Open Line Friday-HELP! What To Do With Scraps?

January 17, 2014
Quilting Fabric Scraps

Quilting Fabric ScrapsToday is Open Line Friday.  I love Open Line Fridays because I learn sooo much from you!  We have discussed everything from  Marking Pens HERE, Movies, HERE, and Pressing Products HERE -just to name a few.  (Type Open Line Friday into the search box on the bottom of the sidebar to find more.)  The usual form on Open Line Fridays is:

  • I share a question I am frequently asked.
  • I offer my suggestions for handling the issue.
  • I open it up for others to give their suggestions.

Today, we are breaking with tradition.  I have no answers when it comes to the scrap heap in my sewing room!  The fabrics are too pretty to throw away…but they defy order!  How do I turn these boxes (and there are more in my basement) into manageable mayhem?  I know some people cut their scraps into squares…tell me more!

Scrap Heap001What do YOU do with the beautiful scraps and leftovers??? What about the not-so-beautiful ones?

Disorderly yours,

Lori

Lots more quilting next week-including a Giveaway…Stay tuned!  And to our Australian friends who report that it has been 115F  Stay cool! –I’ll stop complaining about the snow and cold here in Minnesota.  Yikes!

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109 comments

  • Wendy Fittler

    Hi Lori, I have been quilting and collecting scraps for ten plus years. At first I just dumped them into an open basket and pushed them down when the basket was full so I could fit more in. Then I colour stashed them in long narrow boxes, all shapes and sizes. Then I wanted to make a scrap quilt, using similar sized pieces, so began to sort into strips of various widths and squares. This I have found to be the best, as they don’t get too creased and are ready for use when I need them!

  • A friend went to a quilt shop in the mountains of Virginia and came back with an idea for scrap triangles. The owner of the shop was sewing them to a 2 inch square to make square in square blocks. I thought this was a good idea and have been using them as a leader/ender project but with some modifications: I use my Beb Tucker Squared ruler to cut the centres more accurately and I make different size squares. I have most finishing at 2″, 4″ and 6″. I do have four that finish at 1″ – just because I could!, and four that finish at 5″ (these were a mistake).
    I showed a couple of pictures in a recent blog:

    http://www.heyeshome.net/?p=4518

    When you do a project like this you find out how many of your friends have “bonus triangles”! I’m thinking that when I finish the kingsized quilt that I might continue to make square in square blocks, some day they will be a border on another quill.

    • A

      Hi Helen, Thanks for the link to your beautiful blog. I can’t wait to peruse it further! Love your quilts. Do you quilt them yourself?

      • Yes I have a mid-arm machine (APQS Lenni). I love being able to finish a top and then quilt it with out having to wait.

  • Sarah S.

    I sort by color order, and keep each color in it’s own basket. I’m amazed how often I need scraps for something small – a bit of this for a bee block, a bit of that for appliqué or even a test scrap if I’m having tension issues. Having them in color order opens my mind to new possibilities, like the lovely Sunday morning quilts book! Oh, I do keep strings in their own box, selvedges have a spot, and I keep unusable bits – tiny squares, trimmings, threads, skinny batting strips – in a big bag. I have the goal of making a doggy bed as someone suggested but now that I no longer have a dog, I have enough of these “shreds” (not scraps!) to finally make a dog bed. I’ll have to donate one, too! And would you believe, I even have vague plans for those tiny triangles cut off binding strips? At $10/yd you better believe I have a firm no waste policy for fabric!!

    • A

      I do agree, with fabric prices…we must be more careful with our usage. Miss the $6/yard days, don’t you?

  • Chris

    An idea that I thought was great I’m not sure you will understand this but I will try to explain it, you cut your pieces to the same width the length doesn’t matter and join them together and just keep adding and role them up so when you have lots of roles you join them together and you have a quilt just like that!!!!! I hope you like my idea x

  • sewndoughmom

    I have bins and ziploc bags that I sort by colour (canadian ah) It takes up way too much space right now so I have a mantra for this year. Its , The sewing room gets lean in 2014. the rules are that I have to finish a Ufo or scrap quilt before I can start a new project. Like many quilters I have several Ufos, and many of mine are scrap quilts to start with. My biggest suggestion is Start small like one block.The other very important detail is to have a continuity fabric, Something that pulls all the scraps together. That way it all looks like it belongs no matter what you use.

  • Thanks for asking the question, Lori. The feedback you’re getting is wonderful. I’ve only been saving scraps for about 2 years and I keep them in 2 shoe boxes: one for strips and the other for “chunks”. But I have little patience for this and often discard my scraps.
    If you want to use up scraps, check out the stashbuster tutorials by Corey Yoder (aka Little Miss Shabby) at http://www.littlemissshabby.com/my-tutorials/

  • Marianne

    String quilts? Crazy quilts? Also, crocheted rag rugs. I do that sometimes. You need 1 1/2 inch strips. for the rag rugs. Sometimes I make a matching rag rug for a quilt that has lot of fabric left.

