Sorting Scraps

My dining room is my sewing room, and slowly but surely it looks more and more like one.  A new makeover is underway, largely in part because of these drawers:



Eight humble drawers (white frames from Ikea, drawer fronts by my husband). Oh, but the plans I have for them! I mean for the outside. With some Mod Podge and braided cloth handles I intend to make them very especially ME!

The insides have already been put to good use!  The top drawers house large, flat items like my trusty Kona color card, sewing machine manual, misc. rulers, notions galore.  The bottom four drawers, which are deep, are home to my scrap collection.  It was the scraps that sent me drawer-hunting, really.  I've been sewing now for 2 years.  Scrap progression:

1.  Throw them away.  What could I possible make with scraps?
2.  Save every tiny bit.  Bottle those rainbows in canning jars.  Pull them out on rare occassions.  Make cards.
3.  Admit that I need a plan.  Start dividing scraps by warm/cool and big/little.
4. Bins overflow.  Create Bottled Rainbows.  Decide scraps must be dividided by actual color (ROYBG, etc.) and by 4 distinct sizes.



Enter drawers.  And, these nifty fabric bins (Kubb) designed by Ikea for wardrobe drawers. 



When I was weak and whiney from the flu, I did the sorting from the couch or table. It was astonishing how much effort it took to lift my hand over and over again.



The smallest cube is for my tiny scraps, ranging about 1-3". One long bin stores string scraps, while the other houses medium-sized chunks, ranging about 4-6". And, the largest scraps folded nicely in the large, square bin at the back of the drawer.  Drawers are red/pink, orange/yellow, blue/green and purple/neutrals.



Happy, scrappy day! I fully realize that this is rather over-the-top. I mean, drawers solely dedicated to scraps!?! But, hey, I don't have a sewing room. And I probably never will. This is my "investment" into organization and effeciency. And, since the sorting took place, I have most certainly made better use of my scraps. Being able to find the needed color/shape so easily makes a HUGE difference!

Confession:  I fear letting my scraps outgrow this solution.  May it not be!



The most troublesome scraps are those that are pieced - ie. cut-offs or cast-offs from some other project.  And then there are the multi-colored scraps, which are quite pesky too.  To keep things under control (ahem), I have designed a new project series specifically working from scraps in an improvisational manner.



I should have some finishes tomorrow!