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Friday 19 June 2020

Acquiring and washing scraps

Washing – is it really needed?

I didn’t always do this, but at some point I realised that it’s best to pre-wash scraps. I started working with scraps from wraps that had already been used and washed so it wasn’t a big deal, but every now and then I’d get some scrap that was new. When Oscha (and admittedly, other brands) started selling scrap bags, there was a huge influx of new, unwashed and unused scraps. Washing became mandatory to make sure that my creations didn’t end up being ruined after a wash.

I still don’t take the time to ‘lock’ my scraps; first of all because I don’t have a lock machine and second because I’m too lazy. Sometimes that results into a bit of a mess in my washing machine (much to my husband’s dismay), especially if I have a lot of non-full-width scraps (they fray on all four sides instead of just two) but mostly that goes very well and I rarely lose any length.

A messy ball of threads comes out of the washing machineafter washing scraps unhemmed/locked
A messy ball of yarn gathered up after washing scraps unhemmed/unlocked.
Washed scraps
But mostly scraps are just fine after a wash, even unhemmed/unlocked.

Finding the right scraps

A portion of my scraps come from Oscha’s scrap bags. They’re awesome (no I don’t hold any shares in the company… just a fan) with large pieces (if you get the large scrap pack). If you need anything specific or larger, there are the scrap half metres or scrap metres. For the rest I hunt the BST (buy/sell/trade) groups for whatever it is I “need” or like.

There’s a slight drawback to that – I’m glued to my phone more often than I’d like. I need to ration myself more and just “be” a bit more. When your 4 year old starts demanding impatiently that you look at her instead of your mobile phone, that’s a clear sign some changes are overdue already!

Anyway, if you’re looking for something specific that appears to be elusive, I’m happy to help. I have my connections 😉 and I know how things work (on Facebook, at least). Together we should be able to find whatever is needed, I haven’t failed yet!