5 ideas for creating gorgeous things from fabric scraps

If you’re like me and can’t bear throwing anything away, even the tiniest remnants of beautiful fabric leftover from other projects, then scroll down for some lovely stitching ideas to whittle down your fabric stash.

Belts:
Great for the tiniest of scraps. Here I’ve used a length of 1.25″ cotton webbing and attached the textile pieces using a zig-zag stitch to stop fraying. I also added some little bits of microsuede and pleather with a smattering of antique brass studs. To finish off I slid one end of the webbing into a military flip-top buckle (with a little bit of Maria-style fancy attached to the metal flap) and used rubber-tipped flat pliers to clamp an end tip to the other end to give a nice clean edge.

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Stitched Ornament:
Boro—the ultimate use of scrap fabric! For this project I cut out two identical heart shapes from an old pair of jeans and layered cotton, linen, and lace scraps, attaching them with sashiko-style stitching. I then placed the front sides of the hearts together and machine sewed around the edge, leaving a small gap to allow turning inside out. I stuffed the heart with fiberfill and then handstitched the gap. I have a detailed tutorial here.
The two lovelies below are available in my Etsy store.

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Patches:
Another boro project with a big impact is mending patches. How I love how these elevate your jeans! These two have been through the wash dozens of times and just get softer and a more lived-in look every time.

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I have some ready-to-go ones here

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Tags:
I think these are adorable! So easy to make, and they use the teensyist bits of material. I machine-stitched onto a kraft tag ripped fabric with super-tattered edges and added little pieces from a coffee sack for a rustic appeal. To finish off I glued on some wording and threaded a length of jute twine through the hole. And as we Brits say…Bob’s your uncle, a cute one-of-a-kind gift tag, place marker, bookmark, junk journal embellishment…whatever you want.

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Tattered Flowers
Again, really easy to make, and they are a great addition to a bag or a hat or could be a brooch. I think I’ll add some to the boro-style denim scarf I’m working on at the moment. Here’s a step-by-step guide to making these.

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Hopefully, you’ll have seen something to get your creative juices flowing, and most importantly, made a dent in that stockpile of fabric!

Happy stitching,

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