Project Fifty Seven: Adorable Mini Bunting from my Fabric Scraps

Fabric Scraps. Utter those two words with sensitivity and care in this house at the moment, for we seem to be drowning in the stuff. I am a hoarder by nature, a magpie for anything colourful, and fabric scraps are no exception. Throughout my travels in blogland I have realised that everyone’s definition of fabric scraps varies. One woman I was reading about only keeps scraps that are bigger than her two hands together! Oh the shock of it, think of all the lovely fabric she is wasting! To me, fabric bigger than my two hands isn’t even considered scraps yet, it’s just small pieces of fabric.

My fabric scraps get divided into three categories: big pieces ranging in size from two hands to one hand; medium pieces about the size of one hand, long thin strips and funny shaped remnants; and finally the real scraps, all the little pieces that range from 3″ squares to tiny little 1″ pieces. Anything smaller than 1″ square I reluctantly throw away, if only to make room for the other scraps.

With all the projects I have been sewing this year, I have accumulated a huge amount of fabric scraps, they explode out of carrier bags I hide under the workbench, burst out of containers and jars I push to the back of the desk, and fall from teetering piles on the shelves. The ever-patient Mr. B flits between laughing, sighing and frustratedly scooping up the scraps that have escaped before I have had a chance to hide them again. Luckily he sees the funny side, but even I have to admit the situation is getting rather out of hand now, so I am embarking on a scrap-busting few months.

First on my list of projects to help tackle the scraps: this adorable micro-mini bunting I hade by cutting my tiny scraps into little triangles about 2″ by 1″ (no actual measuring was done). I just cut the scraps into triangles using my pinking shears, and then used a long thin strip of blackout fabric folded in half to sew them into. The great thing about blackout fabric is that it doesn’t fray, and it was another scrap that I got to use! I plan on making more of this mini bunting for all my sisters-there are lots of them. That should make a small dent in the scraps.

Do you hoard your scraps too? What do you define as scraps? What do you make with them? All suggestions for scrap fabric projects welcomed!