Tuesday Tip – Taming the Stash

During my Stashbusters Club last year, one of the things we learned was how to tame those leftover bits and pieces from quilting projects. In the past I when I had finished cutting out what I needed for a quilt, I threw the leftover strips and pieces in a basket, thinking I would use them in a future quilt. But you know what??? All they did was multiply in that basket and get all wrinkled and tangled.

So when it came time to use them in a project, I didn’t want to take the time to sort and press and cut to size.

Now what I do is cut the leftovers into the largest useable pieces I can. If I can get a full strip, I cut it to the largest half-inch increment possible – 1-1/2″, 2″, 2-1/2″, etc. up to about 6-1/2″. The size you cut is up to you, think about what sizes you use the most.

If it’s an odd sized piece, I cut it into squares or rectangles – again think of the sizes you use most – 5″ squares will work for nickel or charm quilts, 3-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ rectangles can be the start of a flying goose block……you get the idea. Don’t you think you’d be much more inclined to use these pieces in a quilt?:

I also sort them by color or type, so if I decide I need some 5″ blue squares, or some Christmas prints, I can grab them at a glance. I store them in a bin like you see above, or empty (clean!) pizza boxes work well too. If you have room for a drying rack, you can store strips on it:

It’s much easier to cut up that last little bit of fabric as you go, then try and do a whole bunch of it at one time.

What tips do you have for taming your stash???

If you don’t yet have much of a stash, visit the website where I now have fat quarters on sale for just $1.50 and $1.75 – a great excuse to add to your stash!!