Making scrappy patchwork with half-square triangles

What do you do with the cut-off triangles from piecing binding strips on the bias… or the triangle cut-offs when you do the flippy corner patchwork technique? Do you save them? 

I save these triangular scraps and use them as “leaders” and “enders” when I chain piece. They turn into little HSTs (half-square triangles). So trust me, I have a huge HST assortment!

Half-square triangle patchwork.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying “therapy patchwork” assembling HSTs into patchwork blocks. No plan. I just trim the HSTs with the Bloc Loc HST ruler, then sort them by color and size, lay them out, and make patchwork.

Half square triangle block with the Bloc Loc ruler.

At first, I was just making HST patches.

A 4x4 patchwork unit made with 1-1/4” half square triangles.

Then I started making them into larger blocks. In this one, the HST patchwork is framed with sashing strips.

HST 9-patch with borders.

Sometimes a fussy-cut motif is surrounded/framed with a border of HSTs.

Fussy cut center surrounded with HSTs.

Pinwheels are fun HST units, as well as a strip of HSTs sewn in a row.

Pinwheels and HSTs in a row.

Other patchwork units include the broken dishes unit, or the square in a square unit.

Four patch Broken Dishes units.

Making blocks with HSTs leads to more HSTs

I’ve got many more HSTs to use… units to make… blocks to assemble. By playing around with these little units, other quilt blocks have come to mind… shoo fly, bear paw, maple leaf… I’m sure there are more.

A stash of HST units awaiting patchwork.

It’s ironic, however, that in using up my stash of HSTs to make patchwork blocks, I’m also creating more HSTs with leaders and enders… which is where all this began.

An unending supply of HSTs.

Kind of like the loaves and the fishes…

Half-square triangles waiting for patchwork assembly.

A coptic bound journal for Junk Journal July 2025

Gather up your colorful paper scraps, bookmaking rejects, surface design samples, workshop uglies, old calendars, and trash can rescues. Hit the recycle bin and get prepped for Junk Journal July!

A collection of printed, decorative, and recycled papers for a junk journal.

Inspired by an annual artists retreat, a group of my “art camp buddies” and I are jumping into Junk Journal July 2025 in effort to continue with our art practices—which was a topic of discussion at several meals.

Junk Journal July is an easy and forgiving, low-stress Challenge, with minimal expectations—except to work at our art practice for the entire month of July. We’ll be supporting and cheering each other on next month for 31 days! 

Using the coptic binding method 

I’ve participated in the Junk Journal Challenge four times. For my last two journals—Junk Journal July 2024 and Junk Journal January 2025—I’ve made accordion style no-sew journals. After a recent demonstration on the coptic binding, however, I decided to get more practice with this book binding method and use it for this year’s Junk Journal July.

Coptic bound junk journal.

The coptic bound book has specific characteristics that are very conducive to junk journaling:

• the book opens flat, making it easy to work in.
• the spine of the book is exposed and can accommodate any number of signatures.
• coptic binding can accommodate a soft cover, so you are able to use recycled materials for the cover in addition to the inside pages.

Making my junk journal

My junk journal is 8” square. (I like the square format for Instagram posts.) It has 5 signatures, plus front and back covers—86 full pages and a few short or partial pages. I like to use recycled papers to construct my junk journals, but any journal is absolutely OK to use! The important part is that you work in it!

Junk journal front and back covers.

Because various weights and types of paper were used for the pages in my journal—text papers, magazine pages, mixed media paper, mailing envelopes, cover weight papers, packaging from from a bag of sugar, and a sheet of watercolor paper—in order to (somewhat) maintain the same thickness, the signatures for my journal contained between 4 - 6 folios each.

Journal covers and various papers for the inside pages.

When making a junk journal, remember that’s what it is—a JUNK journal. It’s made of recycled materials and not meant to be perfect. And it will definitely get thicker, bulkier, and more interesting (and fun) when the various items get pasted into it. 

