Quilt Now - UK (2020-04)

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MY MONTH

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Join Stuart Hillard as he reveals his top 10

tips for making the most of your scraps

Spring is here and with it my need to

cleanse and organise my sewing space

becomes more intense. Every year, around

this time I perform a brutal deep clean

of my sewing space and key to that is

organising my fabric scraps. Once my

thread is detangled, rulers wiped over and

neatly hung, my patterns and paperwork

ordered and fi led, I turn my hands to the

big job – the fabric! Yardage and bolts are

easy, the scraps can take a little longer

but it’s worth it! Keeping your scraps in

an organised and ready-to-use state is so

much more appealing than wading through

a massive pile of creased and tangled bits

heaped on the fl oor of your sewing room!

Follow my scrap storage tips and you’ll

always be ready to sew!

1

Start by heaping your scraps into piles of

the same or similar colour. Depending on

the quantity you have or the type of quilt

you intend to make, you might further sort

the fabric into light, medium and dark, or

sort them by genre – for example novelty

or Christmas-themed.

2

Iron each fabric to remove the wrinkles.

Mary Ellen’s Best Press is wonderful to

removing stubborn creases.

3

Remove any tangled thread or tiny

off cuts that will be of no use. Any

off cuts you aren’t going to use might be

someone else’s treasure so consider gifting

these bits to a friend or local quilting

group. Fold your fabric neatly and stack

them onto shelves or in drawers ready

for use. This might be the point you

pop the kettle on and consider it job done

but if you have the time and inclination,

keep going!

4

Grab the largest pieces of fabric,

yardage that has been chopped into

and trim off any odd-shaped chunks,

STUART

HILLARD

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Scrappy Sixteen Patch

Use Scraps, Sew Blocks, Make 100 Quilts by Stuart Hillard 

is published by Pavilion. Photographs by Rachel Whiting