Do you love scrap quilts? Do you wish you could create your own? Today I share time tested tips and tricks for scrap quilting success.

Make these DIY scrap wood projects with those small pieces leftover from your larger projects! 40 ideas to get your creativity flowing!

33 quilting and fabric scrap crafts projects to make for handmade gifts, home decor, baby and nursery, toys, party decorations and DIY ideas for scraps .

I'm all about saving time and money. When I first heard of chain-piecing, I really latched onto it. I discovered that not only did it prevent the little bird's nest knot on the underside of the fabric when starting and that it saved thread, (Have you ever noticed how much thread is thrown away as you sew? You could stuff a doll with it!), but it also kept a whole line of pieces together so I didn't have to get up and down as much as I was sewing. I could get into my groove and go. I then learned that if you used a little scrap of fabric - about 1-1.5" wide and sewed over that at the end of the chain, you had all the benefits of chain piecing indefinitely. Cool. I was converted to the method. Then as I was reading a quilting book (Cut the Scraps! by Joan Ford, pg. 35), she mentioned how she always had 2 projects going at once. The main one and a secondary one that was done over a long period of time. Here's how it works. You are sewing along and come to a place where you need to remove your sewing from the machine. You reach into your little box of pre-cut pieces and sew a couple together, using these as your holder while you remove your sewing project. When you begin sewing again, remove the secondary project and put it off to the side. This first photo is of two scraps I am sewing together to make longer strips. When I have sewn these together, I can remove the black thing behind it that I was sewing. The second photo is of a little plastic container I use to contain my secondary project. In this case, I began accumulating 1" strips - things that others were throwing away and I thought, "Surely something can be made from these!" I think that it's much easier to do this if the secondary project is purely scrappy in design. You don't want to have to keep two projects in mind and remember which one you are working on. One inch strips may not be your cup of tea, but choose some scrap project - especially if it's a "grab bag" style, and you can put those scraps to good use. What I am doing is sewing 1" x 9" strips together, or if the 1" pieces are smaller than that, I am piecing then together to make longer strips which I then cut down to about 9" strips. I sew them together, little by little. When I have 16 strips sewn together, I iron it (I know, I'm waiting until the end), and then trim the square to 8.5" x 8.5." When I get enough of those squares made, I can make them into a quilt. I've been working on this for the last 2 years and have 15 squares out of the 80-120 I need to make a full or queen, so it will be a while before I have it complete, but, I love that I can be wasting nothing - no fabric, no thread. See finished quilt here.

If you have an overflow of scrap fabric in your craft room you and your family can have lots of fun creating any of these cool scrap fabric projects. These DIY crafts with fabric are great for all ages to get creative with! If you're looking for a perfect upcycled project, here are multiple to choose from.

The end of the year is coming fast, so I have been evaluating my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts to determine which I want to finish and which I want to carry into next year. One of the RSC quilts I have been working on is the simple color block quilt made with 2.5" squares. For October, I made a couple brown blocks. I knew I needed some red blocks - so I went ahead and finished up three from squares that I had already cut and were in my stash. A couple of yellow blocks were needed too. At this point, I knew I was pretty close to having enough blocks to finish the quilt. When I moved the blocks from my quilting studio to my sewing room, I knew I needed more green blocks so I went ahead and made a few of them. So here is what I have so far. I still need to sew up two more blocks and adjust the layout a bit. I think I need another dark blue and maybe a pink. Hmmm.....What do you think? ********************************************* It is now your turn to share what you are making with scraps. Here are the details for linking up: This linky party is for any scrappy project - It can be in-process or a finished piece. You can link up your blog post (not your homepage please) or Instagram photo from the past week that features your use of scraps. If you are linking to a blog post, I ask that you link back to my blog somewhere in your post. So if you are writing about scraps, just get into the habit of including a link as there will be a linky party available every week! If you are using Instagram, please use the hashtag #ohscrap. This is a party so remember to socialize and comment on the posts of others. Following my blog is not necessary but it sure would be great if you do! You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter Linking Up: Love Laugh Quilt (Monday Making) Em's ScrapBag (Moving it Forward) So Scrappy for RSC19

I taught a series of classes in Atlanta that used Kaffe Fassett fabrics. As you can imagine, we had leftovers! After about 5 workshops I dev...

