Tag Archives: Scraps

English Paper Piecing Star Coasters

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For your browsing pleasure, a photographic mish-mash of assorted English paper pieced star coasters in their various stages of construction:

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And a kit made for my little sister in law who wants to learn English paper piecing:

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It contains a Happy Doggie needle book, red, white and blue fabric, batting, felt backing, scissors, thread, thread conditioner and a little soap box to hold the paper piecing templates.  (I used 1.5″ 60 degree diamonds from Quilt Laughing on Etsy.)  I added a label for fun.

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And I have a large paper piecing project that I’ve been away from for too long, so back to it!

sarahsigres

Purple Triple Zip Pouch

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Triple Zip Pouch

If you’re looking for a small organizer pouch, the Triple Zip Pouch is a great one!  I started with the tutorial found here on A Quilter’s Table, then switched to the alternate ending tutorial found on Marci Girl Designs.  Marci continues the tutorial with loads of step by step photos, which is very helpful.  With the clear instructions from both tutorials, this would even be a great “first zipper project” and is a great use of scraps.

Triple Zip Pouch Closeup

The resulting pouch is a wonderful little organizer.  If you’d like to see more, scroll through the Flickr photo pool for The Quilting Table for loads of little zipper pouches.  Add your own photos to the group if you make one, it’s always fun to see more!

sarahsigres

Accordion Fold Card Wallets to Sew

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Accordion Card Wallet

The very first time I used my accordion fold wallet, we were on a road trip to visit my in-laws in another state.  We stopped at a gas station and when I went in to buy some snacks, I pulled out this little wallet and the cashier said, “Let me see that!”  Without even thinking, I handed it to her.  (Can you tell I’m from a small town?)  She loved it and said such nice things about it that I pulled out a second one from my purse, one that I’d made for my sister in law.  She said, “Do you have another one in there that I can buy?”  Sadly, I did not.

But if you’d like to make one for yourself, I found the pattern at LYPatterns on Etsy.  Be warned that the pattern is in centimeters.  This is a little inconvenient because all of my rotary cutting rulers are in inches, but making paper pattern pieces saved me some time.  The frames were also purchased through Etsy from YeahShop.  (The frames are shipped from Hong Kong, so allow a little extra travel time!)

Accordion Card Wallets

I loved this pattern because it’s easier than it looks, just a few rectangles really, and uses up scraps nicely.  I so rarely carry cash that this type of wallet makes a lot of sense for me, and it’s just so cute!  There may be many more tiny frame purses in my future!

sarahsigres

For the Birds

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If you’re crafty and frequently have snips of fabric and little pieces of thread left over after a project, find a jar, pretty bowl or even a bag you can hide away and save up those scraps.

Cut up the larger pieces as you go so you have a collection of skinny bits.  Once you have enough, stuff them into a clean suet bird feeder.  Early next spring, hang it in a bird friendly spot.  (Don’t quit saving up your scraps, make another for a friend!)

For the Birds

Hopefully your friendly neighborhood birdies will come upon this jackpot of nest building materials and fill your trees with the most colorful nests you’ve ever seen!

This would be a good lesson for a young child.  While cleaning up after a project, you can talk about how it’s good for the earth (and our personal economies) to get as much use as we possibly can out of everything.  You can also teach them about bird families, and how much Mommy and Daddy birds love their babies and prepare for them just like people do.  This just reinforces what kids already know – they are indeed the center of the universe.

When it gets cold again, your suet feeder can be used to feed the birdie families you helped in spring.  Which puts us right back to the recycling bit again … :)

sarahsigres