  • Becky Gilliam

    I’ll be glad to take them off your hands, lol!! I love playing with scrappy left-overs. I’m in the process of making a basketweave quilt (thanks to Bonnie Hunter). This is a pattern I used to start my granddaughter to sew when she was 6 years old.

  • Janelle Dunn

    I just received “Sunday Morning Quilts” – it’s ALL about using up even your tiniest scraps, and how to organize them so that you CAN use them. I’m so excited to get started! https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=3pdGK3ZX5dsC&source=productsearch&utm_source=HA_Desktop_US&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=PLA&pcampaignid=MKTAD0930BO1

  • Amy C

    I keep ALL my scraps – even those too small to even hand sew together because they can go inside small dolls and brooches that I make 🙂

  • Christine Pierson

    Hi Lori,
    I, too, accumulate lots of scraps although I consider myself as a “beginner” quilter who has only approx. 2 years experience. Recently I put one box of scraps on the table and started to sorting them in sizes. So far I made a dresden plate block as the front of my pillow case; made lots of half square triangles for the back of the pillow case. For these 1/2 square triangles, I’m still playing around the design, either pinwheel or just line them up. So this is part of the solution for my scraps. I’m sure you can find many ways to use your scraps, looking forward to see your scrappy design.

    • A

      That was a great idea to challenge yourself. Some of the most creative quilts come from limiting ourselves in some way! Love your idea!

  • Wendy Kelly Budd

    Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/all/diy_crafts/ and type in the words ‘scrap quilt’. I have many ideas blooming. Also try ‘modern scrap quilt’. Careful, this tip will take you down a wonderful rabbit hole.

    Also, I have a guild member who isn’t very affluent and she takes any and all leftover pieces. Every now and again I give her a yard of something I no longer love.

    Or, post on FreeCycle or CraigsList Free to get rid of anything you don’t want.

    • I use every scrap I can and take in other peoples cast offs and unfinished projects to finish into much appreciated quilts for the kids in Guatamala. It doesn’t have to be pretty just warm and functional. I do try to make them as pretty as I can.

  • Julie S.

    I sew an old towel or a big piece of “what-was-I-thinking-when-I-bought-that” fabric closed on three sides leaving the top open. I have one by my cutting table, aka the dining room table, and I fill it with all my scraps. When it is full I sew across the top a few times to close it and donate it to an animal shelter to be used as a dog bed.

  • I too store things a la Bonnie Hunter…..but the bits that are less than 1.5 inch, and all the shavings from squaring up and chopping off the selvedge, plus the unusable bits of ‘de-boned’ shirts (the stiffened parts of collars and cuffs, heavily topstitched button hole bands) These get put in the compost bin. The worms seem to like them, and the garden gets more mulch

    • Marianne

      Thank you! This is good to know! My daughter has a nice garden every year, and always want more things to compost. She just struck “pay dirt”!

  • Kathleen

    Some of your pieces are still usable for paper piecing projects. Also, you could just sew them all together in paper piecing fashion, except without the paper. Just keep sewing and trimming and adding pieces, sort of a collage form. You’ll end up with something beautiful!

    • darlene

      I love this!

      • Mary Beard

        even though I am “older” quilter I love Bumble Beans from Victoria Findley Wolfe who is teaching young quilters how to piece new wonderful fabrics from all those great scraps (as in crazy piecing) and then put into quilt blocks…check her out! Mary in Texas

  • If it’s really little scraps then I love this quilt for those – http://wonkypatchwork.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/quilts-of-christmas-past.html. And I’ve got good intentions to have one of these quilts on the go so I can just sew scraps directly on quickly and easily as I create them – but so far the good intentions haven’t come to anything! Loving lots of the ideas here too.

  • I see you got some Bonnie Hunter links. She is the best for scrap quilts and how to organize those little pieces. For ugly fabric-she says if it is still ugly it isn’t cut small enough. I think the ugly fabrics get lost in scrappy quilts and actually add interest to them.

  • Dale Thornton

    I just love scraps and I only make scrap quilts to give away, with small strips about four inches long I sew them onto adding machine tape, you know the sew,flip and sew method trim the sides up using the paper as a guide, then I have a ready made piano key border for another scrap quilt

  • I like Bonnie Hunter Quiltville.com methods for cutting storing and using scraps. That said, I recently made Artful oven mitts, using a pattern I received from Maria Shell. Took all those bits and pieces and “made” my fabric for 11 mitts.

  • I use my scrapes for many different quilts. The first is appliqués, the second is hexagons quilts, and the third is Dresden quilts. I have made some beautiful quilts using my scraps

  • Debby Polhill

    Squares, strips. I like the idea about flying geese.

  • Donna Clements

    I precut mine into squares or strips and then also save the tail ends of binding. I make preemie quilts out of the color or print appropriate ones. The rest I use for VERY scrappy donation quilts. I also let my granddaughters use them for their sewing projects. I have two (11 and 12) who are going to be very good quilters someday. Their color choices are much more, shall we say adventurous, than mine! LOL BTW I’m really enjoying this blog. I’m new to it.