Cheap and easy fabric crafts and quick sewing ideas with fabric scraps for home decor, DIY Christmas gifts, bags, cute accessories & stocking stuffers.

Explore buttoncounter's 861 photos on Flickr!

Organizing your scraps for improv is a little different than organizing them for more precise piecing. Improv scraps don’t have to be any particular size, and sometimes those awkward cuts are just what you need to add a spark to an improv block. I keep small, colorful baskets at the back of my cutting table, organized roughly by color. Any scraps from cutting other projects that are larger than about an inch go into the appropriate basket. Of course, you don’t have to keep scraps that small if you don’t want to—it’s up to you to decide how small is too small to keep. Often I’ll sew the smaller scraps together into units so they are less likely to get lost in the basket. When I’m working on a new quilt—maybe with warm, summer colors—I dump out the basket of reds and let the scraps lead the way. I have a second basket for my leftovers. I often make more blocks or units than I need for a particular project so I’ll have choices when creating my designs. Or because I’m an improv artist, I’ll put a unit together to see how the colors and shapes work together and—um, they don’t. Or at least they don’t for that particular design. All those extras and leftovers live in their own basket. I never throw them away, even if I hate them! Sometimes those abandoned units or blocks are perfect to jumpstart my next design or to add interest to a current project. Time Travel, above, was made almost entirely from scraps and leftovers—the only part that I made from new fabric was the curved red and green borders. In Lime Medley, above, I challenged myself to make a quilt using a variety of lime green scraps I had for the background. Many of the improv units were created using leftovers from my basket. The important thing about using scraps for improv is that you devise a way to keep your scraps so you can get to them easily and use them often. You can find more ideas for handling your scraps and more in my book, Artful Improv: Explore Color Recipes, Building Blocks & Free Motion Quilting. You can enter to win a free copy of my book right here: a Rafflecopter giveaway. Giveaway ends 9/15. What's your favorite way to keep track of your scraps? Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Like most fabric addicts, I have a hard time throwing away scraps of fabric. It’s almost embarrassing the tiny pieces that I find I need to save. I mean really tiny. If it’s much bigger…

Well it's the end of a busy week! I don't know about you, but I'm pooped! But I'm pleased to say we've had some gorgeous, sunny days here in N.I. this week, and there's a lovely Autumn feel to the air! As always, the things I've been working on this week I can't show you yet (soon I promise!), so I'm going to give you a wee tute on how to use up every last wee bit of fabric shavings, you know those bits that end up all over your cutting mat after trimming blocks and hsts? We'll here's a cool way to turn them into a new type of fabric. As far as I know this product doesn't have an official name - I learnt it at college and it wasn't called anything then, but if you know the official name of this craft, please let me know. 1. Save up your fabric shavings & wee bits of offcuts that are too small to be useful (you can also cut up wee bits of fluffy wool, ribbon, sparkly threads etc.). Bigger pieces will need to be snipped down smaller. 2. Take a piece of plain sheeting/calico and lay a load of shavings on top. You can colour code your savings as I have done here, or have a multi-coloured mess! Make sure it's thick enough to cover the backing fabric, but not too thick to sew over. 3. Lay a piece of water soluble fabric over the top and pin/sew round the edges. This stuff is really cool - you can get different brands in a craft shop or online. I've used Avalon Water Soluble Embroidery Fabric by Madeira. 4. Now sew, sew, sew over the top of the w.s.fabric, either by free motion quilting or straight & wavy lines all over. Try not to leave any big gaps where the shavings can later escape from. 5. When you have stitched this to within an inch of its life, take the pins out and under a luke warm tap or in a sink/basin, allow the w.s.fabric to melt away (it goes a bit slimy as it melts off so rinse it well). 6. Give your new piece of fabric a good squeeze to get the water out and then allow it to dry on the radiator. 7. When dry, draw your desired shapes on the back and cut out. If you want to, sew more stitching on top to highlight details, for example veins in leaves, or sew on beads, sequins etc. 8. You can now use your fabric shapes to embellish/decorate cards, cushions, make letters or Christmas decorations etc. etc. The possibilities are endless! Another way to use this wonderful water soluble fabric is to roughly sketch a shape on to it & then put it into an embroidery hoop. Repeated sewing and shading with thread will close all the gaps, so that when you take the fabric off the hoop and dissolve the w.s.fabric you are left with a completely embroidered shape. Have fun & let your imagination run wild!

