I never throw a quilt fabric scrap away.  No matter the size, it goes in a box.  Mind you, if it’s a scrap I’ve trimmed while squaring up a block, that’s trash … or is it?  I have learned that birds like to take those really small scraps in the spring to make nests out of – so, I lay a very small pile of these scraps on the ground or deck for the birds to find.  What a lovely quilted nest!

But, I learned over time that many folks use quilt scraps for many different quilts or projects.  Scrappy quilts are always fun to see.  Selvedge quilts are amazing in their creativeness.  String quilts are great for strips of scraps.  Postage stamp quilts are usually made from many, many 2″ squares.  Miniature quilts, mug rugs and table toppers/runners use very little fabric and a lot of them are made from tiny 1″ squares.  There is very little waste in quilting, if you are of a mind to enjoy making scrappy projects. 

My rule of thumb is if it’s a piece of fabric that is less than 1″ square, it goes to the birds – literally!  For the other scraps, I have boxes on the floor at the end of my cutting table and I just drop the scraps into the appropriate box when I cut them off – 1″, 2″ or bigger and strings. 

So, don’t throw any fabric away!  If you do not have a use for scraps, sell them or give them away.  If you are having trouble getting rid of them, call up your local church or nursing home and see if they would like them.  Someone, somewhere would LOVE to make use of your quilt scraps!