[with love Heidi]

I’m sorting my fabric at the moment. I’m trying to work out what size to keep and when to throw!
I made a pouffe last January and any smallish scraps from cutting have been going in there. It’s nearly full, I might need to make another one for this year 🙂
But what are the smallest usable scraps for Oliver and S sewing? What pattern?
I’m thinking Puppet Show Shorts and maybe Swingset Tunic? In 0-3m size?
What size pieces do you keep?

[Tamara]

I sort mine out according to size and anything with chunks is cut into say a charm square size. Of course with knits it is different – anything that can accommodate a neck band is kept or is enough to use for contrast sleeves etc. i have a basket of knit scraps that many would possibly be big enough for the layette bodysuit.

The bigger pieces – larger than a fat quarter are put on a shelf amd folded. You could get a whole garment from them depending on size – hats are great for scraps.

The little bits like selvages aren’t kept – well not by me anyway.

It depends on what you plan to use them for. But I don’t keep amything smaller than a charm square size if I can help it.

[dubhels2003]

I pretty much keep everything except teeny weeny scraps and small bits of knit fabric, but that’s going to have stop! In terms of what you can use them for, even if you can’t get a whole o+s pattern out of a piece you can often use the fabric for facings and binding.

I have two sweet jars of really small scraps I can use for quilting, or my daughter can use for collages. I have a draw of smaller fat quarterish size pieces to use for quilting and trim, and anything larger stays with the rest of the fabric as ‘useable’ in the more conventional sewing sense!

[Masha Richart]

I am terrible about scrap hoarding. Last year I finally ditched all the teeny tiny pieces I was keeping “for applique” – since I do appliqué like twice a year! I cut 4×4″ squares of most of the fabrics that had enough for that thinking that I’d make a doll quilt at some point. I’m trying not to hoard scraps anymore because I just don’t have the space. But I did manage to get a 6-12 mo Music Box bodice out of the last scrap of my favorite matryoshka doll fabric – i think it was about 12″ x 18″ maybe. So I’m glad I kept that. I also sometimes use beloved fabrics for bias tape, if there is enough to make at least a yard.

[BeckyinFL]

Heidi, I’ll weigh in here… As I sew, I carefully sort the little stringy scraps from scraps that I could get, say about a 3″ x 4″ piece out of, or any straight strip, if it’s fabric I love. I put these in a big plastic bag, where they sit in the bottom of the guest room closet for a year or so. Then one day, when I’m cleaning house and feeling disgusted with myself for all the useless stuff I collect, I toss the bag into the trash with great fanfare. If it happens to be trash day, that’s the end of it. If it isn’t trash day, about half of the time I go get it out of the trash and put it back in the closet, and the cycle is repeated, etc.

[Robin]

Oh Becky, I love that you shared this. My system is similar to yours. 🙂

[meleliza]

I think it depends on what you like to sew. I had to start getting pretty strict about what I would keep. I have some basic rules – one box for scraps and once it’s full I have to get rid of stuff. I toss teeny pieces as I cut to avoid temptation. Also,I keep a few bins for remnants, which are at least 1/2 yd plus scraps or something. Remnants are sorted by weight/season. It only goes in the stash if there is at least 1 yd, but this might change as baby girl is now wearing size 5 and really you need 1 1/2 to make anything worthwhile.

I bend the rules a little depending on the fabric. Stuff I know I’ll never use again, I toss big scraps. Special Things like Liberty, I keep even teeny pieces for facings, bias or covered buttons. But if it’s just something i really love, I’ll keep smaller pieces too. Or if I know it will be useful.

The teeny scraps go into a bag and I drop them at my kids art school when it’s full. They do collage projects with mixed media.

[BeckyinFL]

LOL Robin. It’s good to know that we both employ the same “system”!