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June 2025
A PLAN TO USE EVERY FABRIC SCRAP
Happy June 2025. This month we celebrate Flag Day, Father’s Day, and Juneteenth. Then summer begins on June 20th. Wow, only about 6 months and Christmas will be here again, I had better get started on sewing my Christmas quilts! In the meantime,
I want to focus on using fabric judiciously and wisely.
Boy howdy, does it seem like everything costs more than it should? Fabric is especially costly these days. This trend has me seeking things that I can do to use up every bit of fabric, and I am seeking new patterns and new ideas to do so. This tidbit reviews a book entitled, Zero Waste Quilting, on that very topic.
In a recent magazine, I ran across an intriguing book by Patty Murphy, Zero Waste Quilting, “38 Projects Use Every Scrap with Style”, Published by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549, published in 2024. The printed version costs $26.95 and the e-book is more affordable. I looked at Amazon pricing as of this writing, the print version is discounted to $25.06 and the Kindle version can be as low as $0.00 with some sort of credits they offer, or it costs $14.99 without credits.
I cannot provide you with any pictures from the book because the author has withheld all rights. What I can do, is tell you that Patty Murphy has provided us with ideas to use the fabric we already have in our collection at home (she calls it a stash) and she provides ways to use up each and every scrap created with lovely and useful projects, totaling 38 projects in all.
Patty begins the book with a detailed list and discussion of the tools you needed to complete the projects. She then goes into a discussion including beautiful pictures detailing how you can organize your fabric to help you decide what fabrics you will use from your collection for your projects. She moves on to show step-by-step basic block construction for half square triangles, quarter square triangles, flying geese, and square in a square. Then she introduces and shows how to miter corners. Finally, she discusses her “creative cutting” philosophy and discusses the utility of having a scrap bag. After this interesting and well written introduction, she begins the projects.
Projects include: quilts, pillows, bags, a pie carrier, mug rugs, face cloths, makeup removing cloths, weights, table runner, napkins, coasters, place mats, zipper pouches, trivets, decorative fringe to use for a party, tea towels, keyboard and mouse rests, hair bands, book marks, cord keepers, fabric tape, post cards, tea mat, needle case, sachets, hand warmers, and pin cushions. Patty has provided beautiful pictures of each project with detailed instructions as to fabric requirements and step-by-step cutting and assembly for each project. She has also provided templates. With each new project she gives advice about how to use scraps from a previous project. One project feeds another.
I purchased the print version of the book because I like to sit with a book in my hands and read it leisurely as I figure out which project I want to make. As I said above there is an e-book available at a much lower price if you prefer. I have enjoyed perusing the book and will be utilizing the book for some great future projects.
From the ideas presented in this book, I started looking at some of the fabrics I had bought because they are lovely, not necessarily with any project in mind. I call this group of fabrics my pet fabrics. I periodically take them out and look at them, feel the wonderful feel of them, and then put them away. They continue to take up precious space with no purpose. I simply had no clue as to what to make with them. After Patty’s book, I was inspired to use some of my pet fabrics of floral print lawn cotton to make pretty handkerchiefs for myself. I typically have lots of need for a hankie due to my allergies, so I decided to use these beautiful fabrics for hankies. I can still take them out and look at them, and now actually have a practical use for them! Okay, don’t judge me (ha ha). Next, I have to find a use for the scraps I cut off this fabric. I better get Patty’s book out again.
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June 2025
A PLAN TO USE EVERY FABRIC SCRAP
Happy June 2025. This month we celebrate Flag Day, Father’s Day, and Juneteenth. Then summer begins on June 20th. Wow, only about 6 months and Christmas will be here again, I had better get started on sewing my Christmas quilts! In the meantime,
I want to focus on using fabric judiciously and wisely.
Boy howdy, does it seem like everything costs more than it should? Fabric is especially costly these days. This trend has me seeking things that I can do to use up every bit of fabric, and I am seeking new patterns and new ideas to do so. This tidbit reviews a book entitled, Zero Waste Quilting, on that very topic.
In a recent magazine, I ran across an intriguing book by Patty Murphy, Zero Waste Quilting, “38 Projects Use Every Scrap with Style”, Published by Stash Books, an imprint of C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549, published in 2024. The printed version costs $26.95 and the e-book is more affordable. I looked at Amazon pricing as of this writing, the print version is discounted to $25.06 and the Kindle version can be as low as $0.00 with some sort of credits they offer, or it costs $14.99 without credits.
I cannot provide you with any pictures from the book because the author has withheld all rights. What I can do, is tell you that Patty Murphy has provided us with ideas to use the fabric we already have in our collection at home (she calls it a stash) and she provides ways to use up each and every scrap created with lovely and useful projects, totaling 38 projects in all.
Patty begins the book with a detailed list and discussion of the tools you needed to complete the projects. She then goes into a discussion including beautiful pictures detailing how you can organize your fabric to help you decide what fabrics you will use from your collection for your projects. She moves on to show step-by-step basic block construction for half square triangles, quarter square triangles, flying geese, and square in a square. Then she introduces and shows how to miter corners. Finally, she discusses her “creative cutting” philosophy and discusses the utility of having a scrap bag. After this interesting and well written introduction, she begins the projects.
Projects include: quilts, pillows, bags, a pie carrier, mug rugs, face cloths, makeup removing cloths, weights, table runner, napkins, coasters, place mats, zipper pouches, trivets, decorative fringe to use for a party, tea towels, keyboard and mouse rests, hair bands, book marks, cord keepers, fabric tape, post cards, tea mat, needle case, sachets, hand warmers, and pin cushions. Patty has provided beautiful pictures of each project with detailed instructions as to fabric requirements and step-by-step cutting and assembly for each project. She has also provided templates. With each new project she gives advice about how to use scraps from a previous project. One project feeds another.
I purchased the print version of the book because I like to sit with a book in my hands and read it leisurely as I figure out which project I want to make. As I said above there is an e-book available at a much lower price if you prefer. I have enjoyed perusing the book and will be utilizing the book for some great future projects.
From the ideas presented in this book, I started looking at some of the fabrics I had bought because they are lovely, not necessarily with any project in mind. I call this group of fabrics my pet fabrics. I periodically take them out and look at them, feel the wonderful feel of them, and then put them away. They continue to take up precious space with no purpose. I simply had no clue as to what to make with them. After Patty’s book, I was inspired to use some of my pet fabrics of floral print lawn cotton to make pretty handkerchiefs for myself. I typically have lots of need for a hankie due to my allergies, so I decided to use these beautiful fabrics for hankies. I can still take them out and look at them, and now actually have a practical use for them! Okay, don’t judge me (ha ha). Next, I have to find a use for the scraps I cut off this fabric. I better get Patty’s book out again.