Fab Fabrics: Raid Your Scrap Bin!

As I’ve confessed here before, I can’t stand to throw things away. Sometimes, that causes some storage problems. Other times, though, it means inadvertently collecting an awesome stash of fun fabric scraps! Let’s focus on those times.

Even if you’re careful to only choose organic, sustainable fabric options, there’s a carbon footprint that goes along with any new materials: from production to shipping to your trip to the fabric store, all of that adds up. If you’re not a scrap-saver now, give it a shot! You’ll be surprised at how fast those bits and pieces accumulate, especially if you sew on a regular basis. Not only does sewing with scraps keep that fabric out of the waste stream, it’s super duper fun! Here are a bunch of great projects you can make using those odds and ends.

• Lenore wrote a great tutorial on using smaller pieces to make an iPod cover.
• Use a piece of clothesline and transform those scraps into a fabric bowl. Bonus points if you use your bowl to…store more fabric scraps!
• Over at Burda Style, you can learn how to make a patchwork scrap fabric skirt.
• You can turn long, skinny scraps into fabric flowers.
• Scraps are also great for a funky new take on the good ol tomato pin cushion.
• Jackie shows you how to use your scraps to give a boring old greeting card some pizzazz.
• In a sneak peek of the new book Patchwork Style, the Storque shows you how to make a set of nifty pot holders.

Even teensy scraps don’t have to go to waste. Just quilt those bad boys together until you have a piece that’s the size you need! What sorts of fun things have you guys made out of fabric scraps?