WHAT TO DO WITH FABRIC SCRAPS, FOAM AND FILLING WASTE
- beth swade
- Feb 2
- 2 min read
One of the reasons I got into upholstery was the overwhelm I feel about waste, I worked in the footwear industry for 15 years and seeing the amount of samples and general stuff that just would end up in the bin makes me feel incredibly stressed and sad.
But even in my tiny studio I was beginning to feel the ‘stuff’ overwhelm take hold again. It’s taken me a while to figure out what the best thing to do is (even with storage- the temptation to buy new plastic storage has been high!)
So I am starting simply by organising and trying to make sure that I know what I have.
I feel like this is a good start, with my reclaimed plastic boxes I have all my small fabric waste scraps in a semi order, and that they are visible and so more usable. I have put the boxes onto wooden boards on wheels so they are really flexible in my space, and I can move around as big projects come in. Allot of this fabric waste is small bits that are strange shapes that I have left from projects- I always give any good lengths back to the customer (and the scraps if they request) but I still have the snips and bits from sides and corners!
I have then also got a bin full of the bits that are too small to go in the green boxes, and I snip these up immediately and they go in a little bin- when this gets too full its time to make something, so its kind of a visual reminder that if I am going to save it I need to make it into something!
This year I am going to start trying to use some of these scraps and ends to make small interior things, so keep your eyes pealed and also let me know if you have any other good ways of storing fabric, its trickier than it seems!
