I store my fabric scraps in containers of big chunks, little chunks, and strips. I have been known to rummage in trash cans after a group sewing session. My parents were children of the great depression so I absorbed the lesson to save leftovers by their example. When I noticed that I couldn’t fit the lid on my container of less than 1.5 inch wide strips I decided it was time to create fabric out of those strips. (I also have containers of 1,5 inch, 2 inch, and 2.5 inch strips.)
Here’s what was left after I pulled out all the strips I thought I could use. These leftovers are mostly multi-colored prints that don’t play well with others and want to hog the show. Some of the strips even ended up in the trash.
First I sorted the strips into color families and values.
Then I sewed the strips together. I’ll treat these as whole pieces of cloth when I use them, even though some (such as that pink in the purple) contain zingers.
Of course, I found other candidates for cloth making in my “to be filed” pile, so I sewed them together, too.
My boxes of small chunky scraps are next up for fabric creation. I have an idea to make a crazy quilt bullseye piece for an Ohio SAQA challenge. Wow, I sure have a lot of blue and blue-green scraps.
In case you think I’m a bit obsessive about scrap hoarding collecting, check out this quilter’s organization system.
The Snarky Quilter 
SO organized! But the payoff is great–those pieces of new/pieced fabric are really lovely!
As if! Glad you like my striped jewels.
I sort by strips and chunks, but within those categories I don’t sort by size. Your new strip sets look great. There is so much satisfaction in turning them into something that will be used! I love that part so much, I think I would be happy just doing that step and then handing it off to someone else.
I get what you say about making something out of what would otherwise be thrown out. You may have a new business there – recreated fabric.
Today your post is pure eye candy! I look forward to seeing what all you make of them.
So do I
I don’t sort by strips, so I’d have to cut strips in order to start that process. The made fabric is pretty and intriguing. They seem like they would be good backgrounds for something.
I’ve been digging through back issues of Quilting Arts (through my online library access.) Last night I looked at one that used strips on a fusible backing, and wove them before pressing them down. And then the artist did use that as backgrounds. It gave a pretty cool effect, too.
As to the post on organizing scraps, that goes WAY beyond anything I can imagine doing. I would never sort out a particular designer or even type of fabric, because I use them based on color most of the time. And I pitch little and narrow pieces rather than save them, so the “grape-sized” category is funny to me. 🙂 Still, very interesting.
Thanks for the woven strips idea. I ended up with strips from evening off yardage cuts, from leftover binding cuts, and from strip piecing. I do trim them to the 3 widths I keep, plus the skinny ones. I guess quilters do collect fabric by designers though I’m eclectic in the designer fabrics I buy. Kaffe Fassett is cheek by jowl with Walmart discount stuff in my quilts.