What do you do when you have some really nice leftover fabric from a sewing project? You know, fabric that’s too small for a full project on its own but too big to toss in with the rest of your small scraps in the scrap bin. Here’s a few things I’ve done to help me use up those bigger scraps in my fabric bin.

First, The Patterns!

I used 3 different patterns to help me use up my fabric scraps. These are my go-to patterns for things like this. The patterns in order are:  

#1 The Tidal Top by Love Notions 

#2 Simplicity 1072

#3 The Oversized tee by Ellie and Mac

 

Make a T-shirt with front contrast!

 

A few months ago I made some amazing Velvet pants that I completely Love! I had a big piece of stretch Velvet fabric left over that wasn’t quite big enough for shorts or a shirt. Coincidentally, I had a large cut of some jersey knit fabric that matched the velvet.

So I used the Tidal pattern from my stash and mashed the two together. I used the Velvet for the front contrasting section and the jersey knit for the sleeves, back and neck facing. Now I have a fun shirt that matches my velvet pants. It’s super comfy and I can wear it with pretty much anything in my closet. 

Make a Sweat-Shirt with front contrast!

I was in the same situation after I made a leopard pair of pants out of stretch velvet. Big scrap of fabric, too small for a full project. This time I used Simplicity 1072, which is a great pattern to have in your stash. It includes pants, a skirt and a shirt pattern. The shirt pattern happened to have a cute contrasting front detail like the Tidal pattern, but with a contoured shape. It was more of a sweatshirt vibe so I wanted to try that rather than use the Tidal again.

It was perfect for using my leftover leopard fabric. I had used Simplicity 1072 before with some other fabric and was really pleased so I had no reservations about using it with this leopard fabric. I wore this shirt twice then my best friend loved it so much she swiped it and moved across the country. She’s my favorite so I wasn’t even the least bit mad. I’m just happy someone other than me like the stuff I make.

 

Give Your Sleeves some Contrast!

After I gave my previous leopard shirt away I was still wanting something to coordinate with my leopard pants.  I happened to be rummaging through my scraps and found a smidge of leopard fabric at the bottom of my bin. BINGO! So I used The Oversized tee pattern from my stash to refashion a shirt and give it leopard sleeves! Because it’s a drop-should over sized t-shirt, the sleeve construction is more simple and uses less fabric. I had just the perfect amount of leopard fabric for these sleeves! 

I feel like all these makes can be interchangeable and since they are made from fabric I love, I will always wear them. Using up pieces of fabric like this can totally help rejuvenate some old items in your wardrobe and make them feel new again. There’s so many other ways you can scrap bust but these are my favorite ways to use those bigger scraps of fabric.

 

Thanks for reading!