tessagin

I hang onto the 1 1/2" pieces (strips) for leaders and enders and that skinny little thing maybe just the piece you need for that filler. But anything else smaller is good for doggie beds. My niece like the "skinnies" as she calls them. She makes colorful bands with old pieces of elastic.

QuiltnLady1

I save everything, but don't cut it apart any more because I needed a piece of a fabric that I had left from a quilt to replace part of a block (big oops with DGS) and I wound up having to piece some squares together then cut the HST.

I press my scraps and lay them flat in containers by general size. I only trim tails that are narrower than 1/2" (I swore I would never applique and found myself making a Halloween quilt and needed really small pieces for my cats and rats and had to cut up a 3" square when I only needed 1" squares of fabric.

rhilkey

Check out Bonnie Hunter's scrap system. She has lots of free scrappy patterns.

PaperPrincess

I second this. Here's a link to her scrap users system:
http://quiltville.com/scrapusersystem.shtml
She has tons of free quilt patterns on her site that use the sizes laid out in her 'system'.
The smallest size I save is a 1.5" square.

Monale

I'm saving pretty much anything that is big enough to add a seam allowance. One of my WIP is "Wild & Goosey" which is PP and uses pretty small pieces of fabric. I'm frugal in general and can't see any fabric wasted...

RST

I'll sew with anything 1.5" or larger.

I rarely actively save 1" squares unless I have a specific idea in mind. Currently I'm using a bunch of bitty scraps up in my 365 Block challenge.

Recently I've started using small scraps of fabric that I really love to make cards. I keep a stack of card blanks (available at craft stores) right near my cutting table, and when I have a pretty little pile of coordinating scrappy bits, I stick them down with a glue stick to make a quick abstract card. If I'm in the mood, I sometimes do a bit of machine stitching to further secure and embellish the bits. Makes a great card to accompany a gift quilt, or just general use too.

Onebyone

It became clear to me after I saved bins of scraps that I am a scrap saver not a scrap user. Have a plan to use your scraps before they multiply. My plan is I save them until one small bin gets full and then use them in a quilt or get rid of them.

rryder

I save it to use in a string or crumb quilt if it's narrower than 2" wide and at least as wide as my inex finger -- slightly over 1/2". Those go into a shoe box. When the shoebox starts getting hard to close I either start stitching crumbs together or pull out the tracing paper to use for string foundations, or make quilt as you go blocks. Since I don't allow myself to have more than one shoebox full I devote some sewing time each week or so to strings or crumbs or qayg blocks. Of course that means that I always have a bunch of string blocks or crumb blocks laying around that can be used for quickie projects or pieced into an improv quilt.

Anything narrower than my index finger goes in my tin picnic basket to be used as stuffing or to make collages. Anything wider than 2" is cut into the largest square possible and added to my "pre-cuts" drawer.

I like to make scrappy quilts with a modern edge as well as non scrappy quilts so it's a system that has worked well for me over the years. And it comes in handy on those days when I really want to play with my sewing machines but don't want to deal with a structured project-- then I can just sit down and sew (instant gratification) while watching the level in the shoe box go down (sense of accomplishment).

Rob

Dina

I have found that I am also not a scrap user. I have saved most of my scraps, but I really shouldn't bother. I noticed long ago that I had spent LOTS of time organizing my scraps, and I rarely used any of them. Now my scraps just go all together in one drawer, and when that drawer gets too full....well, guess I will have to figure out what I do then.

I took a batch of scraps from one quilt to our guild meeting once, and labeled them "free." The next month when I showed the quilt I had finished, someone else said "I don't know who brought these scraps, but here is what I made." It was sort of neat. We showed our quilts at the same time, just because the quilters wanted to see them side by side.

Maybe I will do something like that again. Those were large scraps though, 10 inch squares. (I had made my own layer cake and had extra squares.)

Dina

Prism99

I'm more of a scrap saver than a scrap user. However, recently I have been thinking it might be fun to sew some of those small scraps onto adding machine paper (a roll is very inexpensive at Walmart in the office section). Any fabric at least an inch wide (1/2" would show after seaming) and as wide as the paper (about 2") could be used. Some people (not me) would even sew smaller pieces together to get fabric big enough to piece. Later you trim the fabric overhangs and cut the roll into strips to combine with a solid fabric to make a lattice-like quilt. Here's a link to a QB thread that shows some of the uses for these strips (scroll through the pages to get to some of the photos):
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...t211152-2.html

It might also be fun to cut out applique flower petals from fabric that is pieced this way, or from "made" fabric that is pieced together from smaller scraps.

Not sure I will ever have the patience, though......