Have you read Bonnie Hunter's
Scrap User System? I have taken my scraps and started cutting the fabric into usable sizes, starting with strips, 2 and 2.5 inches wide. Anything smaller than 2 inch is either given away or saved as a string. If the scrap is not long enough for a strip, it gets cut into squares. The sizes range from 5 inch down to the smallest of the squares, 1.5 inch.
Looking at Pinterest, I came upon
crazy mom quilt's link. I decided to try making an apron. I took out the 1.5 inch squares last weekend and started to sew them together with just a couple of guidelines:
1) alternate light and dark, and
2) don't sew two of the same fabrics together.
I measured the width and length of an apron I had and made a pattern
with newsprint.
The patchwork was sewn in rows. It was then quilted in a
grid pattern to the thinnest cotton batting, 1/8 inch.
The backing, the straps, and the pocket lining are Kona Kiwi.
The Kona Kiwi
backing and the patchwork where then pinned and cut out using the
newsprint pattern. The ties were cut 4 inch by the length of fabric (36
inch). The straps were ironed as if creating a double fold binding and
then top stitched. I used the walking foot which fed the fabric evenly
and left no puckers.
I can't wait to use the apron during my next scheduled visit to the soup kitchen. No matter what is spilled on this apron, I'm sure it won't show -- I hope to use it for many years to come!
