featuring guest authors; crafting tips and projects; recipes from food editor and sleuthing sidekick Cloris McWerther; and decorating, travel, fashion, health, beauty, and finance tips from the rest of the American Woman editors.

Note: This site uses Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Monday, January 24, 2011

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MORE IDEAS FOR FABRIC SCRAPS

Today I have more ideas for things to do with those small scraps of fabric left over from other projects.

*Sew miniature quilts to use as pin cushions or hot pads. Use sawdust to fill the pin cushions and potpourri for aromatic hot pads.

*If you’re making children’s clothing, use the leftover fabric to make matching outfits for the child’s dolls or stuffed animals. Patterns are available at fabric stores.

*Make a first book for an infant. Using fusible web, fuse 9” x 12” fabric rectangles together. Trim the edges with pinking shears. Layer the pages. Machine stitch down the center of the pages to form the book. Fuse simple shapes such as hearts, stars, trees, and apples to each page.

*For a great rainy day activity, cut fabric scraps into squares and rectangles with pinking shears. Let your children “decoupage” the shapes to empty cardboard juice boxes, cigar boxes, or oatmeal containers using tacky glue. After the glue dries, apply a coat of brush-on sealer. These make wonderful “I did it all by myself” gifts for family and friends.

*Begin a memory quilt for each of your children or grandchildren. Save a 6” square of fabric from each special outfit, Halloween costume, play costume, dance recital outfit, etc. Using fabric writer paints, markers, or embroidery floss, write or stitch on each square to identify the event and date. Sew the squares into a quilt to present to the child upon graduation or as a wedding present.

Have I missed any great ideas? Let’s hear from you. Tell us how you use up your scraps of fabric. 
Post a comment to enter the drawing for a free book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

4 comments:

Kathy said...

If I have a piece of small solid colored fabric, I'll stamp on it, cut a backing, insert a teeny amount of fiberfill and make pins. Printed fabric I adhere to cardstock and then run it through my Sizzix with a die and make fabric die cuts to use on my handmade cards.

ANASTASIA POLLACK said...

Kathy, these are both great ideas! Thanks for posting!

petite said...

What I use are very old cloth books which are multicolored with lovely prints and I cover cushions with these pages.

ANASTASIA POLLACK said...

What a great idea! Do you get them from decorator shops?