You might also be interested in some other ways to use up your fabric scraps... If you are anything like us, you probably have loads of small scraps of fabric that you just don't know what to do with. You don't want to toss them out but they are too small to actually do anything with. That's where the crumb quilt technique comes into play. With this technique you can use up all of those small bits of fabric to make beautiful, colorful fabric that you can use to make quilts, cushion covers, applique, bags, table runners and more. Watch

📷 Holy cow, I like this one from Pinterest (Russian sewist). Do you save photos of quilts you'd like to try? This one would be great for reducing my scrap bin overflow. 95% of my scraps are 2.5" wide strips. Smaller strips I give to my friend Jerry, the rug guy. This Russian artist's quilt I like the variety of color and pattern, "fits me to a T". (Where did that expression come from, I'd like to know). The Light and dark cornerstones are deliberate--and that is something that peaks my interest. I especially like the skinny sashing, even though its medium to light value is almost LOST. 📷 Above, is one of my quilts. Simple, fun to make. Designing quilts on the fly . . . my design idea here was to join Four (10.5") scrappy strip blocks with a light color sashing and orange corner stone. I couldn't decided in the first place if I wanted orange corner stones or turquoise corner stones . . . . so I framed the quadrant block in a dark blue small paisley print accented with turquoise corner stones. Other Bits: A couple years ago I was waiting, waiting, waiting, for Anita Solomon Grossman to come out with her simple cuts technique for "her Wonky Star" block, but it never materialized online. I experimented on my own to build her wonky star block (trying to think it through like Anita would). That experiment resulted in 8 wonky star blocks sitting in my scrap bin, (4) red stars on a teal background and (4) teal stars on a red background. Having no better use for them, I threw them into this quilt for interest.

Scrappy Broken Dishes Quilt – Antique Inspired Hello Dear Friends and Readers, Reflecting on antique Dutch quilts, I will immediately think of stars, hourglass, tumbling blocks and broken dishes in the quilt designs. Of course there are others too, but this is what comes to mind for me. The appeal is timeless and the beauty of … Continue reading Scrappy Broken Dishes Quilt – Antique Inspired →

Here are more than a hundred of cute ideas and projects on what to do with the leftover scrap fabric you have at home.

Huge list of sew and no sew projects for fabric scraps. Make gifts, jewelery or home decor items out of the trimmings, crumbs and other items you would normally toss in the scrap bin.

Most quilters can’t bear to part with scraps of favorite fabrics and tend to keep them in little bins and boxes for future use. Crumb quilting, although not a new idea, is enjoying a resurgence now as we try to use up all those bits of fabric we’ve been saving.…

Tutorial on how to use scraps of fabrics to make a magic quilt that sews itself as you are making another quilt.

You might also be interested in some other ways to use up your fabric scraps... If you are anything like us, you probably have loads of small scraps of fabric that you just don't know what to do with. You don't want to toss them out but they are too small to actually do anything with. That's where the crumb quilt technique comes into play. With this technique you can use up all of those small bits of fabric to make beautiful, colorful fabric that you can use to make quilts, cushion covers, applique, bags, table runners and more. Watch

See a beautiful English Paper Pieced Hexagon quilt made from hand stitched hexies. Modern fabric scrap I Spy quilt with unique borders!