My thoughts for creating a “perfectly imperfect” junk journal are:

• Use what you have! I recycle saddle stitched catalogs and sales booklets for my journals. Get out the staple remover and then trim the pages to your desired folio size. The fold is already set and you’ll know the paper’s grain is correct—parallel to the spine of the book.

Removing staples from a saddle stitched catalog.

• Short pages are welcome. When making folios, if the sheet of paper is not the needed size (16” long is the folio size for my journal), it was folded to accommodate one (8”) page and the other page was short.
• if you don’t want a short page, paste something onto it to make it longer.

Example of a short page in the journal.

• use paint and/or collage to cover up distracting or unwanted text and images on the pages.
• if a page seems too “wimpy” to work on, glue two lightweight pages together to make them stronger/thicker.
• I include at least one folio of a watercolor paper (for painting) and a few uncoated, blank pages for ink drawings, sketches, and hand lettering.
• I like to add envelopes or pockets into the journal to store ephemera and extra paper bits.

A recycled envelope serves as a pocket for small paper bits.

• I paste the daily prompt list at the front of the journal for reference. The printable, provided by Creativity and Coffee, is in a Google drive here.

Daily prompts for Junk Journal July 2025.

Here is my junk journal for Junk Journal July 2025.

Junk journal for Junk Journal July 2025. Size is 8” x 8” x .75”.

Pre-work and collage fodder gathering

Before July 1, when Junk Journal July begins, here are a few activities that get me prepared for a month of journal art making.

• research quotes or poems related to the prompts. This can provide a direction in which to respond to a prompt and a source for hand lettering. 
• pull out the acrylic paints and paint backgrounds on pages. An interesting/colorful page is more approachable than the intimidating blank white page.  
• gather paper scraps and ephemera to tuck into envelopes for collage fodder.
• fussy-cut images from calendars, junk mail, catalogs, etc. for collage fodder.
• replenish my supply of glue sticks.

But first, I need to clean up the work table from making my journal…

The work table needs tidying up!

 

Therapeutic patchwork: when the world throws a curve ball

Sometimes the world throws curve balls. With that comes feelings of uncertainty, concern for what the future holds, sadness, anger, unanswered questions, a lack of control.

Patchwork therapy.

This weekend, I have found consolation and solace in the mindfulness of craft. I spent time doing “patchwork therapy”… sorting bits of fabrics, ironing, matching sizes/shapes/colors, trimming, sewing… trying to make cohesiveness from randomness. 

Patchwork therapy.

Minimal sewing guidelines

• If two pieces are about the same length, they are sewn together. 
• If one is too long, it gets trimmed. 
• If one is too short, another bit gets added. 

This is the only guideline.

Patchwork therapy.

I don’t have control over what’s going on in the world… what curve balls the universe sends out… but I have control over this kind of patchwork! Control over a miscellaneous pile of odd scraps, left-overs, a jumble of colors and prints. Finding a purpose, a function for the discarded bits… when life doesn’t make sense.

Patchwork therapy.

This patchwork grows serendipitously. These pieces will find a use… some time in the (near or distant) future. 

Stan Leigh offers good therapy, too.

For now, it does the job of providing a safe harbor… a sense of calm… a bit of hope… and something that resembles “normal.”

Scrappy knit placemats, third Make Nine 2024 finish

Who loves a good stash-buster project? Me, me, me!

I like using up scraps and leftovers—fabric, yarn, orphan socks, old linens, whatever—to make something useful out of materials that would be otherwise disposed. I like the creative problem-solving challenge of taking random pieces, and combining them to create a cohesive whole. These colorful, scrappy placemats fulfill my Make Nine 2024 yarn project prompt.

Scrappy yarn placemats. 14" x 18"

A yarn stash buster

I've included a yarn project in my Make Nine challenge now and again. I get a hankering for knitting or crochet when the weather gets cold at the end of the year... which coincides with setting goals for a new Make Nine. A yarn prompt made it into Make Nine 2024 after being absent in 2023. 

For this prompt, I prefer a simple pattern that is easy to pick up and lay down without the stress of remembering where in a pattern I left off. This project also turned out to be another stash buster.

Using leftover cotton yarn balls. Mixing the colors.

