Scenes from the Scrap Bag

If you do any sewing, and especially of you do a lot of it, you end up with a bag full of scrap fabric - pieces too small for pillows or clothes or full-size projects of whatever it is that you make. That's fine when you're crafting for fun but it's another thing altogether when it's your business. It's wasteful and goes against my thrifty nature. But, what to do with them all?

I've been trying some patchworky pillows based on an idea I saw in an old Country Living magazine (the British one, not the American - it's much cooler). There's nothing new about the idea but I never thought of using bits of embroidery in amongst the fabric. I often find linens that are too damaged to use whole but have wonderful perfect bits, so this will be a great way to use them. Here's a very pink, vaguely rose-themed one I completed yesterday:



The squares are about 4 inches across and I've added some small buttons where the seams meet. This ought to work with even smaller patches—just more of them. Or maybe a border of small patches around a central image?

With some slightly larger pieces I made a bunch of tissue cozies with tab and vintage button closures...




And, also with larger pieces, a batch of sachet stacks. Basically these are small lavender-filled pillows, each one a little larger than the last, stacked up and tied with grosgrain ribbon...



Yes, I've had a productive week. What can I say - it's been raining just about nonstop. The sun popped out briefly this morning and I managed to get a small part of the yard mowed in between the grass drying and the rain starting again. Now it's thundering and the sky is that funny shade of greenish-gray. Better head back to the studio. I've barely made a dent in that box of scraps—let's see what else I can come up with :)