Monday, June 4, 2012

A peek into the world of Fabric Scraps...

Fabric scraps... they collect in my house like dust bunnies when sewing season hits (yes.. I do have sewing seasons, LOL.)  And when I sew.. I sew for hours and days on end where the fabric scrap basket spills over onto the table. No matter how much I keep shoving them back in they erupt like a volcano.  So to keep my space clean, I gather them, stuff them into a freezer ziplock bag and then store them in a bin in the closet.  Where, quite honestly, they are forgotten. As the saying goes.."Out of sight, Out of mind."

Fast forward... frustration sets in b/c of a huge bin of scraps in ziplock bags is taking up space in my fabric closet.  So not really knowing what else to do.. I donated the scraps along with some old patterns to Goodwill.

I just did that a month ago.  I never thought about crafts I could have made from just scraps. After a discussion with a group of ladies about fabric scraps I decided that I would dedicate a post to share ideas for storing and using them.

So on the hunt I went...

Let's start off by seeing different ideas of fabric scrap storage.... heads up: some blogs are not in English, but are still absolutely beautiful to look at!

SweetJessie shares her space saving idea! She uses a back of the door shoe organizer for storing her scraps. I could definitely see myself utilizing this idea!

Film in the Fridge not only shares with us her bowl storage technique (I simply LOVE the vintage casserole dish), she also shares some beautiful projects she has made with scraps. 



A Happy Nest stores hers in jars assorted by colors.

Jaime from Prudent Baby shares her beautiful scrap storage idea!

CopyEPaste shares a pic of fabric storage in jars as well. 

Jodi over at Pleasant Home shows pics of how she utilizes her cutting table shelves for fabric storage.


My friend Megan shared her fabric storage idea with above said group. She stores her larger sized scraps (diaper size, mama cloth size etc) in a laundry basket for easy access and for quick rotation.  (don't kill me Megan!)


Now that you have ideas on scrap storage.. let's move on to the fabric scrap crafting!

I simply LOVE dual purpose crafting! The next four featured mamas show not only how they utilized their items MADE from scraps but also storage ideas FOR scraps! 

Mary Beth from Salt and Chocolate makes these cute hanging bags for scraps and she color codes them with scraps. Upon seeing this my initial thought was to make the bags patchwork of the colors represented inside.

Lindsay over at The Cottage Home shares a tutorial for making jar lids which can also serve a purpose of fabric scrap storage. This is a double win! 

Concha over at SaidOsdaConcha made cute lil fabric scrap buckets OUT of her scraps to store her 
scraps in..
 

The Sometimes Crafter shares a tutorial for making these cute fabric scrap cubes.

Mug Rugs! I simply LOVE mug rugs. I can lose so much time oogling pictures of mug rugs! And over at Sew Happy Geek there is a tutorial for this butterfly beauty and if you want more mug rug ideas, go check out TipNut, she shares 30+ mug rug tutes!

Film on the Fridge shares this scrap potholder beauty's tutorial which can also be used as a quilt square!

Selvage edges.. scrap right?  not for some! One word... Pincushions!

Amy from During Quiet Time shares this great tutorial on making a selvage edge armrest pincushion. This is a definite Project at a Glance page waiting to be filled out on my end!

 and another selvage edge pincushion inspiration. 
Cindy kindly shared her tutorial to make this cutie at Quilting Daily.
AND more pincushions with a tutorial. Thanks to the contributing crafty people at All People Quilt.

Dear Fii has the cutest clipboard fabric scrap tutorial. I think this makes great teacher's gifts!

Craftzine not only shares this great wreath picture, but also featured is directions on how to make it..

Eri over at Llevoelinvierno shares with us a great tutorial on how to make these cute fabric scrap wings for children.  I <3 these! 

Susan over at Living With Punks shares with us an adorable key ring tutorial. 

Stitched In Color makes beautiful cards with scraps. THIS might actually get me to step a bit further into the paper craft world. 

Allison from Cluck Cluck Sew made an adorable fabric rose and kept adding strips to create a larger scale flower. Her tutorial is here.

Zakka Life shares another great idea on how to utilize fabric scaps... an ornament! How cute is this?

One Hip Mom shares how she makes fabric scrap bowls here

Kate from See Kate Sew made this cute fabric scrap mat of the USA! How cute and clever is this?! I could see this being an educational tool for the kids to learn US geography.

CB Handmade shared a belt she made of vintage fabric scraps. 

I simply can not summon the words to describe this next picture. I am an instant gratification kinda gal, if my project isn't complete within 3 days or so.. I get antsy.  I simply can not fathom creating this quilt! Don't get me wrong.. I LOVE this.. I just know I don't have the patience to make something like it.

Rita from Red Pepper Quilts shares her fabric de-stashing ability with this beauty.


I have thoroughly enjoyed researching all the great storage ideas and beautiful items made with scraps and I could keep posting them, but alas I have to stop to move onto other things.

All I can say that after seeing these cute items made with fabric scraps I am wishing more than ever I had some.  I guess my next move is to get sewing to make some.

I hope I've inspired you!

Happy Organizing!
=) Kristina

3 comments:

  1. I Love the USA map- such a clever idea!! Oh how I could oogle these pics all day long!! Thanks Krys!!

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  2. these are all amazing.. i'm not sure where to start with my scraps!

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