Scraps vs. “Crap”
Every day we make many decisions, big and small. What time to rise, what to have for breakfast, when to make an important call, and when to find time to take a break while working, etc. As a doll-maker and fiber artist, I also make a lot of decisions regarding fabric selection, color schemes, doll outfits, patterns, collection themes, among other things.
There is a decision that sometimes goes unmentioned, but I must complete after any project. This is whether a small leftover piece of material is a good scrap to save for later, or “crap” 😆 that will make its way to the trash or chopped up to stuff a doll or plushie. This also goes for the yarn or wool roving I use to make doll hair. I typically have a lot of yarn left when I style and cut dolls’ hair. I use scraps for tiny pockets for dresses, to add a little splash of color to a plushie or an embroidery project, and a lot of the time these scraps get cut up and used as stuffing for whatever I am working on.
For instance, yesterday I was working on cutting fabric for doll bodies from the different patterns I have made over the years. When I initially pulled out the fabrics I use for doll “skin”, I realized my lightest shade of fabric was running much lower than I remembered. I immediately knew I would only be getting one or two doll bodies out of it. As I was cutting out of this fabric, I was extra careful as to the amount I used for each doll. I had one doll, then two dolls, then made it to the third doll, but did not have enough to cut arms and legs for the third. I went back to my fabric storage area and double checked to make sure I had not overlooked another piece of the same fabric. I came up empty handed and discouraged.
I sat in front of my sewing machine feeling defeated and pondered on what to do. I still had to cut many more dolls from the other shades of fabric. Also, I had promised myself that I would not buy any materials for the months of June and July. Then…., suddenly my morning coffee kicked in and the light bulb in my brain turned on! I remembered my fabric stash that I keep under my worktable!! I pulled it out and began looking through it. I was doubtful yet hoping that I could find at least a tiny piece of the same shade of fabric. I looked through without pulling out any of it and did not find the scrap I needed. Again, I repeated to myself that I would find a piece because I was not going out to buy more. I began pulling out some scraps by the handful to be able to look through a bit better. Low and behold, I found the exact fabric and the exact amount I needed at the bottom of my basket. It was folded in four so I could have easily overlooked it again. Just imagine how ecstatic I was over a piece of scrap material. I must have looked like a madwoman grinning and yelling but I was just happy and relieved.
The scrap vs. crap event was a lesson for me. I was very grateful for the day I stashed it because I must have seen it as a great piece of scrap destined to be used in the future. I could have easily classified it as “crap” and it would have been a long-forgotten memory. I tend to discard things that I deem unusable. I know….it is bad. And I do this because I cannot work with too many things around me, I must feel organized to be able to create. I sometimes question myself in this practice because I have an aversion to keeping things too long, but I now see that I need to continue the “no scrap left behind” mentality.
We live in a society that tends to unnecessarily shop, store for a rainy day, and hoard all kinds of things, and trust me when I say I am very much part of this cycle. I would love to say I hate to shop, although lately I only really enjoy shopping for materials for my work. I am methodically changing my ways for the better and we can all do that. Creating and life itself has taught me many lessons. No matter how small a scrap of fabric seems to be and how difficult it may be stopping myself from trashing it, saving it is worth it! Thinking ahead and being frugal saves me a large amount of time, money, and frustration. This lesson can be applied to many things in life. I am sure you can too.
Save your scraps! This saves our environment, money and our precious time and sanity!
And btw, so sorry for the random usage of the word crap in my shop notes.
Just sharing my true self!
Be well my friends!
🌎🌱💛
