Post #3148: The small and the scrappy

I think sewing with scraps week has already come and gone for 2019, but for some reason I’ve been quite captivated with scrap and fat quarter sewing recently. It started with sewing zip pouches out of vintage Japanese fabrics a few weeks ago:

Since then I’ve been rooting through my scrap drawers to make more useful things:

All of these treasures are now at work in my studio and home, and I’ve started on a couple more gift projects for my three-year-old niece in New York. I am greatly enjoying the process of turning various scrap pieces into useful things – though my studio had become a bit messy with all the rooting around.

Since I have guests coming tomorrow I had to tidy the studio today, and part of that process involved turning my very messy scrap stash from this:

Into this:

Cleaning out the scrap drawers and bins gave me a chance to look at everything – iron, fold, and sort it into piles based on size. My goal was to sort, not to get rid of – and so even the smallest shreds found their way into a plastic bag to be used for stuffing pillows or other small objects. The bins under the table are full of garment scraps – denim and linen in the top basket, stretch fabric (for making underwear) in the rubbermaid tote. I’ve still got work to do on finishing this job as I stuffed two smaller bins with odd shaped scraps that I would like to cut into squares and strips. That’s not really a priority now though as I have things organized in a way that makes it easy to root through (and make a mess), while also being an easy clean up.

I think the scraps are calling me because garment-making feels too big at the moment – zip bags and totes are so much more accessible – though if I’m not careful the scrap obsession could turn into another quilt!