We're still working through those scraps as we gear up for Back to School Sewing. Sarah is sharing her scrap projects and an adorable Free Motion Applique pattern from Stitch Art. FMA is a great way to use up small scraps and customize your kids' wardrobes. Of course baby items are always a good option for using up scraps too, and Sarah chose the Bapron from Craftiness is not Optional for her woven project.

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Hello there! This is Sarah and I am so excited to participate in the second Review Team Scrap Swap. The first one was so much fun and I love the excitement of opening up the package to see what goodies my fellow sewists sent me. I got my knit package from Paige and my woven package from Nicole.

The knit scraps were a great assortment of different colors, so much so that I was having a hard time picking three for my project that I thought really coordinated. I hear many people say they don’t like things “matchy” but I have never been that person. I envy people who can look at fabrics that, on the surface, don’t look like they would coordinate at all, but when sewn together in a project look fantastic. I decided that I needed to step out a bit from my comfort zone and just go for something more free form. I had read a tutorial on the Lil Blue Boo blog about a cascade skirt and thought that would be a great way to use a lot of the scraps I received. I used the ruffle pattern piece from the lil blue boo tutorial (http://www.lilblueboo.com/2011/09/cascading-ruffle-skirt-a-tutorial-and-free-download.html) and a circle skirt pattern that I cut down to make my skirt. I ended up using 6 of the scraps that came in my assortment for the skirt. It came out really cute and it’s so bright and colorful.

Since several of the scraps I used for my skirt had a Hawaiian or tropical feel to them, the Molly the Mermaid free-motion applique from StitchART seemed like the perfect coordinate to the ensemble. Not to mention that my daughter is fascinated by mermaids and would dress in mermaids or Disney characters every single day. Again, a technique like free motion applique is something that my type A personality would not normally gravitate towards. But Molly is so cute and I was trying to press myself to do new things, so I gave it a whirl. Free motion applique is remarkable fun and easy. This cute little gal come together in about 20 minutes and made the perfect adornment for the store bought top. I was nervous at first that I’d make a mistake or not get my stitching even (oh, the stress of contrasting colored thread!) but I quickly discovered that errant stitches are easily doodled over and become part of the overall look. Plus, my daughter loved it. She saw it as soon as she came down from bed the morning after I made it and yelled up to me to make sure that the mermaid outfit was for her. I have a feeling I will be making a red-haired version at some point to mimic her favorite mermaid!

For my woven scrap mix, I got a gorgeous assortment form Nicole. I flitted about looking for ideas for a while before I saw the Craftiness Is Not Optional Bapron pattern. I knew that was the perfect scrap busting project for me. I have so many friends having babies and I am always looking for cute and different handmade items to give them as gifts. I love a nice blanket or onsie as much as the next gal, but I am a sucker for really functional gifts that people can get a lot of use out of and will not get tons of (at the last babyshower I was at, the mom-to-be got no less than 10 blankets!) So insert the Bapron. I made two reversible Baprons with a different scrap fabric on each side, four scrap pieces total. The only material I used outside of my scraps was bias tape. I love the over the arm design of these and they were so simple and fast to sew. Even someone who always waits until the last minute could whip up a set of these for a baby shower in an evening (procrastinators unite!) I am putting my two girly Baprons aside for a co-worker whose shower is in a few weeks!

I had so much fun participating in the scrap swap and made some fantastic items in the process. Hopefully you will find some inspiration to dig in your scraps for some scrap-busting projects too!