Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Be Our Guest: Fussy Cut

Hello fellow sewers!
It is Angela from Fussy Cut. I’m a big fan of Fat Quarterly, so I am very happy to be asked to share with you in this space. After you are finished up here, please head on over to my blog and say hi!
Today I am writing about one of my favorite things – scraps! I am very diligent about saving, storing, and sewing with them, and I am here to encourage you to use your own. Let’s get started!
First off, what pieces of leftover fabric should you save? Personally, I save anything that is a 2 inch square or larger. Even those small pieces can be used to create a special, tiny patchwork project. For a time I kept pieces that were even smaller, but I realized I never actually used them. They were just taking up space. I put all pieces that are a fat-eighth (11” x 18”) or smaller in with my scraps.
Next, how do you store these fantastic scraps? My favorite place to keep them is a nine cube storage shelf (found at Target and Ikea) filled with fun containers. They are large enough to hold a ton of scraps and attractive enough to keep in any room. Mine is in my dining room, which is where I currently sew. If you don’t have the money or space, organized containers can be easily kept in a closet or on a shelf.
It is easier to sew from your scraps when they are already organized. My preference is sort them by color. If you don’t have that much storage space, you can sort in other ways – light and dark colors, warm and cool shades, solid and printed fabrics, etc. If I’m feeling motivated at the time, I cut my scraps before I put them away. I like to square up my small pieces and cut strips out of the long ones. That when I need them, all I have to do is press them and they are ready to go.
A couple extra things to keep in mind…
1- Keep those selvedges! You never know when you might be inspired to use them. They may take a while to collect, so start now if you haven’t already. Selvedges are a great thing to have on hand.
2- If at all possible, try not to stuff your scraps in a completely closed box. It is hard to use them if they are out of sight. If you store them in a closet, use open containers, baskets, or totes. That way you can see them on a regular basis.
3- If you don’t have time to cut or sort your scraps, no big deal! Find a cute container to keep them in temporarily. I throw mine into an old wire basket that I found at a thrift store. When it is full, I sort and store them.
Now that you have saved and organized your scraps, it is time to get them out and sew! You can use them for quilts, pillows, pretty much anything. I’ve included several photos throughout this post. I made every one of these projects completely out of scraps. So go on, pull out your scraps and be creative! With the cost of cotton going up in the near future and the amount of job loss due to a poor economy, it is a great way to do what you love while using what you already have.

17 comments:

  1. I am slightly obsessed with scraps and I'm glad I'm not the only one! The projects pictured here are lovely. I really need to keep my selvedges from now on as well. :) Maybe it's time to start a 'scrappy' Flickr group?

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  2. I have an enormous amount of selvedges - that little zippered pouch is now calling my name - great post Angela :-)

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  3. these projects are SO lovely! i've been saving scraps for a year now...i need to square mine up and make them neat like yours!

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  4. Great post - thanks for the info and the inspiration.

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  5. I recently found that my 3 1/2 year old LOVES the selvedge pieces with the numbers on them. We use them for counting projects, and she makes collages with them. All my smallest scrap bits go into color-coded zip lock bags for her gluing pleasure.

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  6. Great ideas for scraps! I've been saving my selvedges for awhile and wondering when I'm going to use them -but you are right - inspiration will strike sometime!

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  7. Reminds me that I need to sort out my huge (24x24x36 in) bin of scraps that is mounded and overflowing!

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  8. Selvage-obsessed, so I completely love the little zippered pouch. There are so many things you can do with selvages. I have mine organized by "theme," but I need to do a better job of organizing my scraps. Great post.

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  9. I'm very good at saving scraps but not so good at using them...I have no trouble cutting into the new stuff and naturally always have plenty of that on hand. Great Post.

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  10. Very nice article, Angela! We use a lot of scraps in our quilt ministry, and it's always good to read tips form other quilters!!

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  11. Great post Ang! That KJR pillow ROCKS!

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  12. I have a big barrel shaped basket directly under my ironing board and I throw every single scrap in there, from cotton to quilt batting. When the knee-high basket is overflowing I pull it up to the couch, put on a good movie and sort.

    Size first, I fold anything close to a fat eighth or a good length and keep them in small wire baskets. Anything rag rug length goes into my "one day I'll make one" rag rug basket.

    After that I sort my scraps by colors as well. I agree - keeping them in eyesight and not in the dark encourages you to go for the scrap baskets first, before cutting into anything fresh.

    My favorite scrap buster: patchwork potholders.

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  13. Great tips! My scrap pile is just starting to grow and I've been saving every little tiny shape and piece..just in case {I know some of it can be tossed}. and it does feel like a bit of a mess. I like your 2x2 or larger piece idea!

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  14. Great post, Angela. I need to incorporate a mini basket that i put my scraps into before sorting. Because I just need a break from proper sorting/storage sometimes. I make almost 100% of my do. Good Stitches bee blocks from scraps (except solids required). It feels great!

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  15. I have seen a lot of great projects online done with scraps so have been holding onto mine. I had wondered until reading this post how small of a scrap is too small to hang onto. Happy to read in the comments that I should hold onto the smaller ones - never thought of non-sewing projects that we could use them in!

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