💚♥️ MANAGE YOUR SCRAPS - My Top 10 Tips for using and keeping them under control

I love scraps. But even I get tired dealing with them sometimes. So here are my top 10 tips to get them under control

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[jodiedwards]

Thanks to your declutter challenge year before last, I sorted my bags of scraps into sizes…not colors…because I had many. I wound up with SIX huge Rubbermaid tubs labeled with specific sizes. I was so thankful to finally have sacks, bags and piles of scraps off of my floor, out of the corners and finally organized. This year, I decided to use those scraps. I just started sewing pieces together with no particular pattern or thought of color, value, print or solid. Now mind you, I am very OCD with “matchy matchy “, so this was difficult at first. The blocks grew, and as they reached big enough that I could cut them into 12” blocks, I did so. I was quite distressed with the “chaos” they appeared to be, but I persevered, mainly because once started, I just had to finish. My mindset was if I didn’t like it, I could donate it to a local shelter…it would still keep someone warm. Long story longer, I did not like the “chaos”, but then I saw a tutorial on shadow box blocks. I made shadows on each block with a dark charcoal fabric and made white sashing between each block and for the background. Oh my gosh, that made just enough organization that it was beautiful! I had enough scraps that it made a king size quilt, and I have enough blocks left over to make another full size quilt. I named this quilt Memories, and planned to put it on my quest bedroom bed. I took it to my long armer and had it quilted. She lives in another state, but my brother lives near her, so I took the opportunity to visit him as well. He LOVED that quilt and lovingly would not let me take it home. lol. I took it back to the quilt shop and she let me use one of her machines to put the binding on it. So, it resides on my brothers’ bed, underneath a beautiful abstract painting he has on the wall above his bed. They look like they were specifically made for each other. It has certainly encouraged me to just sew my scraps together until I have enough to make another block. I will still get one made for my guest bedroom. I almost have enough now.
Thank you, Karen, for all of your ideas and tips, and particularly your encouragement to keep us motivated. My sewing room has stayed neat and clean, I have kept Mount Scrapmore manageable and my love for quilting has remained strong! ❤❤❤

[NJGardengirl]

New quilter here! This is invaluable. I swore I would never be like my mom... she was the Grand Prize recipient of "She who dies with the most fabric wins" and 13 years ago, I was the one who donated it all to some quilters. This year I have decided to start quilting and I have sworn an oath to my past self not to be the runner up! 11:53

[donnawilliams]

Hi, Miss Karen, my granddaughters and I enjoy your videos. I was watching your video on crumb quilting. I see you use adding paper. I use old fabric softener sheets.. I leave them on and and just sew my blocks together. It works great.

[anner]

While I’ve never met you, you have had a profound influence on the way I look at my quilting. I’m finishing a top that just doesn’t work for me and with a light heart it will be packed up and donated. As time marches on I’m so wanting to complete the projects I love, experiment with new patterns and fabrics and have the freedom to love what I’m doing. Thank you Karen for empowering me to take complete control of my favorite pass time!

[karena]

I like to sew 1 1/2" wide scrap strips together ... I separate them by their length... once I have 12 sewn together, I press the strip, then subcut into as many 1 1/2" stripes that I can get ... I store these in a scrapbook container from Michael's until I want to do some mindless sewing ... then I will sew twelve of these together to make a block ... When I have 16 twelve and half inch blocks made, I sew them together to make a scrappy throw sized quilt ... they are perfect for chilly evening on the patio! I love looking at all the tiny, 1" squares and remembering where the fabrics all originated from!

[kaybowie]

Thank you!! I wouldn't presume to call my projects quilting because, if any quilting is done, it's a wonky stitch in the ditch...my aim started with preventing a ton of old hospital sheets, gowns etc from the landfill and at the same time doing my insane charity work!!! I took out my sewing .machine that had been stored for 16 years and sent it in for a service...by the 5 th wo my, awful but I found you!!! I learned to cut straight, that cheating isn't cheating, that perfection is for others and that my quilts go for a functional use...they have improved by leaps and bounds and I devour your videos over and over...So vicariously you have blessed countless poorlittle children. In South Africa...2024 I made 136...that includes 5 months away from my sewing machine...none are perfect..a are owned..a that fabric except the fleece or batting is offcuts that others would toss out...the scraps I can't use are shredded and used as stuffing for 100's of knitted toys...saving our planet 1 piece at a time!! All Thanx to you giving me the courage to try...I cringe when my photos throw up a memory of those first patch work almost triangles with more mistakes and ignorance than anyone would believe. THANK YOU

[inesmundt]

Karen, I have followed you since you first started. You have really come a long way in your channel. Congratulations on always coming up with new idea and introducing other artists to your followers. I don't live far away from your area and it pleases me to follow and be inspired by a fellow Ontarionan. I have adopted many of your tips as the majority of my quilting is for charities. Quick and easy is my motto but it has to be eye pleasing. Your scrap quilt blocks have inspired many quilts and have given the recipients happy moments. thank you for sharing your creativity. I love working with scraps as all of my quilting is done sustainably--friends and thrift stores are my go to for fabrics and, even though many are previously loved fabrics, they have now found new homes in a quilt and a needy person's heart. Thank you very much for all that you do.

[StetStitches]

My current favorite way to use up my scraps is to make them into 1.5 in squares that I pair together as leaders and enders. I am making a postage stamp quilt entirely out of scraps and sewing them as leaders and Enders!