Stitch and flip quilt blocks are a great easy quilt block for beginners to learn how to make a quilt! Start with an easy quilt pattern

They’re every crafters dirty little secret – paper scraps. Whether you store yours in a drawer, toss them in a bag, or have a giant pile growing on your desk, paper scraps can feel like an insurmountable mountain of disorganization. But they can be useful – after all, why would…

Hi, all! Fall is almost upon us, and with it the start of the "quilting season" - and if your scraps are piling up as much as mine are, you're looking for some great ideas for using them up! So today I'm sharing some inspiration shots - maybe they'll help get your creative juices flowing! I know they've helped mine. Most of today's quilts have a definite theme - strings and strips! Skinny little strips - and lots of them! I love the section of vertical strips in this quilt! And isn't this diagonal quilt pretty? The grey strips tie the whole thing together.... And I love this one for so many reasons -the brights, and those little side columns of multiple widths! And here's a use for those bonus HSTs! This one is really made unique by its quilting style - it gives it so much movement! And then there are these two - I love the multiple boxes, and it's so different in the two different color ways! You can see all of these and more on my Pinterest board, Oh Scrap! which will take you to the original sites for each quilt. Have fun! Hugs! Sarah

Here are more than a hundred of cute ideas and projects on what to do with the leftover scrap fabric you have at home.

Do you have fabric scraps? Looking for a fun foundation paper pieced project? I've got just the thing. The 1". 2" & 3" foundation paper pieced Scrappy Triangles templates in this bundle are perfect for a scrap lover! There are endless possibilities for scrappy fun. The Scrappy Triangle Bundle contains: -(16) 1" Scrappy Triangle templates, plus pincushion pattern -(18) 2" Scrappy Triangle templates, plus 8" quilt block pattern -(20) 3" Scrappy Triangle templates, plus 12" quilt block pattern The patterns will be delivered as a digital file. Please, download and save right away. The patterns do not include instructions for how to foundation paper piece, but I do have a tutorial on my blog you can reference. The Ultimate Guide to Foundation Paper Piecing: (https://www.leilagardunia.com/blog/how-to-foundation-paper-piece) It will guide you though, step by step. You can find the entire Tiny Piecing Collection here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/623292039/complete-tiny-piecing-collection-1-2-3 You can find my popular Scrappy Mountain Blocks here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/682985151/complete-scrappy-mountain-pattern-bundle P.S. I have a set of 52 Free 6" Scrappy Triangles just for you. You can download them here: https://mailchi.mp/91b3eca58b70/scrappytriangles

SCRAPS - yes we all have them. In fact it's a given that if you are a quilter you are quickly going to build up a scrap stash. I don't know about you but we aren't like those brave souls who can just toss their fabric scraps in the bin. We keep every tiny little scrap because you never know when you might just need that teeny tiny piece of fabric to fill in a spot. So we have a number of easy projects with full tutorials that will help you to clear up at least some of that scrap

It’s happened to you too, I’m sure. You’re happily sewing, your mind relaxed, contented and open. Suddenly it strikes you that the scraps of your current work-in-progress are positively perfect fodder for a new idea, and you feel instinctively that it must be.

I've been working on a new art project! A bunch of my scrappy peeps over at CropCircles and I are doing a puzzle piece swap. We each purchased a puzzle and sent a piece to each of the members in our group. We then alter each others piece in whatever way we wish and send them back to the owner . The altered pieces are then reassembled and Viola! We all end up with a unique piece of art filled with lovely little messages from our friends. Warning: LOTS of photos! So here are the pieces that I have done so far.... A pink Paislee rub on over Heartfelt Creation paper. Heartfelt Creation paper and Studio Calico stars painted with Smooch Awesome Stampendous metallic embossing powder { my new addiction thanks to KELLY KLAPSTEIN }on a wood piece. Awesome paint splatter stamp colored with Smooch instead of inks. Heartfelt Creation paper and Martha Stewart butterfly punch Stampin 'Up embosslit butterfly More Studio Calico wooden stars painted with Smooch Prima dancer charm and music note rub-ons by ????? Gabriella papers from Bo Bunny More Bo Bunny papers Can you guess that I did these three pieces at the same sitting? lol Bo Bunny again! Lots of clock stamps...largest one stamped using the Stampendous emboss powder again.  This is one of the shabby colors in this line of Stampendous powders. Isn't it gorgeous??? Another in the metallic line of embossing powders...this one is called Hunter green And this is the last one that I have done so far... I looooove the pink shabby embossing powder...soooo pretty! I used a variety of stamped verses from several different sets including Unity Stamps, Inkadinkadoo,Tim Holtz and Maya Road. I am soooo anxious to get my puzzle pieces back from the girls! Can't wait to get my puzzle re- assembled and hanging on my craft room wall. I'll share that with you when it gets completed. Thanks for popping by today. Happy scrapping!

