Onebyone

I stopped feeling guilty about not keeping my scraps a long time ago. I'm happy, the scrap ladies at my guild are happy, and I don't have scraps stuck in every nook and cranny of my sewing room. I have one basket I put my scraps in. I use from it sometimes but when it's full it goes to the scrap pile at guild.

ILoveToQuilt

I am a jumbler. All scraps go into a reusable shopping bag (the cheap, "fabric" kind). Have tried to sort by color/size...hahahaha. Didn't work for me. I do better with just a bag o' scraps. I make lots and lots of scrap quilts. But then again, I am guilty of buying fabric to use in scrap quilts because I needed/wanted that particular color or pattern. Oh well...until the scraps take over my sewing room, I will continue to save them. (I've even transported a huge bagful to my vacation home so I can make scrap quilts there).

RST

If you aren't going to use them, don't keep them. They're just a hoard and a burden unless you are using them.

I personally love scraps, and I do use them a lot. But I have rules for myself governing how many scraps and how they are strored.

I sort by color, and I keep them in a gallon ziplock bag. All my ziplocks fit in a bin, with the exception of black, white and neutral, which have their own bin. If stuff threatens to overflow the bin, I have to either use it or lose it. I like making slab constructed srappy patchwork for table runners, wall hangings, or pillows, then keeping them to use as my trials for FMQ ideas or thread selection process.

dorismae904

I make a lot of scrappy jelly roll and string quilts for charity. Most of my scraps get cut into 2 12 inch strips, sometimes 3 inch strips to make scrappy jelly rolls. Strings that I can use go in a bin and the rest goes in a bag for pet beds. The strings are getting out of hand so some will go in the pet beds.

NJ Quilter

I'm not into scrapy quilts either. I'll save largish 'scraps' that I use for practice blocks or some small projects. Otherwise, they are gone. I don't have enough room to keep a 'stash' and even less to keep scraps that I'm not going to use for something.

thimblebug6000

Because I enjoy doing appliqué I hate to cut my scraps into the "scrap user systems" I do have a bin for each colour of fabric that is too small to be folded and put on the shelf. When they get to overflowing I take a huge bag to quilting friends and start over

joe'smom

I like that 'use it or lose it' approach. Seems very sensible.

Tom W

I sort them by value - light, medium and dark and keep them in totes. I try to use them up as quickly as I can in coordinating pillows or shams

JeannieT

I have two 6 drawer plastic carts on wheels that tuck perfectly under my counter. I can't part with decent size scraps. I do a LOT of applique, so these come in handy. Sort by color - Red, Blue, Green, Orange, White, Purple, Pink, Novelty, Holiday and then these go together - Yellow & Gold, Black & Gray, Brown & Tan - perfect for my 12 drawers !!
I keep a basket on my cutting table for scraps too small for me because I know there are some quilters out there who like to make postage stamp quilts....I am NOT one of them, but will eventually put that basket out for someone else to use.
The drawers allow the scraps to lay flat, and it's easy to flip thru it to look for something. Once a year, I empty all the drawers into a box and put it "away" for a year. That way I don't continually use the same scraps in projects.

Kris P

Oh my goodness, I love scraps! I English paper piece every evening in front of the tv and need 2 inch strips to make the diamonds for my quilts. I am known at my LQS for loving scraps, and regularly spend $50-$60 on scrap bags. I love the variety they add to my quilts.