See that pic above? Ya...that’s my scrap pile. I have a really hard time throwing any scraps away because I see so much potential. I’d hate to throw something away that I could incorporate into another item. Scraps remind me of that show from the 90’s where they say “When you’re powers combine….. I am (come on….I bet you know how it ends)....Captain Planet”. Each scrap piece isn’t enough to make another item, but when combined with each other and a little creativity, some awesome things can be made.
For this blog, I thought I'd share one of my favorite patterns for scrap busting…The Kids Discoverer Tee.
I had this a few scrap pieces of dragon scales french terry that was odd-shaped. Pieces had been cut from them and I couldn’t get a whole shirt from any section. So I went through all my other scraps looking for fabrics that would coordinate. That’s usually my process. My scrap pile gets to a point that is almost ridiculous and I dump it all out on my living room. My kids and I spend a little time pulling out pieces that coordinate or look fun together. Then we clean up the rest and start the creative process with what we’ve paired up.
For the dragon scales, I found a black sweater knit, a grey sweater knit, a small piece of distressed knit, and grey french terry.
First shirt,
I used a scrap of scales for the sleeves, the distressed knit for the upper bodice and the black sweater knit for the lower bodice. Sleeves are one of my favorite things to use scraps for since they don’t require much fabric.
Second shirt,
I only had enough scales for the front lower bodice piece. I had some black left to do the sleeves and front upper bodice as well as the lower back bodice, but I couldn’t get the entire back upper bodice from what was left. I wanted it to match instead of introducing a fourth fabric into the shirt. The solution, add a seam down the middle of the upper back (that’s what the arrow is pointing at). Tip: If you split any of the pattern pieces, remember to add your ¼” seam allowance to the lines you have cut.
Third shirt,
There was enough of the scales scraps left to piece out each part of the Discoverer Tee, but I didn’t want to use them all in the same shirt. The grey french terry worked well in this version for the lower front and back bodice leaving the upper bodice and sleeves to be scales.
I was then left with lower front and back bodice pieces in the scales. The space-dye sweater knit had these 2 narrow but longer pieces so I was able to get long sleeves out of them. This boy of mine does love his long sleeve shirts.
And so out of those scraps I was able to piece together 4 Discoverer Tees. Not too bad for a day's work.
Moral of the story, use those scraps. Lay them out and let creativity take hold. Mix and match and add seams if you have to. I have thought that adding a diagonal seam across the lower bodice pieces could be really fun too. You might be surprised at how many things you can create from the scraps you have.
Happy Sewing,
Sam
