Cutting fabric scraps is never going to be the same for me anymore. This process is now so therapeutic and so efficient at the same time. If you are working on organizing your scraps and maybe starting to clean up your space, this post may just be the inspiration you need.
Springtime is always a good sign for some cleaning. Spring Clean your sewing room with some of these posts I have on the blog:
I often feel like every time I do a major clean-up, I get motivated to do more sewing right after. But then, not long after, the cycle of mess begins AGAIN. But that is all good.
It is good that it goes in a cycle rather than static at being tidy or being in too much mess that you are not able to craft anymore.
So, if you feel like you’re stuck and demotivated to sew, get organizing today. Maybe, you can start small by cleaning up your table and just one small area.
Or organize and sort your scraps!
Cutting Fabric Scraps using Accuquilt Go!
After a couple of projects, my scrap box is overfilled and I was just waiting for the right time to sort it.
And Accuquilt couldn’t come at a better time. I was so excited to go through my scraps under the roller and that is what I did this 2 weeks.
I did an unboxing of the Accuquilt Ready, set Go! in this post earlier and this is basically my attempt to making the most out of the machine.
Here is one of the overfilled boxes on its way to emptiness… you can also peek at my little one there.
I keep my scraps flat and this makes it so much easier for me to just get it cut cause I don’t have to do any pressing for most of the pieces. You can read more about how I process my fabric scraps right after a project in this post here>
I am just powering through and set up this system of sorting for the past two weeks.
To be honest, this is so much fun, I must say that cutting fabrics can now be listed as one of the therapeutic things to do in quilting.
I do love cutting scraps into usable sizes and shapes, but Accuquilt has surely taken this to another level! I have been taking few minutes here and there to run just a couple of fabric stacks from my scrap box under the roller. And within a few days, all of my scraps in the scrap box are all sorted into triangles and squares ready for piecing.
Of course, it could have been faster but I only have pockets of time here and there with little ones and a full-time job. So, what I decided to do was to just have the system set up and ready for me to just be at it in 5-10 minutes cutting away.
Tiny Scrap Pieces
Here is what’s left in the other filled box. The one I showed you earlier was EMPTY already and it feels so good. What is left in here seems like the one that will go straight into the leftover teeny tiny usable pieces. I still keep some leftovers that are about the same size as these after cutting through the Accuquilt too.
All the little scraps are also kept flat. Next time I am paper piecing something like
this project here, I can just grab and go.
If you ask me,
What size to cut fabric scraps?
What sizes are most useful to cut fabric scraps into?
or What are the strategies I use in cutting fabric scraps
I would say, think of how you like to sew them together.
I personally love Strips the most. Hence I often like to keep strings and cut 2.5″ strips. I can easily make quilts like this, or
project like this.
But you can also cut according to your next plan. If you’ve been inspired by
checkerboard quilts and want to make those, cut your scraps into small squares or strips. I personally love 2.5″ squares, not too small and fiddly, yet not too big that it overtakes the scrappiness feeling.
Cutting fabric scraps into triangles
For this round of scrap sorting, I am planning to make
a thousand mountain quilt with HSTs but again HSTs have so many possibilities. Maybe I’ll make a
scrappy ocean wave quilt. Maybe a Tree of Life quilt. All of those quilts in my list bucket of quilts to make someday.
So, with that quilts in mind, I made a lot of triangles cut. I love HSTs.
So far, I do love the ability to cut these triangles and sew them together without having to trim it afterward. Even the little dog ears have been trimmed!
I do find that this process also saves a lot of time. And I am so surprised that when the two triangles are pieced, and the seams are pressed, the HSTs turned out perfectly squared. So, I guess it also increases the accuracy of my piecing.
I would do another full review of the
Accuquilt Go! maybe in another 6-12 months’ time to give you more pros and cons.
I have so many plans with this machine and I am super excited to make more quilts with it. Thank you to those who left some tips on the blog about using the machine in
my last post about it. I now understand why the system has raving reviews. Some quilters even say that they would only make quilts that can be cut using the Accuquilt system. I can understand that now!
I wish I could cut all types and sizes with it too.
As for now, let me do with what I have first. Although I am very, very tempted to get new dies now.
Accuquilt Deals
If you want to get your hands on the Accuquilt, there are many Sales at the moment and you can even grab your first set at 25% off.
Don’t forget to check out other posts as well on organizing your sewing space. I highly recommend to get organize and really believe that the power of tidying up. It really does spark magic!
I don’t know about you, but my sewing space can really quickly overfill with things that I keep on buying! So, it is always good to declutter and assess from time to time.
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3 Comments
It is addictive isn’t it! I too love cutting my scraps into usable pieces. I love recycling denim fabric from jeans, and have quite a stash. Recently went through my scraps, and managed to cut loads of diamonds 2 ¼ (1 ¾ Finished) from bits that I would normally have thrown away; can’t wait to piece them together to make 3d effect cubes!
This is such a good idea! As far as tidying up and then having that “OK, It’s time to get busy!” feeling, I know it well. I always feel that way too once my work space is cleaned up and organized. And such a great feeling it is!
Not too long ago, I bought a bunch of dollar store bins, labeled them by color families – oranges & yellows, light & dark blues, greens & turquoise, pinks & reds, neutrals, etc. I made sure the scraps were either laid flat or folded and I really felt good about it when I was done. The bins are on shelves in my workroom closet where I have easy access. It’s great, but now, after giving myself a whack upside the head, I realized I can begin running all of them through my Accuquilt Go and have LOADS of half-square triangles, 2.5″ strips, little squares and more!
I can’t wait to get it done now. It will make my next quilt much faster, more colorful and lots of fun. Thank you so much for the great idea!
If you what solid you’re going to use, cut it with your print-right sides together and your pieces will be be put together lined up perfectly and ready to sew. A real time saver.
*Loved this blog