Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Spring Cleaning Fever


Ok, so Friday Night's Sew-In didn't go the way as planned because
I came down with a fever. In some places it is called
 "Spring Cleaning Fever"  and it can be contagious.
As I sat in my sewing room on Friday all set to begin
my project,  I looked around and became depressed.
Things had really gotten out of hand.

I've been wanting to clean my sewing room for quite some time.
By clean, I mean not only clean it, but really do some organizing.
 I've read about different ideas on how to manage scraps,
but have never found a system that works for me.

So, armed with good intentions I dug into my boxes of
miscellaneous  fabric scraps  and tried to come up with a plan.
 (By the way, the above photo is by no means an indication
of the size of my scrap piles. LOL!)

My previous "system" was to throw all the leftover fabrics into
a container  at the end of a project, so the coordinating fabrics
would  be grouped together. The problem with this system was
that I had containers everywhere.
A little fabric here and a little over there.
When I actually did sit down to make another project,
 it was difficult to see  how much fabric I had to work with.
So here is what I did....


For scraps about the size of a fat quarter, I used my
5" x 24" ruler as a folding guide.


First, fold the fabric along the edge of the ruler.


Once the fabric is folded together, simply slide the ruler out from
 under the layers of fabric.


                                                                                           

Then place the ruler on top of the folded fabric
and fold over the remaining fabric. 
The  fabrics can then be placed into a container for storage.


Although the folding job isn't  perfect...
an inventory can quickly be taken.
(I used the same basic concept for folding larger
 pieces of fabric as well.)


For smaller scrap pieces, I decided to cut the largest square
possible. The squares can be used in many different patterns
of scrap quilts, and certainly take up less space for storage.

So, for the past week I've been cleaning my sewing room
and finally feel like things are getting under control.

Do you have a system for managing scraps?
 If so, I'd love to hear about the system what works for you.

1 comment:

  1. Currently I have a plastic three drawer roll around cart that I separate my scrap pieces into... 5", 2 1/2"strips and squares, selvedges, 1 1/2" squares and 1" squares. I've found those to be the size I use most. If the piece is bigger than 5" I store it with the rest of my fabric. Since I am an applique addict I save them for future projects. I have an elfa system from the Container Store that I keep all my fabric in sorted by color or holiday. Looks like you've found the method that works for you!

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