A Mess of Scraps!

Oh my, the scrap pile has been taken out again, and the floor of my room is covered in strips of fabric! No, I am not making another crazy quilt with these scraps (which I have yet to have sewn the backing on still :)...today I made a Ragamuffin Garland! Today has been such a rainy/stormy day...perfect for a fun project! Hop on over to this blog, the Nesting Place, to this post to see this garland. Mom found this idea this morning...isn't it neat looking? I just had to make one with all of my leftover scraps! (sorry about the dark pictures...rain!)

Basically all you do is take a base ribbon or long strip of fabric and tie smaller strips of fabric to it. You can even add ribbon, lace, fringe, and whatever else you can think of! On the Nesting Place, she even used scraps from old clothes! It looks really neat! I took my scrap pile and cut strips that were 12 inches long. All of my strips were different lengths too...some skinny...some fat. :) Get ready to tie some knots!

An easier way to tie the knots more quickly that I found helpful is to lay out your long base ribbon or fabric, and then lay the fabric that you want to tie on this way so that you'll be able to tie a couple on at a time. After you knot them, you can just slide them on down so that they scrunch together. Another tip is to slide them tightly together to make your garland fuller. I'll tell you...I was so tired of tying knots!!

After finally tying my last scrap of fabric, I decided to add some scrap ribbons that I had lying around. I also found some tiny soft pink rick-rack that I thought I'd might as well hang up there along with some lace. Now...where to hang it. :) I hung it over my bed because that's where the lady from the Nesting Place hung hers, and I thought it looked neat. :)

I purchased some of these curtain hangers from Target for like $5 for a pack and they work really well! I thought the clip on the end wouldn't be strong enough to hold something semi-heavy...but it sure is. :) You just put one hanger on each side of your garland, and that should do it!

I absolutely love how my garland turned out! When I first started tying my knots, I was thinking to myself "What on earth am I doing? This looks like a bunch of rags!" Haha! But about half way through, It was starting to come together and I love it now! Now that I have it up, I'm going to have to think of things to hang from it. I'm going to use my leftover curtain hangers and maybe some mini clothespins. Those would be cute! I was thinking about writing some of my favorite Scripture verses on pretty paper to cut out and hang. Pictures and special cards would be neat too! Y'all should try to make one! You will love it! I'm going to work on making one for Mom with her favorite colors next. :)

Comments

[The Nester]

this lady thinks you did a fantabulous job!!! Way to go! Yes, it is sooo full because you scrunched the fabric together, used different lengths and widths!! Right on!

It looks great!

[Lauren Christine]

It's SO cute! I must try it! :)

[Micah]

That is so cute! I will have to try it sometime. Goodness knows I have enough scraps!

[Caren]

Great job! I saw your comment on The Nester's site and had to come check out your work. I love it! I really need more scraps now...

[hyperactive lu]

I stumbled across your blog when searching for some ideas for mother's day gifts. Great blog and I liked your idea!

[hyperactive lu]

I stumbled across your blog when searching for some ideas for mother's day gifts. Great blog and I liked your idea!