Fabric Scrap Ideas

We ladies adore buttons.

I don't know what it is.

None of my friend's seem to have a "thing"

for snaps,

or hooks and eyes,

or zippers.

I think everyone's grandma had an old

button jar.

Mine had several.

I absolutely loved them.

The shapes, textures, colors, and materials

are mesmerizing to a young girl.

I've done all kinds of things with

the nostalgic buttons that I've been blessed

to inherit from my lovely Grandma.

Donna L Shook, "Grandma's Button Jar"

However, I never thought of making my own.

Until I was researching fabric thrift.

Creating, collecting, and conserving,

all in one fell swoop!

I admire anything that is this practical.

We no longer need to purchase a button-making tool,

all we need is one of these tiny kits.

Easy peasy.



Life is Sweet

Marie LeJeune's fabric flower,

from her "Life is Sweet" blog caught my eye.

I love the way she used her colors

and folded her petals.

She gives a great tutorial

and makes it look easy!





Art Fire



 The idea of creating your favorite

fabric designs and characters 

into darling button sets is exciting.

I'm inspired!

The possibilities are delightful!

Barrettes,

bobby pins,

lapel pins,

earrings,

necklaces,

bookmarks,

anything you can dream up.



Art Fire



Lost Button Studio





Heidi Boyd

Many of the ideas you'll find offer detailed tutorials

so you'll know what you're doing each step

of the way.

~    *    ~    *    ~    *    ~

Another fun way to use up your beautiful scrap colors

is the fabric yoyo.

There are templates out there now-a-days

to make it faster and easier

to whip up a batch while the youngsters

are at football practice

or piano lessons.

Make some ornies with beads and ribbon.

Decorate a garland for a holiday.

Accessorize your handbag with your favorite colors.

Make a colorful gift for your new nephew!

Finally, I'm reminded of my Great Aunt's quilts.

Her beautiful quilts were made from her

aprons, dresses, and husband's shirts.

One in particular, called a postage stamp quilt,

comes to mind.

These are generally made with 1-inch squares.

These are tiny little squares!

From 3/4-inch to 2 1/2-inches, this is super-thrift.

It's no wonder these were most common

during times of economical recession.

We find many of them in rural areas,

where folks just had to work harder

to scrimp and save.

Today we have the benefit of our rotary cutter,

however, we must still remember to

trim up our excess

(a.k.a. garbage).

and store for our magnum opus.

Or mini opus.

I made these two postage stamp quilted pieces

for my kitchen.  One is nice and long for

our table.  It helps us to keep the table cleared off,

even if it is at the expense of covering the runner.

 The other is displayed as a backing in a pane

from this old window frame

from my sister-in-law.

With ribbon and buttons, it's a nice

place to display a photo or postcard.

That's all I have for today, friends.

It's lunchtime for us here,

and I have many growling tummies to tend.

Save those scraps!