I cleaned out my scraps this weekend. I seemed to have accumulated a bunch of tiny pieces that probably won’t ever be used, and just more than I knew what to do with. While I was cleaning I also did a bit of reorganzing.
I have these eight little boxes that fit perfectly on my sewing shelf, so my goal is to keep my scraps organized using only these boxes. I had initially kept them together by color with one box for larger leftovers of all colors and one box for 2 1/2″ strips and 5″ squares. My thought was that if I were looking for a larger piece, I’d go to the large box. I kept the 2 1/2″ strips and 5″ squares together because they largely consisted of partial jelly rolls and charm packs and I thought perhaps I’d use them together.
However, I found that I used my scraps almost entirely by color, and if I happened to be looking for a larger piece, it was generally a specific color too…so now all the boxes are sorted by color, plus one box for selvages. Since there are {obviously} more than seven colors, I have sorted like this: Green, Blue, Purple, Pink/Red, Orange/Yellow, Gray/Brown, Cream/White/Solids.
So, how do you organize your scraps? How small are the smallest ones you keep? Any tips or tricks?
Oh, and on a housekeeping note: I am still updating this blog and getting the proper plugins installed. I will draw winners to our two giveaways as soon as I get the comment numbers figured out. Also, replying through comments via e-mail is not the same as blogger, so I’m working on getting that sorted out too. If anyone reading is a WordPress user and has any tips for me, they are much appreciated!
About Jennie
A mother-daugher {best friends} team who love to spend our days together {long distance} sewing, quilting, designing, drinking coffee, chatting, and chasing our little ones!
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Easy peasy. I give them away! Mine are usually pretty small. My Mom makes charity quilts and I make shop samples. I also use them in the backs. I’m trying to be good. I really like your idea and may have to hit Target on the way home…
I love your idea for scrapes but I would also like to know how you organized the shelves above the boxes. I is so clean and neat just like a quilt shop.
If you have comment moderation off, you should be able to respond to comments via email. I’ve never used blogger,so I’m not sure how it’s different.
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Hi Jennie, I tried to pin your scrap phote to my studio board on Pinterest. It won’t work, Do you have it blocked for some reason. I also clicked on your pinterest symbol at the time of the page and it says not authorized. So I couldn’t go to your pinterest page??? thanks, kathy
This is a fabulous idea for sorting and storing scraps. I dumped all my scraps out recently and filled little bags by color. I don’t have too many, but it sure makes a difference to have them sorted.
Your blog is coming along so nicely! What a fabulous transformation!! It looks great!!
Trish xo
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I sort my scraps by colors too ! Although mine are in plastic drawers. I love that method because when I look for scraps, I usually need a specific color.
I also have a big problem because I cannot throw anything away ! So some of my scraps are really really small and I know I’ll probably never use them.
I keep all of my scraps. I’m not very organized, as they are in zippy bags. I do like to try to keep them together by color. I found they were very useful when I made my strip quilt. Even the smallest pieces were used.
I keep ‘staple bolts’ on a closet shelf. Large yardage to a yard is stored in a dresser by color. Less than a yd, but bigger than a FQ are stared by color in clear, rolling drawer bins. FQ’s are stored by color in clear plastic shoebox totes in their own shelving unit. Works in progress are stored in various boxes, baskets, totes on a shelving unit – all fabrics kept with the project (so not used in something else by mistake) and by order of the monthly installment realesed if a BOM or QAL. I have an old potters shelving unit that hold those ‘tubby’ plastic snack barrels perfectly and that is for cut-downs in 5″, 3.5″, 2.5″, 2″, 1.5″ squares. Any ‘bought’ pre-cuts have their own shelving. Strings and strips are in large totes (three 32 gallons) as they are used randomly for ‘dump quilts’ or scrappy log cabin blocks.
I am actually really horrible about organizing my scraps. They are all in paper shopping sacks mixed up by color but roughly organized by size (I keep some pretty small scraps too!) lol! Bigger scraps (just shy of a fat quarter) go into an Ikea box.
P.S. Your new blog design looks great!
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My scrap storage is about the same as yours….although I have nine buckets. Giving them away is another fine option.
