Why am I pressing this batting?
And why does it seem to be in two pieces?
We all have odd sized pieces of batting scraps and the question is what to do with them? Some quilters think that you can only use them to stuff pillows or make pet bed filling. Well, not so! You can use your batting scraps in quilts, quilted apparel such as jackets, as well as in smaller quilted projects.
Batting is too expensive to throw away so I try to use my scraps as much as possible. I made a short video tutorial about how prepare quilt batting scraps for use in any quilted project. Here are a couple of general notes about how I use batting scraps. Link to video at bottom of this post.
HOW TO USE SMALL BATTING SCRAPS
If the pieces are small–about 15 inches wide by 15 inches long or less, then I save them for mug rugs or plate mats. I make plate mugs which measure about 14 inches square. I eat in front of the TV most of the time and use them to hold my hot plate of food in my lap. I guess they are place mats or maybe I should call them lap mats LOL!
I also these larger plate mats to cover my keyboard when I’m having a snack while watching a video on my PC.
The text fabric is one of my faves: Good Vibes Only from Windham Fabrics. It’s an older fabric but some Etsy shops may still have it.
By the way, these plate mats and mug rugs are made with all types of batting scraps and fabric.
If I have leftover test blocks, then they get used as the top and even backing for these mats and mug rugs. This block is one of my quilt-as-you-go experiments where I was practicing adding a flanged binding for the first time. (Good learning–lots more to practice as you can see.)
Sew All of Your Stash–Including Batting Scraps!
HOW TO USE LARGE BATTING SCRAPS
My larger pieces are sometimes long–12 inches or more by 24 or more inches. Or large pieces could be squareish pieces. But, on their own, they are not large enough to use for a small quilt. However, the large scraps from a couple of quilts add up to enough batting to use for a new quilt–if the leftovers were all in one piece.
Many people hand stitch with a large zigzag stitch to join large pieces of batting–that’s one way to join the sections. There are tutorials out there showing this technique. I don’t have the patience for that kind of hand sewing.
Instead, I use fusible batting tape. It’s fast and very light weight. My favorite brand is shown here– available on my shopping page on Amazon {it’s an affiliate link} and available at local quilt shops. I usually use the 2 inch wide version.
Batting Scraps Video Tutorial
Here’s my video tutorial showing how I join the batting scraps with fusible batting tape. I hope that you find it useful.
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I’ve been saving my batting scraps for a long time. I’ve purchased the batting tape. I’ve been reluctant to test it. Thank you for the video. I’ll move forward with more confidence
Glad to hear that this was useful to you and it will save you a bit of money.
Can we buy yardage of fusible interfacing (hopefully with a discount coupon) and cut 2″ strips to accomplish the same thing?
HI, I am afraid that I have only used batting tape so I can’t comment on your idea. I use the tape because it is fast and my roll has lasted a long time. You can probably buy it with a discount coupon as well.
Thank you I will try this on my extra batting.