What ideas do the people on this Forum have for using up handwoven fabric scraps left from sewing?

Comments

Aunt Janet (not verified)

When I gave my niece some peices of handwoven fabric she made: fingerless gloves, stitched pieces onto pillow tops, put scraps onto garments, made little bags, and stitched some napkin rings.

tien (not verified)

I'm using the scraps from my wedding dress to make bookmarks, to be given out as favors at the wedding!  I'm using heavy-duty fusible web between the layers - coat fabric on one side, dress fabric on the other - and stamping my/Mike's names and the wedding date on the dress-fabric side (since that's pure white).

Tien

Guiding Myth (not verified)

You could sew them together patchwork style and make a jacket or vest.  Candiss Cole-Footitt has a example on candisscole.com.  You can (sort of) see the fabric in her Nomadic Fabric Collection.  If you click on the Collection 'button' you can see a picture of her booth with a patchwork style jacket in front.  Also you can see 2 patchwork pieces in the Ikat Collection section.

You could make some patchwork style pillows.

Bags and purses were my usual use for scraps, but, for really useful ones you'd need bigger pieces.

One time with small handwoven scraps and silk fabric scraps I made some fun barretts.    I knew someone who made hats - the dramatic kinds worn before the mid-60's.  She showed me a handwoven-scrap hat she made (small pieces were sewn together crazy quilt style).

Otherwise - I have at least one (more likely two) large rubbermade container filled with scraps and rejected fabric in my garage!

Stephanie Stanley 

Kristina (not verified)

 I like to sew small bags for knitting stuff.  I` m  always knitting several projects, so it`s nice to have  some bags   , that the skeins and threads do not mix.

tien (not verified)

Here's a photo of the bookmarks I made as wedding favors:

And here's the text that I'm putting into the ceremony programs to explain the favors:

Wedding Favors

The bookmark tucked inside this program is made from the handwoven fabrics in the wedding dress.  Over the course of the last year, Tien (a weaver and seamstress) designed, wove the fabrics for, and carefully sewed the dress, building symbolism into each part of it.

The wedding-coat fabric (front of the bookmark) consists of gold Tibetan eternity knot patterns against a white silk background.  The eternity knot symbolizes wisdom, compassion, and eternity.

The wedding-dress fabric (back of the bookmark) has a subtle three-strand Celtic braid woven in white silk.  The three-strand braid symbolizes “eternity” in Celtic lore.

Finally, the ribbon decorating the front opening of the coat (not in the bookmark, alas) has gold Chinese double-happiness characters (symbolic of a happy marriage) woven into the ribbon.

Together, the three fabrics symbolize “Eternal Love” - our hope and best wishes, not only for our own marriage, but for all our guests as well.

We hope this bookmark will remind you of this happy occasion for years to come!

 

suzyhok (not verified)

 Tien... What an inspiration you are!!! 

:-) Suzy

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