December 13, 2013

My new use for batting scraps


I have a collection of skinny strips of leftover batting, and I know I am not alone. At about 2 inches wide they are too small individually for any little quilted project.  I know I don't have the patience to piece them together to make a larger piece, though I happily do that with bigger pieces to get enough for a quilt top.

But now I have it. I know what to do. I take little fabric scraps and sew-and-flip piece them onto my batting strips!




And then when I have several strips...


I piece those together with one-inch wide strips of fabric.


(here's what that looks like from the back)


And then bigger things have formed from littler things, and I feel happy.


This completes a veritable trifecta of quilting waste prevention:
Using practice pads as pre-quilted piecing foundation
Joining little quilted bits into bigger quilted panels, and now,
Piecing fabric onto batting strips

Sigh of satisfaction.

Best wishes for your to do lists and self-care my friends! Make a little time to sew, you know you'll feel better.

52 comments:

Brenda said...

good idea. would you consider posting this at http://stringthingalong.blogspot.ca? it's a new twist on string piecing.

Eileen said...

Great idea! I have a draw full of batting scraps. Sometimes I piece them together using a zigzag stitch to use in a small quilt. I like the randomness of your idea though - well definitely give it a try!

Raewyn said...

Fabulous!! I can never bear to throw out those strips either!

Jessica said...

awesome! you are full of useful ideas, thank you!

anyadahab said...

I love this idea. I will have to try it out.

Mad about Craft said...

What a good idea!

Vicki B said...

Isn't it amazing how a little bit of sewing time can relax us during this busy Christmas season. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

mjb said...

I cut a bunch of batting scraps into coaster-sized pieces, and then realized I didn't want to make that many coasters. This would be much more fun!

Margaret said...

Great idea! Your wonderful results have me thinking, "Duh! Why didn't I think of that?!" :-)

Anonymous said...

This is a really great idea. I'm never quite sure when to call something a piece of scrap or a piece of rubbish.

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

What a fantastic idea..thank you

Elsa said...

Clever clever girl ~ I've got lots of those strips ~ and a list longer than my arm that this idea just went on!
Thanks for the inspiration!

Gladys said...

Wow! I love it! Very great idea! Thank you for sharing! Have a nice day!

Anonymous said...

Nifty idea. I'm going to give it a try!

Lisa Lisa said...

Well, how cool is that?? Great idea!

Jenny K. Lyon said...

You are so smart! I teach a lot and have tons of these lying around, none of them nice enough to stand alone as a pillow top, etc. This is a great idea and i went back and looked at your other two posts-clever! Thank you!!

Gramma Quilter said...

Fabulous idea ! My first thought was of all the skinny strips that I have thrown away. Will now start saving them! I think though i will have to set a size limit!?!

Dana - Old Red Barn Co. said...

Brilliant!

Vicki said...

That is a very happy project! Thanks for lighting that spark of inspiration.

Unknown said...

I love that idea! Thanks for sharing.

What Comes Next? said...

great way to use up fabric and batting scraps! Have a wonderful Christmas, and take care of yourself, too!

Charo said...

What a good idea, I also keep these little pieces of batting and now I know what to do with them, thank you.

Helen in the UK said...

I have a large tub of those skinny batting pieces too ... just can't bear to throw them out. Great idea to torn them into something useful :)

Marilyn said...

That is a great idea, will have to do that with my scraps.

bumblebee53 said...

Thank you for the great idea, gorgeous project, and helpful photos! Love it! What a creative mind you have!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

How very clever of you. I love your finished product!
And you don't even want to know how many small strips of batting I have here. :-)

Brittany said...

I have a bag full of batting scraps. Usually I use them to stuff with, but now I am thinking about using those and the left over pieces of binding fabrics. As said above: thanks for this inspiration!

miss-perea's said...

Muchas gracias por el tutorial.
Un beso
Paqui y Maria José
Miss-perea´s

Connie said...

This is truly clever, but then in your profile you said that you enjoy being clever, didn't you. I love using up scraps . . . waste not - want not, and it is so nice when you can make something beautiful without the cost of a penny out of pocket. I am your newest follower #1458, and I would be tickled pink if you were to follow me back. I love your youthful energy . . . that's something that this old grandma can't get enough of, LOL.
Have a lovely weekend.
Your blogging sister (grandma) Connie :)

Dona said...

You have made my day! I love the use of the long strips of batting. Joining them together with the 1 inch of fabric is brilliant. Oh so excited today.

Unknown said...

beautiful! gorgeous! and your layout is very nice, beautiful colors
artisoo

Lana said...

Great idea! The photo of the back after you did the strips makes a lot of sense...wondered how that would work out...Thank you for sharing!!!

Nann said...

What a great idea! (Thanks to Alycia for reposting this blogpost on the Stashbusters list.)

Vic in NH said...

Good use of scraps and the panels could make up as a fine tote bag, too! Thanks for showing the reverse side so we could see it, too.

Daytona Damsel said...

how did you do the backing?

Christina said...

Daytona Damsel, when the strips were joined I laid a new piece of fabric on the back and bound it. You could use a piece of fabric under the batting strips as you piece on them instead.

Diane Beavers said...

Wow...no more waste....the environment shall thank me dearly!
Love the piecing technique and the fabric under the batting strips as you go..like quilt as you go. Marvelous. Thank you creative one:)

eva said...

Awesome idea.... kind of a QAYG style....only it's meant for the all the lovely scraps we shouldn't waste.
Perfect!!
xo
eva

Cheryl said...

Great use for scraps! I just cleaned out my sewing room and have an entire bag of skinny batting I did not know what to do with, thanks!

Anonymous said...

This is an awesome idea! I'm definitely going to do this.

Unknown said...

Brilliant idea. I have lots of scraps and lots of batting strips. Now I will put the 2 together! Thanks again.

sewsew said...

I started doing this last week. Perfect for when I don't really want to quilt or concentrate to much. Have quite a stack already. Thank you for such a great idea.

Unknown said...

I use this method to make doll quilts for toya for tots to give out with dolls at Christmas.

Gina E. said...

So glad these things stay on Pinterest forever! I was just looking at my strips of batting yesterday, wondering if it was worth while sewing them together...nah. This is a much better idea, to use up fabric scraps as well as batting scraps!

Unknown said...

What a wonderful idea. Takes care of 2 things scrap batting and scrap fabric. Thanks for sharing such a great idea.

Granny said...

BRILLIANT!

Unknown said...

How neat of an idea! Thank you for sharing. I just had to put my little dog to sleep after 15 years and gives me something to keep my mind busy. 💔😊👍

Lesley Morris said...

Great idea. I look forward to doing this!

38nugent@gmail.com said...

I to look forward to trying your scrap busting idea ☺️

paperquilter said...

Great idea! I just finished a 52x66 lap quilt with this method, using black joining strips and a cozy flannel backing. So many memories using little scraps from dozens of quilt projects, and so satisfying to find a use for the batting off cuts. Many thanks. Wish I could attach a picture! Maybe this link will work... https://pin.it/ywj5nvqgo4toca

Judy Hayes said...

Love this idea! Thanks for sharing

Unknown said...

Love this idea. I usually sew them together and use for borders on my scrappy quilts. Usually sewn together as enders & leaders. I could sew them on batting scrap & have a whole quilt done that way. Thanks.

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