We are THREE weeks into the Craft Room Overhaul with Go-Go Kim and me! How are you doing? I will admit that I’ve had many moments of overwhelming anxiety. WOW! I have A LOT of things! But I’ve also hauled out over 7 bags of garbage and about 7 bushel boxes full of supplies to donate to the Workshop. My area is still a mess but I am slowly, slowly chipping away at it and things are getting done. Did I mention that it’s been slow? My husband stopped in today and I think he was impressed by how much more of a mess I’ve managed to make in the last few days. In my defense, from my initial plan I’ve cleaned out Areas 2, 3, 4, 5 and half of 6 with a touch on 9. In cleaning that out, I’ve just managed to make piles all over the place.
When we first planned this we had allotted 1 week for the big dump of our fabric and a second week to go over folding techniques. As we’ve delved into this crazy even more, we realized that’s just not enough time. The new plan is to spread the process for fabric sorting and organizing over three weeks! Yes, I know that sounds like a long time but perhaps you’re like me and haven’t finished all the items (notions, patterns & books) from the first few weeks so this extra time will be used for that as well as your fabric. I also think as we really get into our spaces we’re realizing just HOW MUCH fabric we have! Just WOW! My biggest fear in this process is to not do it fully. I don’t want to half-ass anything. I want to do it right the first time through so I’m not right back in this same situation next year.
The first step on the fabric portion of the Craft Room Overhaul is scraps.
What are you going to do with ALL THOSE SCRAPS!? Both Kim and I are mainly scrap quilters so this is definitely a problem for us. I swear, even when I make TWELVE scrap quilts in a year, the scraps have still multiplied!
I know I’ve tack;ed this scrap situation before and I looked through my blog to find this fun post from 2015 (7 years ago!). I’m pretty sure that was the last major scrap re-sort. It’s time for another.
I have a preferred way for sorting my scraps but I wanted to take some time and do a little research on other ways to see if I’d like them better. From everything I’m reading you need to decide how you want to sort your scraps – color, size, designer, theme, etc. I think this post by a Bright Corner has the most variety of options for sorting your scraps! I really liked a bunch of them but I think I have TOO MANY scraps for them to work so I’m going to stick with my clear, see-through bins for storing my scraps.
The first time I sorted my scraps, back in 2012 they all fit in the smaller clear plastic tubs.
I’ve had to upgrade to much bigger tubs now! I think I need some more of the long, shallow tubs and I’m going to split my colors into even more narrow groupings. The picture above is a “before” picture of my scrap area and I hope to get that much more under control.
When looking at your scraps – think about what size do you consider a scrap? For me – it’s anything less than a quarter of a yard (fat or standard). The one thing I want to work on more this time is to go through those scraps and do some cutting. I have been writing a bunch of patterns and have thoughts on making kits from my scraps for them. Cutting up my scraps is the perfect opportunity for that!
Sizes that I am planning on cutting up to –
- 1” strips
- 1.5” strips
- 2.5” strips
- 2.5” squares
- 5” squares
- 4.5” squares
- 4.5” x 8.5” rectangles
- 4” x 9” rectangles (perfect for Dresden Neighborhoods!)
If you have a die cutter this is a perfect opportunity to really get those scraps cut up! If I make the proper piles this is something my girls can easily help me with which is always a bonus. Another indispensable tool for cutting up scraps is the Stripology ruler (#ad)! It makes cutting so fast and easy! Perfect for cutting scraps of all sizes! This ruler is an investment and you may be thinking – more rulers!? This one is worth it though – I love mine and it’s made kit cutting so much easier!
My plan to get through all these scraps before 2023 is to sort into the bins by color. Then each week (or every two weeks) I’ll pick a color bin to go through and cut into strips/squares/rectangles. By spreading it out it will take longer but I won’t be so overwhelmed and my wrist won’t hurt.
Don’t forget to follow along with us on social media so you can see what we’re up to on our Craft Room Overhaul journey’s!
Go-Go Kim: Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok
PersimonDreams: Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok
Okay – it’s your turn! Show us your scraps! Start by linking up your “before” pictures and then link up your “after” pictures! I want to see how you sort those scraps!
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I’ve been cutting scraps into specific sizes since, well, before Bonnie Hunter wrote about her system. I have boxes for squares and bins for strips. I also have a too-tired-to-sort bin that I dip into when I make crumb blocks. Oh, and a couple of boxes by genre (batiks, homespun plaids, Christmas).