Can we see all of your crafting space? I am getting ready to move into my crafty/sewing room, and would love to see other’s crafty sewing spaces for inspiration.. I can see your fabulously neat fabric above your seriously sorted scraps… what else is there to share with us out here in blog land??
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Organize my scrapes?!! It had not occurred to me to organize them, I stick them back with the normally large left over piece of fabric because of my normal paranoia of not having enough, I bought more than enough. My beloved sewing room is not organized enough yet to think about scrapes, but I am going to….soon, really! Thank you for sharing a great way to do this! xoxo
Wow, you make even scraps look pretty. Amazing! I used to keep lots of scraps, but now I can’t; I just don’t have the space or time to sort them. Someday maybe I will! I would love to have scrap boxes that pretty!
I had never thought of organising my scraps before..they are just in ziploc bags..now I think I will put them in colour order too ‘cos you are right, I am constantly searching them for a specific colour when I want to use them. Thanks for the good ideas.
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I sort mine by color. Lately I cut squares and strips from the scraps putting them in their own containers by size, since I am doing a lot of scrappy quilts right now. I may change that in the future. But I needed to do something to tame the overwhelming full scrap bins, and make them more usable.
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I am with the other person…. You really can make scraps look amazing.
Nice looking scraps i like the way you presented them.
haha my scraps are filed chronologically! Most recent on top! And they are NOT as beautiful as yours. I haven’t found my niche, so each class, quilt or challenge regretfully doesn’t color coordinate with the last. I probably have scraps from the gym bag I made in 7th grade near the bottom somewhere. Love your site and inspiration for its freshness and light.
Oh, I wish I was this organized! Thanks for inspiring me!! xo Heather
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I organize my larger fabrics like yours, on shelves. My fat quarters, or there abouts, are going onto old DVD shelving in color order. It looks good. I haven’t organized scraps at all yet, but like your idea, and with shoe boses at Dollar Tree for, obviously, $1.00, I’m going to steal your idea. Hope you don’t mind. I also would like to see the rest of your room. My e-mail is cdahlgren at live dot com.
I sort mine in tubs by color as well. I need to do some scrap sewing. A few of the tubs are getting too full.
Oh I just love how you’ve organized your fabrics including the scraps. I’m inspired to try and tackle mine, thanks!!
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Love the way you organized your fabrics….. i don’t have tips for you but i’m sure going to use your idea!! Thanks..
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The site looks great and so does your organization! My scraps aren’t organized right now, because I just got my stash organized finally. When I do do it, it will be into small bins by color, like you have done.
If you figure out the comment numbering, let me know! I was trying to figure that out today. I am going to have to count the comments on my giveaway. All comments are emailed to me and I try to shoot everyone a private email back. I have comment moderation turned off and my Akismet plug-in does a great job of catching spam. If someone asks a question, I usually reply on the comment thread, so other readers can see the answer.
I just figured out how to get numbered comments! I had to add a line of HTML code to the style sheet CSS. I can talk you through it if you need help. It’s easy once you know where to add the line.
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I quilted in the 90s, took the 00s off, and got back to it in 2010. I do most of my shopping by mail order and don’t have a ton of scraps. Plus, my quilting room doubles as my grad-school-attending daughter’s bedroom. I need to be ready to pack up and move when she comes back and wants to use her bedroom. So, thus far I’ve bought some small table top baskets and put scraps in there. When I have enough, I hope to color coordinate them. When my daughter’s home, the baskets get hauled into my bedroom closet and are stored there. Your studio looks so nice!
I love how this turned out. I keep mine all folded up in a bread box and forget what is in there because I can’t see them. I need to implement your clear boxes. They look functional and beautiful. Smiles..Renee
I use the ITSO crates from Target. In one crate I can fit 4 of the (almost) clear buckets. I use 8 of the buckets for scraps, and 8 more for fat quarters, precuts, and kitted fabrics, that I have already cut and ready. As far as scraps, anything larger than 1″ and smaller than 11″x11″ gets put in the respective color bucket. Eventually I would like to have a scrap bucket and a FQ bucket for each color(s).
I don’t have that much scrap yet but I’m starting to accumulate some since I learned how to sew. These are great tips that I can use when I get enough to store. I think I will use them for kitchen wipes, pot holders or floor rags.
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