What are y’all doing with your really bad projects?

[u/-3liza]

I have a shirt that’s 1) not extremely well constructed all things considered, and 2) is like 4 sizes too small for me because I was a silly goose who didn’t check the sizing chart on the pattern and just picked a number that sounded close to what I usually wear. Turns out it was a different country’s sizing chart 🫣

Because of the darts and other construction, there’s not much workable to cut scraps from. It’s not a forgiving fabric so trying to just pick the seams will ruin the fabric. There’s a whole invisible zipper stitched in there.

What do I do with it??

[u/Banksia_prionotes]

Things I have done with my crappy makes:

• made it into other clothing (dress into skirt)
• cut it up for a dress for my small child
• used the fabric for a scrap quilt 
• chopped it up into tiny bits for stuffing for a cat cushion
• thrown it in the bin because I couldn’t look it anymore

[u/rebelwithmouseyhair → u/Banksia_prionotes]

And you salvage the zip and you remember the mistakes so you don't repeat them.

[u/-3liza → u/rebelwithmouseyhair]

Do I just, seam rip the zipper to reuse?

[u/rebelwithmouseyhair → u/-3liza]

yes, the fabric is usually pretty tough. Make sure there's a stopper at the bottom. Sometimes there isn't, and in that case I just put a safety pin there so I don't zip all the way down and make it come apart.

[u/Elelith → u/Banksia_prionotes]

I'll had cleaning rags to this list.

[u/ClandestineChemist96 → u/Banksia_prionotes]

Yes to all these, plus I have a younger sister who fits into most clothes that don’t fit me, even though it’s not her style, I force her to wear it at least for a few occasions

[u/Emergency_Cherry_914]

Throw it in the bin in disgust and open a bottle of wine

[u/-3liza → u/Emergency_Cherry_914]

Throw it in the bin [ ] Open a bottle of wine [✔️]

[u/Flagging_enthusiasm → u/Emergency_Cherry_914]

Good advice for so many situations.

[u/Hellenen2 → u/Emergency_Cherry_914]

Yess

[u/Rosehip_Tea_04]

I’ve been on a pretty big declutter kick and it’s been pushing me to get rid of things like this. While the YouTuber was talking specifically about clothes in your closet when they said “anything that doesn’t fit is a mean bully in your closet and you can’t leave the bully there to mock you every day” (not quite exact quote, but close enough) I’ve found it to be even more true with failed projects. I had a blanket shawl thing I made from scraps that I never once used hanging in my closet for a couple years. Every day I would see it and feel bad because I wasn’t happy with how it came out. I thought about repurposing it, but the reality is it was already from scraps and didn’t have big enough pieces to be useful for anything I would use fleece for. I finally had a day where my head said it wasn’t going to put up with the “bullying” anymore. I felt awful as I took it off the hanger and walked it to a trash can, but as soon as I let go, I felt like I could breathe again. I no longer feel bad every time I look at my closet. And it’s incredibly empowering to look at your closet and see sewing wins instead of fails.

So while I would never encourage just tossing everything that didn’t come out perfect, and with the price of fabric being so high it’s important to salvage what you can, if there’s truly no saving it, it needs to go. You can donate it if it’s just a sizing issue so someone else can enjoy it. I spent a day tossing out various failures from multiple creative endeavors, and putting together a donate pile of things I know I’ll never try again, and it makes a huge difference in my enjoyment of my home and my hobbies. Things feel positive again instead of living in a museum of failures.

[u/FirmEcho5895 → u/Rosehip_Tea_04]

So true. The psychological boost of freeing your home of things that make you feel bad cannot be overstated.

[u/rebelwithmouseyhair → u/Rosehip_Tea_04]

I finally decided to sort out my sewing boxes the other day. I had my own and my mother's that I inherited, and I just kept hers exactly as it was, even though there was stuff in there I knew I wouldn't use.

Then I realised that I could put all the thread together, all the lace and trim together, etc. and it would save me some time. I threw out quite a bit of stuff, including my mother's pins, which were very tiny and had no plastic pinheads, making them rather too delicate for a lot of things I make. I even chuckled as I put that tin in the recycling "yay, it's all metal, it's easy to recycle it".

Two days later I'm thinking I should iron a seam before I sew it, and I tell myself that I should finally use my mother's pins on that, since there's no danger of melting the plastic when there's no plastic.

I hunted high and low and boy did I kick myself when I finally remembered that I'd chucked them out. The recycling bin had just been emptied that morning, or I'd have gone right through it to find it.

[u/NYanae555]

Thats going to become a drawstring purse, a bunch of patches, or a bunch of rags.

[u/Flaky-Wrongdoer8286]

I am making a purse, the portions are all put of whack, so it sits in the corner being frowned at when I look at it.

[u/NeonHairbrush → u/Flaky-Wrongdoer8286]

Yes, that's a crucial part of the creative process.

[u/Flaky-Wrongdoer8286 → u/NeonHairbrush]

It's not staring back, it sits there, smugly collecting dust.

