I like to keep my scraps in plastic drawer units. I have labeled the drawers with the size (width) of the scraps. I started with 1inch wide pieces (all colors) and go up a quarter inch at a time. For instance my 2 inch drawer has strips that are 2 inches wide as well as squares and half square triangle units. After I get past 6 inches i call it fabric and stack it by color. Any odd shapes and sizes I cut to go in the drawers for later use.
Mineral Wells, West Virginia
Sounds like a great system. Do you make scrappy quilts with them?
Life is like a quilt...bits & pieces, joy & sorrow, stitched with love
Beth, This is similar to the way I organize my scraps as well. I have a drawer for each basic color but have found that some requie more space and they get a bin. Within the drawer, I have bags or boxes to seperate things of a specific size or shape.
Novelty fabrics are divided by theme in bags. The zipper bags that sheet sets come in are great for keeping things organized in.
I am primarily a crazy quilter and this works great when I need to find a color for a project.
Thanks for sharing.
From Western New York
Beth and Darlene, Thanks for the tips on scrap fabric . I need to do something with mine. I like things neat and organized but when it comes to scraps I just never take the time to create a system. these ideas will get me motivated. Susan
Beth great tip thanks I just wish I had the room to do something like this . I also want to welcome you to the club Barbara
EAT!! SLEEP !! QUILT!!
Spudgrandma: Sounds like a great system. Do you make scrappy quilts with them?
That is the intent. So far i've been doing a lot of 'collecting; but I have used some of the scraps to make blocks that have been featured in the "addicted to scraps" column in Quiltmaker magazine. I'm thinking that once I get enough of a number of different blocks I'll sew them into rows and then into my 'scrap' quilt.
Darlene: Beth, This is similar to the way I organize my scraps as well. I have a drawer for each basic color but have found that some requie more space and they get a bin. Within the drawer, I have bags or boxes to seperate things of a specific size or shape. Novelty fabrics are divided by theme in bags. The zipper bags that sheet sets come in are great for keeping things organized in. I am primarily a crazy quilter and this works great when I need to find a color for a project. Thanks for sharing.
Wow Darlene, you've got me beat! Sounds like you've really got it all together. I still have way too much fabric scattered around my sewing room. Part of me wants it all neat and organized [actually most of me :) ] but a little part enjoys just seeing all the fabric. Of course they would be more fun to look at once they make it into a quilt.
Barbara: Beth great tip thanks I just wish I had the room to do something like this . I also want to welcome you to the club Barbara
Thanks Barbara, I'm beginning to find my way around here a bit now.
There is just so much available that it can be a bit overwhelming ;)
Susan : Beth and Darlene, Thanks for the tips on scrap fabric . I need to do something with mine. I like things neat and organized but when it comes to scraps I just never take the time to create a system. these ideas will get me motivated. Susan
Hi Susan,
I gott tired of rummaging around in a large bin for what I wanted. My system still needs some more work but, hopefully, I will get where I want to be eventually.
Beth yeah this site can do that to you at first ,but you'll get it figured out we all went thru it , Sometimes I think that's half the fun..LOL Barbara
Beth I wanted to tell you the pretty little kitty looks just like the one I use to have, She has passed on now but they look so much alike .. Barbara
Barbara: Beth I wanted to tell you the pretty little kitty looks just like the one I use to have, She has passed on now but they look so much alike .. Barbara
Barbara,
Her name is Poca which is short for Pocahontas. She was a foundling. In 2004 right after my husband retired, we took a weekend trip with both of our kids and their spouses to the state forest in Pocahontas county (WV). While we were staying there my son found her along the road as he was out walking. He couldn't find any sign of a mother or other kittens so since it was the middle of nowhere, he brought her back with him and we brought her home with us. Our vet said we got her home just in time. She was just skin and bones. Now we can't find the bones (ROFLOL) and she is on Science Diet for overweight cats. So sorry that you've lost yours. They sure do worm their way into your heart don't they!
Poca loves quilts. Not sure she likes the pins though. Every time she gets the chance she pulls them out and drops them on the floor!
Beth:Every time she gets the chance she pulls them out and drops them on the floor!
Oh, be careful with that! I had a cat who ate a needle and thread once. He lived through it, but it was a tense time for us.
On the banks of the Mississippi River in north central Minnesota (Brainerd lakes area)
Hi Beth -
I like this system, mind if I borrow it? I started trying to organize my scraps, key word started, mostly they are in a bag right now. I read a tip once where a woman would pick a scrap pattern (or several) and then cut her scraps into the required size and keep them in a ziploc bag until she had enough collected then made the quilt. I started this, but your way sounds easier to me.
My next goal will be to purchase some of the fabric organizers that I see advertised in F & P Easy Quilts, to keep track of the larger pieces where I can sort them by yardage and color.
Thanks for sharing,
Linda
Darlene - this is exactly how I organize mine. And then I really use them, too, because if I need just a piece of green for a leaf or something, it's right there handy.
I put mine in plastic containers, and they actually look kind of decorative on my shelves.
Happy stitching!