Quilt in a Day Forums

I make cat pads [used to cover where kitty sleeps] and donate to animal welfare league

Charity - give quilts to fire stations to give out to fire victims. They don't care the quality fabric - they are just glad to have something to wrap up in and take comfort from. Give easy quilts to animal shelters and use old blankets as batting.

I've seen some nice tutorials online for making rustic-looking Christmas tree ornaments and garlands from scraps.

I also use light weight interfacing on too light fabric. It is amazing how much it helps! I have sewn for over 50 years gulp...hope to sew a lot longer too. Anyhow, you can imagine my stash of need to use pieces. Quillows for cars are great because we never know when weather will turn bad and maybe a no gas or breakdown will necessitate one. I too make a lot of things for charity. These tend to be what was i thinking pieces mixed with solids Also they make cute aprons or borders (of a pattern you want to try out) as the bottom of a house coat. Also a crazy patch backed with the light interfacing as a base. Also, I'm trying to learn which threads to use on an embroidery machine that caught my eye (and now i need to learn) so the stash helps put here too and will become (fussy cuts--or fussed-over cuts depending on how i do) for scrap quilt star centers.

Yes, absolutely right lower count fabric will not last through time, father's side used lesser and they wore out, quickly. Mother's used fortrell, and will never wear out.

But I learnt something, in this page, using my interfacing, I hear what you say, a shame to throw anything away.

If using lower quality fabric, Your seam allowance is critical. Quarter inch must be accurate. I usually take a thread more than 1/4"

I had literally tons of that stuff and I either sold it or donated it. I won't use now it either. When I have made quilts out of it in the past, it didn't hold up and it looked terrible. Blah!

I seem to be a continual recipient of low quality cotton, donated to me hard to thrash.. I've been making lots of sew as you go, strip & crazy patch bibs, swing purse, and placemats. Even the backing is lower count.. At times I double the fabric to make/donate baby quilts.

Many churches have quilting groups that will take your fabric. And quilt shops might have a line on groups that would accept it also. In our town the quilting groups meet at the library so the library might also have a phone number to call.

With donated fabric such as you describe our church group would tear or cut it in strips and fold the strips or pull them through bias strip makers...we would nail 3 strips together and braid them and sew them into rugs or table/ place mats...or even mug mats(coasters)...depending on how thin the fabric was....Sonya