recycler

Elnan, you are too funny! I'm with you tho!

maviskw

I used to pull batting apart, and yes, it is hard on the hands.
Now I sew most of it together with a zig-zag stitch and use it in utility quilts.
The pulled apart stuff makes good stuffing for pillows for humans, too. I have made a few sets of matching pillows for little kids and their dolls. I have a few soft ones in the car for cat naps, and several near the couch for longer naps.

mac

I can't stand to see people who cut off the edges of the backing and batting and throw it in the garbage can. It makes no sense to me when it is all so useful still and seems rather wasteful. I always ask nicely if I can have the scraps and have only been turned down once (and she dumped in in the garbage can anyway. Ouch!).

I always straighten out the seams and zig-zag them together to make a small quilt batting about the size of a lap quilt. I have never had a problem with the feel of the quilt with these jointed seems.

Dina

My sister uses one inch strips and 1 1/2 inch strips to make "inside snowballs." She uses any length and just wraps them around each other, like a ball of string. She makes them snowball size and takes them to Christmas parties in a laundry basket. Folks grab them and throw them at each other. It is lots of fun. They don't hurt, don't knock things over, don't melt, and you can throw them inside where it isn't cold.

She took some to our guild's Christmas potluck last year and the members loved them. Now many make their own out of scraps or they bring their scraps to her and she makes more snowballs. (There is always someone who wants some.) I give her the scraps after I square a quilt, and many other quilters do do.

If I had one, or if I hadn't just given her my scraps, I would take a picture. But you can probably visualize it. You can wind them loosely or tightly...I prefer loosely. They stick to each other, or if they come unwound a bit, it is easy to just wind back up.

Dina

Maire

Yes, I've been using small batting scraps (I piece together the larger scraps to us in quilts) for pet beds for several , also all my fabric scraps too small for scrap quilt. I donate them to the animal shelters, they do use them. People donate their scraps to me, also, I especially like getting the polyester knits that were so popular years ago-they are perfect for the covers, I just make a pillowcase type cover, stuff it with the scraps & sew it shut. When they get dirty the shelter can throw them away, but at least scraps that would have just have gone into the trash get some beneficial use first.

IAmCatOwned

You can shred the batting with metal pet combs, but honestly a waste of time. Use your valuable time for something more productive. I will sew together strips that are at least 2-3 inches or wider for small projects. But otherwise, I cut them into smallish pieces to make a stuffed draft dodger or a funny pillow with a hollow for cats. If you have a lot of leftovers, make a bolster or a larger hollowed pillow for a dog. My brother uses them to protect the couch from his minipins. They LOVE the hollow!