I finished my last RSC quilt top on the very last day of the year. Nothing like a self-imposed deadline to get you motivated! At the begi...

Create unique sewing projects using fabric scraps with these ideas from National Sewing Circle

Here are more than a hundred of cute ideas and projects on what to do with the leftover scrap fabric you have at home.

Designer Sharon Tucker offers these suggestions for fun and efficient string piecing.

Turn fabric scraps into beautiful quilted flowers with a sew-and-flip piecing technique easy enough for beginning quilters to master. Tutorial from NewQuilters.com. #easyquiltblocks #foundationpiecing #rosequiltblock #quiltingforbeginners

Scrappy string quilt top for the Scrap Attack Quilt Along at Stitched in Color. Blogged here.

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends! This week, my wild thing is on Spring Break, and so he and I decided to take a trip down to Baton Rouge to visit my family for a few days. We left the hubs and the dog at home, so the trip was a little different from the usual, but it was a really fun way to kick off Spring Break. I finished up this quilt before we left, but since we just got back yesterday afternoon, I'm just getting around to sharing! From the very beginning, the bright improv scraps paired with the black and white sketch reminded me of distorted screen images when a TV signal is messed up; and I think the oversized chevron layout just adds to that effect, so I decided to name this quilt Distortion. I really had a tough time deciding on the backing for this one though. Sometimes, when a quilt has so many colors, the choices are just too many. I finally settled on this large floral print, and I love that it picks up the reds and yellows in the quilt. It is a Koko Lee print that I found on the designer aisle at my JoAnn, and it is really soft. I decided on a Kona Chartreuse binding for this quilt, and I think the color is just funky enough to match the feel of all of those improv bits. This quilt was FUN from start to finish, and I can't wait to start teaching this class. In fact, I'm going to be teaching it in June at my favorite quilt shop in Baton Rouge, Red Stick Quilt Shop. With a great variety in scraps, background fabric, and layout, I can't wait to see all of the lovely variations of this one! I also realized that I never shared this little mini with you here. I snapped a quick Instagram photo, but I wanted to be sure that my blog friends get to see it as well. My guild president had the fantastic idea to organize a Thoroughly Modern Mini Swap with all of the MQG chapters in Tennessee (we have four- Memphis Area, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Music City/Nashville). It is such a fun way to connect across our state! I decided to dive into my aqua scraps, and make a structured improv argyle mini for my partner. The finished mini is 18 inches square. I can't wait to mail it to her! We have one last piece of business to attend to before we link up, and that is to choose the winner of the fun fat quarter bundle from Fat Quarter Shop! Comment number 78, delaineelliot, is the lucky winner. Congratulations! I'll be contacting you by email soon so I can get your shipping address! Okay then! Time to check out some of the beauties that were linked up last week. I had the privilege of seeing this oh-so-gorgeous Wavelength quilt in person at our guild sew-in, made by my friend Lori at Crossquilt. This Lone Starburst quilt by QuiltFabrication is such a neat version of a Lone Star quilt! and I would be remiss if I didn't include this stunning Anna Maria Horner Epic Medallion finish by Quilty Habit. Just WOW! Y'all keep me inspired each and every week, and I can't wait to see what you share this week. Let's party! 1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing! 2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others. 3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link. 4. Spread the comment love far and wide! 5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated! *If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop" when selecting your thumbnail photo. For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work! :)

A couple of nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, and, in that semi slumber state when I was letting my mind wander while trying to go back to sleep, I thought of a solution to a puzzle…

Check out 40+ clever ideas for scrap fabric projects. Brilliant ways to upcycle fabric scraps into great gifts and home decor items!

