Scrap fabric cushion

I am a fabric hoarder. I can’t bear to get rid of even the tiniest scraps of fabric, for fear that years later I’ll think “why did I get rid of them?!”. Mr Lu and I just moved house, so I gave away a whole ton of fabric to reduce the amount of storage we would need (our new place is cute but tiny), but I still have managed to hold on to several jars worth of scrap fabric. I decided I need to actually start using it all up, so I’ve been looking into scrap fabric projects. I came across a picture of a scrap fabric cushion somewhere – I can’t find it now but it was most likely Pinterest – and decided to make my own. This is how it turned out:

I took a square of plain calico, and then gathered up all the bits of fabric I wanted to use. I ironed on interfacing to the back of the scraps to make them a bit more sturdy, and then cut out shapes, arranging them on the calico as I went. This took much longer than I thought it would! After I had filled the entire square, I pinned all the pieces in place.

Then I undertook the arduous task of sewing them all on. I definitely underestimated how long it would take. I completed about half of the pieces in the first sitting, and then the project sat on my “to finish” pile until today I decided to just finally get it finished. I had a bit of trouble making the sewing neat when contending with all the pieces, so I decided to just go with it and embrace the messy look. I’m usually a big fan of things that are a bit messy and not so perfect anyway, so it worked out ok. I used some largish scraps of a pretty fabric I had left for the back of the cushion (hence the line down the middle), and filled it with the stuffing of an old pillow shoved in my wardrobe.

I’m not actually sure if I like the finished product, but I’m going to leave it on my bed for a few days and see if it grows on me. If not, it was a useful exercise as I got to practice sewing lots of curves. I figure I can always pull it apart and use it for something else, or give it to someone who likes messy sewing as much as me. I think it might be fun to try different shapes or patterns with the scraps, so I might tackle that next.
Fellow crafters, how do you use your scrap fabrics?