraps, and later found the colors in many nests!! the birds love the threads and scraps to buld nests.... try it !! it is fascinating how a bird can weave these pieces in their nests!!! :-o

As long as you don't let the fabric clump together, it should break down, obviously, but the other thing it will do is keep the soil from packing together (as in, too much sand in the soil) and the batting should hold moisture so your plants have more access to water, longer. Good to know and think about the composting issue.
The thing about composting, especially if you are just starting out - - it gets hot as it breaks down which is why putting compost directly in your garden can be a problem - - however, I don't think fabric would have that same issue. Without the chemicals on it, it is still not in the same category as rotting fruit and fresh manure. Cotton and wool is more like hair in the composting process - - I am not sure how those items break down, but I do know that they are not considered "hot" ... this will be an interesting thread to keep track of. <wave>

I organic garden, and would not use fabric in my compost due the chemicals, but I have been assured that newspaper is commonly used in todays organic composting!

I think I will try the newspaper cover and maybe put some straw on top instead of grass clippings, since we have so many weeds!

NOW, if I thought a mole might eat the fabric and choke to death, I would stuff the holes with my very best scraps....
but since there is no guarantee he would eat it, I just dug out the beds 3 feet down and put chicken wire down and an organic landscaping cloth, then filled the beds back in...darn moles....

Thank you, I stand corrected.

I do this too! So fun to see a nest with my stuff hanging out :-D

I don't think you have been proven wrong on the fabric issue. I was thinking the same thing. The dyes in fabric are not meant to be eaten, but maybe the harmful to humans part washes out in the process. On the other hand, if you wear lipstick, you are eating cadmium every day! They don't consider the amounts in it to be dangerous. It is a carcinogen and even paint tubes have the warnings on them with some manufactuers even finding replacement pigments for the cadmium.