A couple of nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, and, in that semi slumber state when I was letting my mind wander while trying to go back to sleep, I thought of a solution to a puzzle…

My self-imposed ban on blog reading and posting is over as Lent ends tonight. I was only posting finishes on my blog, since this is my way of keeping track of what I've done and, more importantly, when. I missed reading about everyone's quilting adventures, but it was good for me to stop for a bit. As with most of us, the mask making continues. In between making masks, I worked on this scrappy quilt using 2 1/2" squares. As those who follow me know, I do not enjoy making scrappy quilts and am not a huge fan of how they look, either. This quilt has been fun to make, though. I kind of used it as a leader/ender with the masks, but then just began sewing the blocks so it could move along. When cleaning my Hidey Hole, I found a bag of 2 1/2" squares I had cut several years ago. I dug into my hug bags of scraps and cut more, adding to the mix. Then the 16 patches were made. There are all kinds of fun things to find in this quilt... butterflies, crabs, fish, whales, flowers, basketballs, golf clubs and bags, snowmen, shells, the sun, etc. My favorite though is the fussy cut Snoopy in the photo above. :) At least two borders will be added; one of the cream and then another round of squares. I may add another round of cream after that, but we shall see. If I add another round of cream, I may use a scrappy binding. Needless to say, there are A LOT of 2 1/2" squares left. Maybe another scrappy quilt is in my future. ***Edit*** I have had several questions about the pattern for this quilt from No Reply Bloggers. I did not have a pattern for this quilt. The design just came to me as I went along making it. Now back to making masks! Happy Quilting! Be safe and be well.

Hi, all! It's been a hot minute since I posted about my scrappy endeavors, but since I hadn't had much time to work on anything scrappy, I didn't have anything interest to share. But today I have a flimsy finished!! Here's what it looked like Tuesday night when I shared it with my sewing sisters at church. But it was still a hair small for what we needed. Here's a close-up shot - I took it on an angle and it looks really different here! I found a beautiful green Modernist print by Joel Dewberry in our stash at church and added those borders today - now it's all ready for quilting! Maybe I can get to it sometime this weekend.... Also, just for inspiration, aren't these stars just fabulous? I saw this on Pinterest and tucked it away in my folder for this post. I think I have the design for my next scrappy quilt! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend (if you are here in the States) and find some time to do some scrappy sewing of your own!! Hugs! Sarah

📷 Holy cow, I like this one from Pinterest (Russian sewist). Do you save photos of quilts you'd like to try? This one would be great for reducing my scrap bin overflow. 95% of my scraps are 2.5" wide strips. Smaller strips I give to my friend Jerry, the rug guy. This Russian artist's quilt I like the variety of color and pattern, "fits me to a T". (Where did that expression come from, I'd like to know). The Light and dark cornerstones are deliberate--and that is something that peaks my interest. I especially like the skinny sashing, even though its medium to light value is almost LOST. 📷 Above, is one of my quilts. Simple, fun to make. Designing quilts on the fly . . . my design idea here was to join Four (10.5") scrappy strip blocks with a light color sashing and orange corner stone. I couldn't decided in the first place if I wanted orange corner stones or turquoise corner stones . . . . so I framed the quadrant block in a dark blue small paisley print accented with turquoise corner stones. Other Bits: A couple years ago I was waiting, waiting, waiting, for Anita Solomon Grossman to come out with her simple cuts technique for "her Wonky Star" block, but it never materialized online. I experimented on my own to build her wonky star block (trying to think it through like Anita would). That experiment resulted in 8 wonky star blocks sitting in my scrap bin, (4) red stars on a teal background and (4) teal stars on a red background. Having no better use for them, I threw them into this quilt for interest.

I taught a series of classes in Atlanta that used Kaffe Fassett fabrics. As you can imagine, we had leftovers! After about 5 workshops I dev...