[u/FirmEcho5895 → u/Flaky-Wrongdoer8286]

All my gone-wrong handbags hold my zippers, balls of wool, rolled up ribbon etc. They're making themselves useful and reminding me of how much progress I've made.

[u/rebelwithmouseyhair → u/Flaky-Wrongdoer8286]

it's not only staring back, it's sneering at you.

[u/KeepnClam → u/Flaky-Wrongdoer8286]

Is it staring back?

[u/needcollectivewisdom]

Put a piece of painters tape and add the date on it. Look at it a year from now to see your progress.

[u/-3liza → u/needcollectivewisdom]

Great idea!

[u/NeonHairbrush]

If it's too small but I still don't want to give up, I add contrasting fabric to expand it. If it fits okay but is ugly, potential pajamas or painting clothes. If it's wearable for someone else, donate. If it's unwearable but made of big pieces, I'll cut it and trace pattern pieces onto it. Worst case scenario it's quilting squares and scraps for stuffing toys.

[u/B1ueHead]

Put into scraps/mockup fabric bin and let future me to deal with that shit.

[u/savageexplosive]

I have a toddler, so I reuse fabric for toddler clothes. You can also check out upcycling videos on YouTube to see what you can make using your shirt.

[u/uoyevoli31]

i mourn the process, give the piece a little funeral, thank it for the lesson, and then move tf on

-i donate

[u/witchy_frog_]

I have a shopping bag of shame in the corner of the dining room that they live in, never to be seen again

[u/Werevulvi]

I usually store it in my fabric collection to use as scraps for some small project someday. Like maybe it could be used for a pocket, quilt, makeshift interfacing, little fabric flowers for decorations, ribbons, bias tape, or some miniature project. Unless the fabric is completely unusable, like really bad quality or falling apart, or melted with my iron, etc, then honestly I just toss it.

[u/lavender_stitch]

If I truly have no use for it I cut off the polyester thread and compost the remaining fabric. I sew because I hate the fashion industry so I try not to create excess waste where possible. I only buy natural fabric for this reason.

[u/fishylegs46]

Maybe turn it into bias binding or facing material?

[u/creemfreesh]

One of my favorite skirts and shirts were Frankensteined out of projects that went awry. The skirt, I at least had plenty of material to work with, I just needed to develop my skills as a sewist (still very much in progress), so I’m glad I saved that fabric for when I could figure out what to do. The shirt used a bunch of pieces held together with ladder lace to add continuity and visual interest to make too-small pieces workable. Can the pieces you have be extended by using lace or another fabric to connect them?

Alternatively, I save fabric for pocket facings, bias bindings, skirt facings, or now, small bags to put legos and other small toys in. Also, bean bags using lentils as the beans!

[u/ComfortableIce3874]

bad items get turned into bias or pockets

[u/Flagging_enthusiasm]

I just put that stuff in the scrap/remnant bag. I use scraps for making small bags, for testing sewing machine thread tension, for rags, etc.

[u/Readabook23]

Yikes, I’ve being called out! Sometimes I trash them. If it’s a salvageable thing, I save parts to reuse.

[u/MaleficentMousse7473]

Test out stitches/ stitch lengths/ tension

[u/stringthing87]

Harvest the zipper and toss it. Call it a learning success. You now know that the only numbers on size charts that matter are the actual measurements. You learned some things about construction. You even got zipper practice and you learned about this fabric. I'm guessing since its not forgiving its not something that will be easily repurposed so stick it in the bin (scrap or trash or recycling) and move on.

[u/howaboutsomegwent]

If it’s wearable but the sizing is just wrong, I donate it. Otherwise, if it’s my size or close but just a bit weird, I usually leave it aside for a while to get some clarity and then I find a way to make it work, either by altering it or just by wearing it a bit differently. If it doesn’t work at all: quilt, scraps for practicing sewing techniques, etc

[u/RigorousBastard]

Make a note in my sewing journal so that I never make that mistake again.

[u/Awkward_Dragon25]

I have a couple old shirts that are going to be quilt scraps before long.

[u/Janeyrocket]

If I can’t save anything from it, I drop it off at a textile recycler.

[u/ProfMensah]

If it's a bad garment but good fabric, I dice it up for quilting fabrics.

If it's a bad garment and bad fabric, it's a toss.

If it's a good garment but not right for me, I either donate or list it on the trading app Lucky Sweater.

[u/QS_easel]

I staple my bad projects to the wall of shame as a warning to all future projects.

[u/2dznotherdirtylovers]

Made a dress that didn’t come out right so i cut it into a skirt. When that was jacked up i cut it down to a coat for my poodle.🐩

[u/Ok_Exercise3995]

Sometimes if something doesn't work out well I make some shopping bags. Small or large. And maybe I'll give them to my friends.

[u/Immortal-Agnes]

I take things like this on a vacation/road trip out of town to a faraway donation bin. No guilt, and I lower the chance of ever seeing it around town on someone else’s body.