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The Sew What’s New Archive
This archived content is from Mary Wilkins’ sewing and
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From: blackie
Date: 10-31-2004, 08:40 AM (1 of 15)
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What do you ladies do with your scraps? I would like some creative ideas. I'm not talking about a 3" strip (which I would keep). I'm talking about leftover pieces of my husband's pants (which I turned into winter pants for my daughter), scraps of cheap calico for Halloween costumes, a raw-edged 1" strip of flannel, etc. Can you compost them? Make a rag rug out of them?Climb up trees and line bird's nests with them?  I hate to throw them out but I'm not going to go through the effort to order them and keep them. My husband already laughs at the 2" by 3" I carefully fold and keep of quilter's fabric. Ideas? Thank you - Kelly see the mundane life of a housewife.
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User: blackie
Member since: 03-31-2004 Total posts: 594 |
From: DorothyL
Date: 10-31-2004, 09:02 AM (2 of 15)
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I toss them but you could stuff a pillow Dorothy |
User: DorothyL
Member since: 12-09-2002 Total posts: 3883 |
From: sewingastherapy
Date: 10-31-2004, 01:25 PM (3 of 15)
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With left overs I sometimes cover a hangar specifically for the garment. Pad it and put in potpourri. If you want to get crazy (which is much of the time) put pockets on it for matching jewelry, socks, ties, scarves etc. Or horde it in a closet like I do sometimes and 2 years later dump it because you've ran out of room. guilty of packratism 
sewing as therapy
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User: sewingastherapy
Member since: 10-31-2004 Total posts: 5 |
From: woodywoodpecker
Date: 10-31-2004, 11:32 PM (4 of 15)
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If you do applique on your children's clothes alot of times little pieces of stuff come in very handy, and how about pieceing them to gether to make a new fabric or a nifty little doll quilt or who knows. A design around the bottom of a little girls jeans? or down the side of the leg? Pin them on to a sweatshirt and sew them down with different stitches on your sewing machine, like a crazy quilt effect. I have a whole box just for smaller scraps for applique. You'd be surprized how many times you just need a little bit of fabric when your setting up for building a design or picture on stuff. The possibilites are endless once you start to think out side the box, jump out and join me. 
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User: woodywoodpecker
Member since: 11-07-2003 Total posts: 242 |
From: beachgirl
Date: 10-31-2004, 11:58 PM (5 of 15)
| I don't save too many real small scraps but sometimes I do when I know I'm going to be making more Sun Bonnet Sues or Sams. I make tiny cute things to make them interesting. Like a patch on Sam's overalls, a bow on her hat, or a hat band for either one, a tiny butterfly or a flower. All sorts of things. I also make floor pillows for kids. I make large pictures on the pillow tops that are what the child is interested in at the time. I do these mostly in machine embroidery but can add some things with applique also. |
User: beachgirl
Member since: 08-31-2004 Total posts: 615 
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From: CatholicMum
Date: 11-01-2004, 07:45 AM (6 of 15)
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I have limited storage space so my rule is that I don't save scraps. If the scrap/remnent is big enough to use for something (dolls' clothes, craft item), then once I've finished the original garment, I go ahead and cut out the pieces for the secondary project. Any remaining scraps that are too small for me to use, get trashed. My daughter is getting a lovely dolls' clothes collection for Christmas this year due to the policy.
Linda
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User: CatholicMum
Member since: 10-31-2004 Total posts: 19 |
From: MaryW
Date: 11-01-2004, 08:45 AM (7 of 15)
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I throw a lot away. I have way too much now but a crazy quilt is perfect for any kind of scrap.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542 
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From: Mischka
Date: 11-01-2004, 09:08 AM (8 of 15)
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I have a little bucket of smaller scraps I use to practice different stitches on, and try out different threads too. The larger ones I'm going to use some to make bean bags! I think the pockets off DH's old work jeans will make especially cute ones. Planning to give them to a friend who teaches Pilates - they're great to place between ankles, knees, etc. because then you squeeze them and engage your muscles. Anyone know, what does one put in a bean bag? Do you actually use dried beans, or rice, or ...? |
User: Mischka
Member since: 09-01-2004 Total posts: 63 |
From: CatholicMum
Date: 11-01-2004, 09:41 AM (9 of 15)
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For bean bags - when I lived in a colder climate, I used dried beans but now I live in the south (hot, humid), I'm more comfortable using the bean bag filler you can buy (poly-pellets). I worry about bugs and mold when using the organic filler in this climate.
Linda
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User: CatholicMum
Member since: 10-31-2004 Total posts: 19 |
From: beachgirl
Date: 11-01-2004, 03:27 PM (10 of 15)
| Right on CatholicMum, everything goes bad here in the south. ( foof stuff that is ). I use the pellets also.There are different kinds & weights for whatever your making & need. Glad you joined our group. Theresa |
User: beachgirl
Member since: 08-31-2004 Total posts: 615
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From: HeatherL
Date: 11-02-2004, 04:31 PM (11 of 15)
| You can also throw your scraps into the family Craft Box, for the kids to use for projects. Mine came up with a creative idea for making makeshift holsters for their Halloween costumes...and I actually re-claimed a few pieces of knit fabric that I'd deemed too small for *my* scrap basket, and was able to use them to make cuffs on a garment for the baby! |
User: HeatherL
Member since: 03-13-2004 Total posts: 102 |
From: Magot
Date: 11-02-2004, 05:28 PM (12 of 15)
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Mischka, A friend made me 40 bean bags for sports day once - she stuffed them with mung beans and they worked really well. I kept them in the loft out of the way , all but one that got separated from the rest - and some time later when I went into the loft, I discovered that the mice had made happy use of the 39 red cross food parcels for mice. The entire loft stank of mouse pee and the curtains I had kept up there had been seriously used as a toilet. Generations of mice had made happy use of my bean bags and when the time came for them to die (after judicious use of ratbane which they decided was delicious!) they crawled, to a man, through the wall space to die behind the linen closet. The stench of mice corpses was phenomenal and my daughter had to move out of her room for three weeks. Grim. Stay away from Mung beans! use something, anything, artificial!
love and kisses, Jan
Guts-R-Us Cells a Speciality DNA to order. |
User: Magot
Member since: 12-22-2002 Total posts: 3626 
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From: Hogmami
Date: 11-02-2004, 05:40 PM (13 of 15)
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My scraps are in a box because someday I want to make a scrap quilt. From the looks of all the scraps I better hurry up and do it.
Carolyn
Michigan |
User: Hogmami
Member since: 09-30-2004 Total posts: 800 
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From: jupel76
Date: 11-03-2004, 09:56 AM (14 of 15)
| I use the bigger pieces for practising my stitching. The smaller scraps I used to stuff the handles of my tote bags, makes them more comfortable while carrying large loads. |
User: jupel76
Member since: 10-12-2004 Total posts: 11 |
From: mommydionne
Date: 11-03-2004, 04:09 PM (15 of 15)
I send mine to my kids school for crafts, they also like odd buttons and yarn 
Jeanette
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User: mommydionne
Member since: 01-08-2004 Total posts: 838 
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