Leftover balls of cotton yarn and a few small balls of unidentifiable, abandoned yarns that were a worsted weight were gathered. Even a couple of knit swatches were frogged so the yarn could be recycled for this project.

Yarn swatches were unravelled and up-cycled for this stash buster. 

The linen stitch, a perfect stitch for colorwork knitting

The linen stitch is my go-to colorwork pattern. It's an easy two-row repeat. It makes a nice, firm fabric with an interesting texture. And it offers lots of opportunity for playing with color as it employs an alternating slip stitch (which causes the color of the previous row to interact with the color of the working row). I use the linen stitch for the majority of my knitted dishcloths, too.

Colorwork with the linen stitch.

The new placements were put to use this past weekend.

Breakfast in th camper on knitted placemats.

Third Make Nine 2024 finish

This is my third finish for Make Nine 2024. This is the 4th month of the year and 6 more makes to go. Making good progress!

Make Nine 2024 tracker. Yarn Project prompt.

Minimize textile waste with upcycled, scrap buster projects

I try my best to minimize fabric, yarn and clothing waste through scrap projects, mending and donating to charities. Looking around the house and my studio lately, I realized the variety of scrap buster projects—for both yarn and fabric scraps—that I worked on in 2022. These are favorites from this past year.

2022 upcycled and scrap buster projects: (from left) knitted dish cloths, fabric twine,
and Zoom Loom sock mug rugs.

Hand knit dishcloths

After discovering the Dishcloth Challenge from Modern Daily Knitting this summer, I got immersed in these scrap-busting, quick knits. Dishcloths are also a great portable project for travel. 

Cotton dishcloths use up multitude of leftover yarn scraps.

Combining small bits of leftover yarns, I enjoy the experimental practice of unplanned color combinations and the surprising results. I have mostly used the linen stitch because it's easy to remember, and the slipped stitches merge the yarn colors within a single row.

Fifteen colorful cotton dishcloths.

Cotton dishcloths qualified for my Slow Stitching Make Nine project in August, but I have continued making them through December. I like that these are colorful and pretty as well as functional.

Dishcloths: Slow Stitch Make Nine Project.

The last one is off the needles with just the crochet edge remaining.

Dishcloth ready for crocheted edge finish.

Fabric twine

In 2021, I started making fabric twine with trimmings and strips from quiltmaking. Any fabric strip that is too thin to use for patchwork—especially if it's a long strip—is set aside for making twine. I've continued making twine this year. It's another good travel project.

Taking fabric twine supplies when traveling.

The Loopy Loom upcycles socks into coasters

A rediscovery of the Loopy Loom/Zoom Loom is converting old socks into woven coasters. 

Using the Loopy Loom for sock weaving.

I'm still experimenting with these as I've learned that some socks contain elastic and the loops stretch and contract at different rates. So, sometimes the coasters are slightly off-square.

Woven mug rugs from discarded socks.

But this project ticks all the sustainability boxes for me! It takes an un-repairable textile and converts it into a new, useful object. And these little coasters are thick and squishy and so very functional. They fulfilled my Mend/Upcycle prompt for Make Nine 2022.

Collection of woven sock coasters/mug rugs.

Improv patchwork kitty quilts

Of course, a wonderful scrap project is making kitty quilts and charity quilts. In 2022, sixteen kitty quilts were made and gifted to friends, the Cat Clinic of Chattanooga, or are enjoyed by our pack of adopted outside kitties. (Note, our kitties adopted us, not the other way around.)

Improv patchwork quilt top ready for quilting.

The kitty quilts fulfilled the Scraps and Crumbs prompt for Make Nine 2022. Not only are fabric scraps used to make these, but odd strips and pieces of batting are also patched together to make these quilts.

Four improv patchwork kitty quilts.

Twelve scrappy kitty quilts.

Scrap buster 2022 year-end tally

• 19 cotton dishcloths
• 8 recycled sock mug rugs made on the Loopy Loom
• 16 kitty quilts
• 4 cuddle quilts for the guild's community service project
• yards and yards of fabric twine

A fulfilling year!