Monday, February 7, 2011

Waste Not Want Not

Some people might call this being cheap but I like to consider it being thrifty.  I hate wasting perfectly good size pieces of backing (some call it foundation) after it is cut away from the rug before binding.  Or, for that matter smallish pieces of backing left over from a design you've drawn out with adequate margin.  So this is what I do:

The first picture has excess cut away margin from a rug that I trimmed to bind.  Those two wide pieces were sewn together with strips of cotton around the perimeter so that it would fit on my hooking frame.  Those two center pieces will be plenty for me to hook a couple small ornaments on or a mug mat.  Waste not Saundra.....



This next picture is backing which wasn't needed for the design I'd drawn out to hook and so why just add more waste to the piece?  So I trimmed it off, serged the edges and this will make a couple nice small phone purses, eye glass cases or maybe even a candle mat.  So I've some hooking projects in the wings using something that might otherwise have ended up in the trash can..... but NOT in THIS house.

5 comments:

  1. I think that's a great idea....hoping to do the same thing with some of my extra from the rug I'm currently working on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I never knew the cotton would work with gripper strips, but now I know and can use my scraps too! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great idea, Saundra.
    I have a friend who sews backing strips together even if they are only about two inches wide - she might have six or seven strips sewn together. I just can't be that frugal - but I do use leftover backing to stuff pillows, dolls, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have always used strips of leftovers, and sewn them to my foundation so it will fit on my frame. Never thought of using cotton strips, though; should make it easier on the arms-less scratch! Thanks for sharing that tip!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks everyone. Kelley, when I got my first gripper frame my arms always looked like I'd been in a cat fight with scratches everywhere. But now I barely get scratched. I guess it had to take some time for me to learn to manipulate my arms when hooking with the grippers.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to visit and I always welcome comments.