What do you do with your fabric scraps? I promise this is not a green post.

The title question seems to come up in blog land quite often, and usually fills me with terrible guilt. Wasting fabric, I know, is a henious crime, even aside from the modern environmental angst we must  dutifully adopt as consumers.
When I first started sewing, it was mainly doll clothes, and my mother's scraps. This induced no guilt in me what so ever. I chopped and slashed, hand embroidered and pintucked, and made just as many wadders as I did fashionable outfits for my dolls. It was great fun, then I turned 12.
My parents instituted a wardrobe budget for me. This was suitably small, and had to provide me with all of my clothing. I was given a lump sum every quarter. (We were a frugal family, and most of my wardrobe at this point was hand- me- downs (Thank you, thank you my stylish  and extravagant Sydney cousins) and things my mother had made - and she does not like clothes sewing).
I started to sew, seriously, for myself, sewing in Australia in the 80's being cheaper than buying RTW,  and believe me, I eeked out every scrap of fabric I could, always buying 10cm less than Vogue or Simplicity told me to, and managing in most cases to squeeze out the garment. Now that I think of it, this may have been part of the reason why my pastel check blouse in completely the wrong colour and shape never pleased me, pattern and print matching was not within my fabric budget. A wadder was a financial disaster. I did not enjoy this necessary frugality. I learnt early that sewing with cheap fabric is a waste of money.

Now, being gainfully employed and having a completely self imposed sewing budget, I am still frugal with my sewing (my husband would be surprized to read this, fortunately he doesn't look at my blog), but my application is quite different. My time is valuable, and I don't buy RTW for myself not just because I object to  buying Chinese made garments, and make it better anyway (I have a big-headed opinion of my sewing) but because in the time I spend on alterations to RTW, I could make a (generally) well fitting garment.
I buy good quality fabric, and buy with great pleasure, mostly well in advance, in vaguely garment lengths, with plenty for fabric matching, should I need it. This means that I often have a bit too much fabric.
Can you make a top requiring 1.2m from 2.0m of fabric? I often fold up the fabric again and put it away, so as not to waste 80cm. There is 5m of Liberty Tana Lawn in my stash that has been suffering in this way for far too long due to my wasteage fear problem.
I notice Roobeedoo does this as well. I felt better when I read this post.
How about from 1.5m?
What do you do with 30cm and scraps of very expensive and luscious terry wool jersey.

After making this top I put it away the scraps in the cupboard for 3 years where, HORROR, the fabric was nibbled by insects. (The top wore out from constant use over 3 seasons)
What is worse, is that after I had carried out insect inspection of all the fabric, rewashed, deep cleaned and  insect repelled (last winter) I put the insect damaged 30cm and scraps back in the cupboard, next to the despised- by- insects- among- others polar fleece, which you may notice I have just used up - except for the scraps.
See how I wasted my time revisited my childhood sewing practices?

It was still great fun.

Here you can see how I dealt with the insect holes. Much more appealing than darning don't you think? The way the edges of the merino jersey curl up at the edges of the petals is very pleasing to me.

I had considered felting fulling this piece, all the fabrics being wool, but it was only just big enough to fold over and sew into a cowlish sort of tube to keep my neck warm.

 It is very cosy, even if most of the flowers are invisible.
Unfortunately, one member of the teenage fashion panel told me that wearing the cowl made me appear to have 3 chins. What was even worse was that my husband agreed with her!

I shall wear it anyway - but maybe not in public.




The scrappy soft slippers are for my poor studying daughter. Queenslanders are not good houses for winter temperatures.
 
The mittens would probably have turned out better had I managed to find my Green Pepper pattern, but tracing around your hand works pretty well. These will be good for running gear, so I can throw them in the washing machine - not something I like to do with my hand knitted gloves.
Do you think I could pretend that I was being virtuous, thrifty and green?
 I don't think so either. I even feel mildly guilty - I could have made some work trousers from my  boring sensible sewing list.
Maybe there is enough of that green merino jersey left to make something.......

Waste time, waste fabric, waste space - take my pick I suppose!