I love sewing knit fabrics, especially sweatshirts, t-shirts, children's jogging pants... And if like me, you love that, you must also find yourself with a pile of bins full of scraps: large but also very small ones.

So, if at first we have a few ideas to reuse them, especially stuffing... well, at some point we get stuck and don’t know what to do with all these little precious pieces.

Today, I invite you to discover ways to make the most of your scraps of knit fabrics, we'll talk about french terry, ribbing, jersey...

Let's go!

Large scraps

When I talk about large scraps, I mean scraps that allow cutting one or several pieces of clothing (at least 50cm high and at least 70cm wide).

First idea that I use very regularly: making contrasting sleeves for sweatshirts, t-shirts, bodysuits... When I sew a sweatshirt entirely from one fabric, I often end up with a large scrap allowing me to cut raglan sleeves. You just have to choose another fabric to make the body in a contrasting fabric.

If it is not possible to cut the sleeve for me because the scrap is too small, I can cut sleeves for Martin, my 3-year-old godson, or make the body of his sweatshirt, or even a small pair of jogging pants. 

For sleeves, I also use cotton jersey when I have scraps from "t-shirts." The lighter cotton jersey is perfect for creating sleeves for a sweatshirt in french terry. 

With large scraps, it is also possible to make Complete baby clothes Especially baby bodysuits, t-shirts, small pants, pajamas, skirts, dresses... think of birth gifts to use up your cherished fabric scraps; it's always better they get used than just gather dust in your bins. 

If the scrap is long, another option is to use the piece to make an adult or child scarf.  I made a tutorial on this topic that you can find here.

Medium-sized scraps

These allow you to complete a small project entirely. 

Think especially of panties and boxer shorts, which use little fabric and allow you to use up low-height scraps. You can find a list of easy lingerie and underwear patterns to sew here.

Second idea, hats (with or without pom-poms) — we are right in the middle of the season. Hats are perfect for using up all those ribbed knit fabric scraps. The key point is the fabric's elasticity to ensure the hat is comfortable. Ribbed fabrics and ribbing are therefore ideal for this use. As a pattern, you can find the Yo hat by Yvanne Soufflet or the Artesane pattern, but there are many others!

Third idea: slippers and socks! 

Small scraps

With the very small scraps, it’s still possible to make hair accessories including super comfortable headbands in cotton jersey. As with the hat, the key point is the fabric’s elasticity, which must allow the headband to stay in place but also be comfortable. 

You can also make it with scraps of cotton jersey or viscose a belt a loop to match with her dress or a blouse. I don’t recommend it with french terry or sweatshirt fabric because they are too thick and will probably add bulk to the silhouette. I made a tutorial with poplin here.

Example of recovery with my cherry cotton jersey

Third idea for "patchwork" garments: you can make cuts in your pattern to create pieces that match your scraps. If you like original clothes, this is a really great technique to recover scrap pieces.

Some patterns already offer this kind of cut, but nothing stops you from creating your own. 

Example of scrap recovery for creating a "patchwork" garment 

The "micro" scraps

All the tiny knit scraps can be useful for making your stuffing. We use them for cushions, plush toys, small items... 

That's what I did when I made my ironing pig, for which you can find the tutorial here. 

There you go, I hope this article will help you make the most of your scraps to create lots of charming little projects.

Get your needles ready!