While I have several other sewing projects I could be working on today, I am going to work on controlling my fabric scraps. They’ve been collecting for a few months and seem to be spilling out of their containers.
For the larger pieces of fabric, I fold them up and keep them in plastic shoe box containers. But now, many of the fabric pieces are smaller, so it’s time to clean them up and cut them into manageable squares. I love my AccuQuilt system for handling this task. I wrote about cutting scraps in my blog posts A Fabric Scraps Sorting Sunday and Turning Those Smaller Quilt Scraps Into Scrap Quilts.
Two of my most common sizes to cut are the 5″ and the 2 1/2″ squares. For the smallest ones I use my 1 1/2” square. With my Big Go cutter, I have room to put the dies and mats on the bed of my machine.
As I go through my piles, I pick out the larger pieces and start cutting my 5″ charms. After I cut them down I see what is left and whether any are big enough for the other two sizes. I have other dies and sizes I could cut but these are the ones that work best for me at this time.
When I was at my local quilt shop Saturday I struck up a conversation with one of the associates. She and I were joking about our fabric stashes. During our talk she told me to hang onto the fabrics I had lost interest in as she foresees a price increase in the cost of fabric coming. Maybe that’s what gave me the motivation to tackle this project today.
I keep my iron handy to iron out the more wrinkled pieces as this makes it easier to set them over the blades for cutting.
It took about an hour or so to go through the scrap pieces. I ended up with a lot more 1 1/2″ squares to add to my shoebox for that scrappy quilt I’ve been working on. I didn’t get as many 5″ squares but that’s ok.
So don’t throw those scraps out. Find a system that works for you and it will make your next scrappy quilt much easier to get sewing on. Have an enjoyable sewing day!
Blessings,
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