SEWING WITH SCRAPS
Scraps: what do you do with them and how do you manage them? Having a good storage system for scraps can really help you see what you have and therefore help you use them more. Once in a while, it's useful to spread your scraps out on the cutting table and cut out some useful sizes. By storing them in pre-cut shapes, it's easier to grab them for a project as and when they’re needed.
HOW TO SEW WITH SCRAPS
1 To prepare fabrics for storage, Paula presses the scraps and then separates them into the following groups.
■ Larger pieces: if the piece is bigger than a fat sixteenth (approx 9in x 10in) then fold and store separately.
■ Pieces suitable to be cut into squares.
■ Strips: any long strips under 3½in in height.
■ Triangles and Half-square Triangles.
Take one group at a time and 2 then trim the pieces to size. Store away for later.
SQUARES
1 The most useful of scraps are pre-cut squares – they’re easy to pick up and play around with to make small projects. You may already have some pre-cut squares left over from projects or from Charm Packs and Mini Charm Packs. You can also cut some of your scraps into squares, so they are ready for when a relevant project crops up.
2 The sizes Paula finds most useful to have are:
■ 2½in squares: great for sewing together into nine-patches or making pouches with. Paula’s stock of 2½in squares come from left over Mini Charm Packs and squares cut from scraps.
■ 3½in squares: great for sewing together or making 2in or 2½in Half-square Triangles. Paula cuts 3½in squares from larger scraps or 3½in strip pieces.
■ 5in squares: great for larger projects, like scrappy quilts, but also a way to build up your stock of Charm Squares.
3 There are a variety of different ways you can use up squares. Some ideas include:
■ Making nine-patches that can be sewn together with sashing to create a wonderfully scrappy quilt. Paula used 2½in squares.
■ Making pouches or drawstring bags. This is especially useful for 2½in squares and fussy cutting.
■ Making cushion tops. Thirty six (36) 3½in squares sewn together into a square make a wonderful 18in cushion cover.
■ You can also use the 2½in squares to pre-baste lots of 1in hexies in preparation for some English Paper Piecing later.
STRIPS
1 Often your scrap stash will contain lots of strips, whether they are the strips left over from cutting out, or extra pieces of binding that didn’t get used. Just like with squares, they can be really useful. If they are stored separately you will know exactly where they are when inspiration strikes. Unlike with squares, Paula tends not to cut them down to specific sizes, but rather leaves them at the height they are.
2 Some ideas for using up your strips include:
■ Quilt-as-you-go (QAYG) pouch tops, coasters and table mats can be easily achieved with a stash of scrappy strips. Check out the QAYG selvedge pouch from issue 109 (available to purchase as a
digital edition on Zinio, Readly, Pocketmags and the LP&Q App) to see QAYG in action.
■ Scrappy Log Cabin blocks are great for strips. If you have a variety of heights, then you can make a wonky Log Cabin block.
■ Use a Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) template for Log Cabin blocks and you won’t need to cut before you start.
■ Make scrappy binding. If you find you have lots of extra binding g strips, sew them together and after a while you’ll have enough binding for a quilt.
TRIANGLES AND HALF-SQUARE TRIANGLE UNITS (HST UNITS)
1 The most common leftover pieces Paula finds are Half-square Triangles, especially if you make them two-at-a-time but only need one. By keeping all of these together, you can grab a handful and sew them together. The great thing about HSTs is that they can always be trimmed to a smaller size, so if you need eight 2in (finished) HSTs, you can just trim some from your stash down to 2½in.
2 Some ideas for using up triangles and HSTs include:
■ Scrappy Churn Dash blocks: a really simple block that uses four HSTs, one centre square and four striped blocks. Making small Churn Dash blocks from scraps is easily achievable.
■ Scrappy star blocks are one of Paula’s favourite blocks to make and are ideal for a pouch or cushion front.
■ Triangles, matched with fussy cut squares, can be used to make Diamond-in-Square blocks.
BATTING SCRAPS
With all of the quilt trimming we quilters have to do, it’s easy to fill a drawer or box with batting cutoffs. Don’t throw them away – they are great for smaller projects, or you can make ‘frankenbatting’. Frankenbatting is made by sewing together a collection of smaller batting pieces to create one larger piece. Paula has used this method to create batting pieces for cushions and even lap quilts. Here’s how:
1 Find pieces of batting that are the same type.
2 Create a clean line on one side of the first two pieces and then place side by side, as shown in Fig A.
3 Don’t overlap the batting or you will create a bump, you just need to place them so the clean edges are up against each other.
4 Using your sewing machine's walking foot and a long and wide zig-zag stitch, sew along the edge to join them. Make sure you use a matching thread (Fig B).
5 As the batting will be between the front and back of a quilt sandwich, the stitch doesn’t need to be dense as it will be quilted in place.
6 Once the first two pieces are joined together, cut a straight line to join the third piece in the same way. Keep adding pieces until you get to the size you need.