DIY Fabric Scrap Garland
Hi guys! I never thought I’d say it, but I spent all last week painting the interior of my house white. I used to be the president of the Anti-White Wall Club, but after living for over 10 years with buttery yellow walls in our main living area I was ready for a change. The white feels completely fresh and I am loving it! The trendy white look is bright and beautiful, but I don’t want to give up the vibrant colorful feeling we’ve always had either, so I am adding colorful accents all over the place. My white mirror-turned-chalkboard looked great against the white wall, but I wanted to add a little something to make it stand out. This pretty {and easy!} fabric scrap garland was the perfect finishing touch.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who keeps a bag of scrap fabric around. You know — all those little pieces of fabric too pretty to throw away, but too small to sew with. I love finding creative ways to use my favorite scraps! For this project I started by picking out several scraps in the color scheme I was going for. I wanted a really good mix of colors, patterns, styles, and types of fabric.
Scrap Fabric Garland Tutorial
Tear the scraps into strips of various widths, from about 1 inch to 3 inches. Fold the strips in half and cut the ends to the desired length as shown above. You can make them all the same length and shape, or try a random look like I did above.
I used some natural-colored twill tape as the “string” for my garland. Grosgrain ribbon or twine would also work, depending on the look you like. Leaving about 6-12 inches of twill tape on the end for hanging the finished garland, pin the fabric scraps to the twill tape. You will want to sandwich the twill tape right up in the fold of each fabric strip as shown above. This way, your garland will be finished on both sides rather than having a right and wrong side.
Sew the fabric scraps to the twill tape, by stitching it with a sewing machine. Remove the pins as you come to them with the machine needle. When you are finished stitching the scraps onto the twill tape, press the fabric well so all the scraps hang straight. That’s all there is to it! You can make the garland as long or as short as you need.
I draped my garland across the top of my chalkboard and held it in place with a thumb tack on each end. I love the bright pop of color it adds to my chalk art displays! {A new printable chalk art template for fall will be coming soon.} These scrappy garlands would be cute across the tops of white kitchen cabinets or as an accent on a mantle — anywhere you want to add a little extra “oomph” to your decor!
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Amy
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Added this idea to my list of projects. I have so many fabric scraps (two huge plastic tubs and going on the third) from making steering wheel covers. Always looking for cute ways of using them up.
Wonder how many miles of garland I could make with my stash?
What a great and fun way to use up fabric scraps! I just might have to do this!
Great way to add color to a space! I LOVE fabric! Limitless possibilities!
I love it!! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for this morning that links to your tutorial:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-sew-your-fabric-scraps-into-a-fun-garland/2014/10/23/
–Anne
Thanks, Anne!