What to do with small scraps

[sewingrandma]

I used to have a lady that would take them to stuff dog beds for the different shelters locally but now the shelters feel like the scraps are a safety issue (I thought that when I started saving them but felt if the shelters wanted them I wasnt' going to deny them ). Now I have 3 huge bags full of scraps and don't know what to do with them. Any ideas ladies. I don't mean projects for me to sew but maybe the community could use. The pieces are too small to make doll clothes, only thing I can come up with is small squares, and I do mean small, for quilts but there is very little cotton, mostly flannel, knits and fleece. Thanks for any ideas.

[MartySews2]

If the shelter doesn't want them, toss them. That's what I would do.
Marty

[sewingmom]

I'm thinking that you could combine small amounts of the fabric into garden compost, put it out for birds to use for nesting material, use to fill low places in your yard covering the fabric with a good layer of dirt, incorporate in the mulch for your vegetable garden. Its a shame that there aren't fabric shredders so you could just shred them up small and find many stuffing uses for toys etc.
Sewingmom

[LeapFrog Libby]

You reminded me of something. A friend who cuts family hair at home saves the clippings and in the early spring she puts them outside on the edge of her porch and makes sure they are in plain sight and the birds love gathering them for nests. Why not ravel some of the smaller pieces while sitting watching tv or some other time that your hands could do this with no care or thought required. I have done this before when trimming away cottons that had raveled because I had them stored wrong. Sometimes lately, I have done this with small pieces that I cannot give away.. I am really having trouble finding people to take free Fabric recently. I just do not know that many people wo are into sewing nowadays..

[sewingrandma]

Sewingmom, you really have a great idea. We have lots of dips In our lawn that we could probably fill with shredded fabric. I'm thinking I could take my rotary cutter to help with this and I'm sure if I used mostly knits it will take a few mores years to decompose than if I used cottons. I also have a compost pile I can put the cottons in. I would love to put out some fabric threads for the birds but I don't want to lure them to their death. We have cats that come to our yard for the birds. I don't know how many times I've chased them away. I love cats but only if they are indoor cats like ours. The man across the street from us at last count had around 50 outdoor cats that he keeps fed, 'fixed' and their shots up to date. He calls it a sanctuary so it is legal with the city yet we were never notified about it being OK'd until it was OK'd.
Libby, the new group I just joined we are all sewists and it is so nice to get together and talk sewing and help each other cut out items needed for the babies. No one knows who would take these scraps though.