Scrappy Fabric Thread Catchers

I wanted to use up some scraps of fabric and try to make a thread catcher too. These are also fabric bowls and can be used to hold other things besides snippets of thread and fabric. I made most of these in different color families and one in 30's fabrics.

This is made with gold fabrics. This one belongs with the photos at the end. I don't know how these photos sometimes get mixed up.

Mostly 30's fabrics. The other sides and bottom in the next few photos.

This one is blue fabrics and the next few photos show the other sides of the thread catcher.

Here is the green scrappy thread catcher with the other sides below.

Yellows and oranges here and the other sides below.

Here are the other sides of the gold tread catcher. The very first photo belongs in this group too.

 These thread catcher baskets stand 5" tall, 5" wide, 4" deep (where the boxed corners are). I used a double layer of cotton batting. I did quilt as you go onto one layer of the batting. Then added the second layer of batting and quilted through both layers. Then the lining was added so you don't see the quilting on the inside.

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Another Collapsible Thread Catcher

Last month I showed my applique group the collapsible thread catcher I made. They wanted to make one too, so I taught the group how to make one. This is the one I made while I demonstrated the steps involved. For this one I sewed strips onto a muslin foundation and used it as my fabric.

Since the fabric strips I used were sewn on a diagonal, you can see the fabrics on this side of the thread catcher. (That black fabric was a scrap of some paint stick rubbings I had leftover from another project). I also used a metal ring on this one instead of a wooden embroidery hoop. It is the kind of metal ring typically used for macrame (I used to macrame back in the 70's...am I dating myself?)

This is the same thread catcher that I turned so you can see the other side.

Looking down into the thread catcher you can see the other fabrics that didn't end up on the outside of the thread catcher.

In it's collapsible position.

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Collapsible Thread Catcher

This is easy to make and very useful, especially if you go to classes or even if you sew in other rooms of the house and need a place to put all those snips of threads, fabric, yarn, etc. This was a free pdf online you can get here from Red Hen Fabrics.

 I did alter the circle size of the cardboard pieces because you either need to gather the fabric tube in order for it to fit to the cardboard pieces when you sew the pieces, OR draw the cardboard pieces using the outside measurement as I did. The instructions tell you to draw the inside ring measurement, plus it says to further reduce down an 1/8th inch from the inner circle and that causes you to have excess fabric to have to gather to make it fit. No mention of that, nor do the photos show excess fabric. Since it's cardboard I could gently bend it and insert it through the fabric tube using the larger size. I suppose the reason for the smaller size is so that the bottom piece fits into the ring when collapsed down. Where as mine sits on top. Not a big deal, but it made sewing around the cardboard to the fabric tube much easier without excess gathers in the fabric.

Here it is collapsed down. You twist it like you would when opening or closing a lid on a jar.

Untwist it and it stands up ready to hold your threads and snips of fabrics. Portable to go with you.

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Thread Catcher & Pincushion

Wool pincushion I made from a wool sweater that I felted: I followed (most) of the directions for the Thread Catcher tutorial I found on Sew Mama Sew. I made a wool pincushion instead of the patchwork pincushion she showed. I also needed something to weigh it down so it would stay put since I didn't fill my pincushion with something heavy, such as sand, rice, crushed walnut shells, etc. So I used a piece of tile (half a tile from when my husband tiled the entry) and covered the tile with polyester batting and then made a a fabric casing for the tile to fit into. I sewed the tool pocket to the bottom of the fabric covered tile.

The thread catcher is removable, as you can see, it just attaches with a button and a loop. Makes it easy to empty or to move elsewhere like when I am hand sewing.

I love the tool pocket on this thread catcher because I use it next to my sewing machine that fits into a table and so I couldn't use one of those tool pocket thingees that sit under the sewing machine, since my machine is flush with the table. On my other sewing machine I have a tool pocket thingee though...is there a proper name for those things? Pin It Now!