[m.m.]

Just "finished" sewing long pieces of 10cm pieces of scraps together.
I had accumulated a gazillion of scraps over the years - buckets, boxes full.
Some weeks ago I tried to get an overview of my Mt. Scrapmore - it took me several hours to work my way through! All accompanied by heavy sneezing due to the dust it produced. 😳
Finally it was done and I moved over to the ironing board - this time I was smarter... I used a face mask while working.
Them the fun part followed - sewing. I used up several needles to keep things nice and had many pieces sewn.
More ironing followed, then the cutting to 10cm width.
Meanwhile, my trash bucket was overflowing with small, smaller and atoms of fabric garbage... Real trash!
Yesterday, I chose a neutral beige-grey fabric to put it all together with - the neutral color really makes the colorful strips "jump out"
I still have to decide on the final layout - another day.
One thing for sure - it will be a very special quilt, filled with all sorts of fabrics, memories of work I gave away as gifts, work I sold, work I donated for charity... And I will cherish each piece of fabric I will recognize in it.
Thank you Karen for your lovely films - with lots of greetings from Germany - M.

[jeandryja]

Just spent a relaxing morning sewing a bunch of scraps together. Stitched a bunch of fall colored triangles to a 2.5” WOF light color grunge strip and ended up with a lot of 2.25” squares. Put four like squares together and now have 10 pretty pinwheel blocks for a future project. Hurray me moved scraps down the scrap stream and didn’t hit any rapids!!!

[chelseagradney]

Karen, thanks again for guiding us through. I was distracted from my routine and needed to quilt . But I looked at my table and remembered what you talked about in your past video. "Keep your table clutter free." I have a kitchen sink full of dishes but my sewing table has a clear, uncluttered view of a goal. Thanks

[yarnexpress]

Perfect timing! I'm creating a sewing annex in a spot where I'm more easily available to my husband. My dining room was full of boxes containing everything I need to set up & break down a sewing space (& thank you for showing me how to sew in a small temp space). Daughters came for Thanksgiving & moved furniture, put together a cart, & etc. NOW I need to unbox, set-up, & start using my new sewing machine. Big jump to my first electronic sewing machine. My first project will be Kaffe Fassett's "Stamps & Money" quilt--all rectangles & squares but now I'm reluctant to start with this quilt. You gave me the answer. Start with scraps! My crumb bin overfloweth so...2 birds, 1 stone. Deal with scraps & learn a new machine in one go. Thanks!

[sandramacgillivray]

Bonnie I love your videos! I have been quilting for about 20 years and am amazed at how much I have learned. For Scrap Managment I have settled upon a dual system. I sort small irregular scraps in bins by color which I use for appliqué and the rest I cut up into strips/squares according to the sizes suggested by Bonnie Hunter for use to make the quilts in her scrap quilt books. As well as the usual quilt leftovers I went through fabrics I had outgrown and reduced them in the same way. I also take to heart the saying that if your fabric is ugly (in your eyes) you haven’t cut it small enough. 😊

[marygersetich]

You presented so many great ideas in this video. What I most need to take to heart is "scraps are not precious" and get excited about using them up rather than saving them for some nebulous future project.
I took notes on this video to hang in my sewing room. You are a great teacher.

[danielgatchell]

A way I use up trimmings or threads from cutting my squares is I keep them all in a plastic bag and when I am ready to stuff something I dump all the fluff into the desired item I want to stuff!

[ruthnellputney]

You are SO RIGHT about sewing trash on the floor. My sewing room is still carpeted, and I live in an extremely dry climate. I'll never forget seeing static-charged threads jump from the carpet to the belly of my short-legged long-haired dog! Now I keep a little hand vac in the room and use it almost daily. Thanks for your wonderful work -- I've been quilting for years and yet I've learned so much from you. You rock!

[julsbendandi]

I will watch this video once a month in 2024 while organizing my scraps! We live in a two room apartment and the amount of „secret“ stowaway scrap bags I found in my last clean up was…sobering. If they are stored away then I won‘t find them! I loved how you explained that making it too complicated will not help! Thank you again for a great video! ❤

[spotplacer]

I could watch your videos all day long. They are so informative and I've gotten so much knowledge . Thank you so much.

[Treaclepuff]

This sure did hit me hard. It has never been an option for me to get rid of fabric, so I have set a challenge to sew it without buying more. Because of your videos on after quilts, that has helped me to not have so much left over; just crumbs. Sometimes I get two quilts out of a project, using leftover blocks and even backing to finish it. I do still have lots of scraps and learning how to use them has been a fun thing; now to just DO IT! I have so many projects to work on that I don't make time for them. Perhaps I need to set aside a day for just working on them and see what happens! Thank you for encouraging me to get my space free of them!

[grandmaisback]

Thank you for this video... I was struggling to get sorted on a project and this has helped greatly.
My father passed recently and I am tasked with making comfort quilts for my children, from many of his old clothes. I just had no idea how to start. After watching this video I see the answer. I do the squares... I collect as many as i can and then when I have enough I can put them together and put them onto their backings.. I also embroider so they will have this added touch with his name etc and all the fmailies names embroidered around him...
Some find this gorey, but my children are looking forward to having a part of their Grandfather to cuddle again... You ahve helped so much. Thank