10 Ideas on how to Use up "Less than Ideal" Fabrics.
We all have some. Sometimes we’re given it - maybe we buy it and when we got it home it wasn’t what we thought. Maybe we inherited it in a stash from someone else. Doesn’t really matter. Let’s talk about ways to use this fabric.
Before I go any further - I think you know I’m not a fabric snob - so this isn’t mean to insult fabric. I like fabric. Period. I like coarser fabrics, decorator fabrics, outdoor fabrics - wools, cottons, linen blends, bamboo and I’d probably even like banana fabric like I saw in a video I watched recently (start at 36:01)!
But sometimes we get fabric - and maybe it has a flaw in it, or is thinner than we’d like, or just not “ideal”. I’ve got some ideas on how to use that fabric.
Use it for crafts that use hot glue, string, wreaths, or things such as bean bags for children, etc.
Use it for the foundation fabric in making string quilts or some types of quilt-as-you-go.
Make doll quilts or clothes with it for young children. They won’t care. Promise.
Cut it up small and use it in scrap quilts. No one will know if it is coarser than you’d like or even small flaws are completely lost if used in small pieces (not holes - but printing problems). They work very well in string quilts or crumb quilts because there are so many seams and small pieces. Cut the pieces small. Lots of seams help the integrity of the fabric. The opposite of this is true if the fabric is thick and heavy. Don’t use it for really small pieces but you can use it as the center of a crumb quilt - keeping the piece a bit bigger and work around it with small pieces.
Use it on the inside of bags - there are many times the insides aren’t seen at all - as they are covered up with other fabric pieces. But they could be used inside pockets or linings.
Use it to practice free motion quilting.
Use it to make practice blocks or to learn a new technique you are unsure about.
Make quilts for the homeless. Sometimes they actually want “uglies” - warm, but not beautiful or expensive looking to help discourage them being stolen or sold. You could use decorator weight fabric or sample books, taken apart, for these.
Add it to piano key borders. You can get by putting a lot of different fabrics in these borders without affecting the center of the quilt itself.
If there is only a small flaw in the print, you can use it for binding if you make a double fold binding. Because a double fold binding has most of the fabric hidden either in the seams or the inside, you can often place a small flaw or misprint on the inside of the fold. If you use a double fold binding, a thinner fabric also works for binding because it is doubled - in effect, making use of a less than ideal fabric in a useful way. (Can you tell I’ve been doing binding lately?)
And of course, you can always “GIVE IT AWAY” to someone who does want it! You just never know why someone else might want fabric - maybe it’s to tie up tomato plants, or make strips for flag football for a teen youth game, add texture to a fidget mat, crafts with schools kids, etc.
In both of my series featuring Upcycled fabrics - both the blue and the green series, I have often had to work with some fabric that others might toss. If I can find a way to use it, I do. There have been times that “too thin” fabric made its way to my friend’s bucket of scraps because I simply didn’t feel like dealing with it. But I try to use as much as I possibly can!
And there you are - some legitimate ideas for how to use fabric that, at first glance, seems “not worthy” of your gorgeous creations!
Are there any ‘other’ ideas that you have to help make use of this type of fabric? Put yours in the comments, please!
Have a great day wherever you are reading this! Thanks for coming along with me on my quilting/sewing journey!
Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store here!
Here’s one of the beauties we have! This is a kit we have available just for you!