  • I use my scraps the box’s you pictured I consider yardage. haha I cut into 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3.5 blocks. 1.5, 2, & 2.5 strips. Anything else I put into a jar on my cutting table. When it gets full I give it to my teacher daughter for the preschool teacher to use in art class. She seems to want them very much. I’m talking 3 & 4 year olds to use with blunt sissors and paste to make pictures. I recently sold a quilt the lady picked from 20 quilts. The one she fell in love with was Yes a scrappy one. You can see the picture of her and the quilt here. http://comfortquilts.blogspot.com/2014/01/sold-quilt.html

  • Joy French

    Learn to foundation piece. Scraps are always handy for that.

  • I cut many of my scraps into standard size squares and turn them into postage stamp quilts and related projects–large and small. My standard sizes are 1-1/2″, 2″, 2-1/2″, strips and larger charm squares (5″). Larger than that I file by color for future quilts. It works for me…

  • Carmen

    Although I love scrappy quilts, I can either make scrappy quilts or cut up my yardage, and the yardage wins. LOL I have a quilting friend in WV that doesn’t have a lot of money, so twice a year I send her a large flat rate priority box, with already cut up squares and strips, sometimes stuffing in other things, like thread. The larger pieces of scraps are given to another friend that I only see maybe once or twice a year. The scraps that are to small to be “useable”, I make into dog beds and donate them to our local Humane Society. Nothing goes to waste here, I even save all my threads, with the intention of making “thread bowls” one of these days.

    I enjoy your blog.

    • SunshineTas

      Great idea, you are a wonderful caring friend! It is an absolute joy to receive a gift like that. And also making the dog beds, seems everyone is doing it, I had never heard of it, but sounds good. I may ask my Tuesday night groups for their scraps!

  • As hard a time as I have with beautiful scraps, it’s the scraps I don’t want to reuse that’s my problem. I have a hard time throwing them away because it feels wasteful. I just saw this week one solution. Use as a filling for a floor cushion. my grandson will love it.

    Link here: http://www.made-by-rae.com/2013/11/how-to-square-floor-cushion/

    Ramona

  • Joni Keskey

    Don’t know if my first comment went through. Thanks for all the great ideas. I made draft stoppers from my smallest stuffing scraps recently. They work great! Used some odd leftover strips for the tubes.
    I sort my scraps by ideas, fall, bright, black based, batiks. That way when I want to make a scrap quilt I already have a base to start.

  • Helen Johnston

    Cut them into strips and knit them into rugs.

  • I have a really pretty, rather large, glass vase and I toss all my scraps into it. After awhile they fill up and create a beautiful kaleidoscope of color. It pleases me, so if I never actually sew them into anything, I’m okay with that!

  • Pat S

    Last year, they were collecting blocks for Alberta flood victims. One such effort was based on making slab blocks as described in Sunday Morning Quilts. This is a link to some of the quilts that were created. http://naptimequilter.blogspot.ca/2013/08/second-round-of-just-one-slab-quilts.html

    These are scrap based and rather addicting to make. The results can be gorgeous. If you look around a bit, the tutorial for the block is out there as well as being in the Sunday Morning Quilts book.

    I’ve stopped cutting my scraps into sizes. I sort them by color and they lend themselves to the slab method very nicely this way. When I was cutting them to sizes it seemed I always had the “wrong” size for what I wanted to do.

    • SunshineTas

      Love those slab quilts! Thanks for the link….another idea for my busy mind!!

    • Wendy Kelly Budd

      Nice looking quilts and a wonderful project.

    • Mary M

      Wow! I love those slab quilts! Thanks for the link!

  • I have all my scraps in a laundry basket under my sewing table. If the scrap is under 1″ it goes in the garbage, anything over that goes in the basket. But it overflowing. I hadn’t wanted to use Bonnie’s scrap system because I do a lot of applique. But this year I am going to bite the bullet and start cutting. And I’ll probably start a leader ender project too.

  • Darlene

    You can sort them by prominent color. I store mine in a big clear bag, the kind comforters and quilts come in…..until I’m ready to use them, then I make crazy quilt blocks out of them.

  • Mine are stored by color in tubs. Not specially cut, as I don’t know what I am going to do w them yet. Feels awesome to make a quilt from the tubs;) It’s a free quilt top;)

  • Lori M.

    scrappy guilts, I use recycled material from yard/tag sales–favorite being those bed skirts, i use middle cut into 12″ squares and just lay scraps onto and use zigzag stitich and I have a block… then put into bin and when I have enough I make a quilt top and finish it with flannel as batting and sheet for backing. Then off it goes to the homeless shelther…..

    • Diane Taughinbaugh

      Great idea. I have a couple of those bed skirts.

  • Diane Taughinbaugh

    My SIL is a member of a homemakers group. Long story short, one night, they took scraps & ironed them on to double sided fusible interfacing, then removed the back paper. Then, they held them above fabric & snipped off little pieces, letting the fall where they may, until they filled a space such has a wreath, snowman, Christmas tree, etc.
    Next step was to fuse them to the fabric. Of course you may need to make small adjustments before fusing. After fusing, they made a quilt sandwich, & you know the rest…..

  • Dorothy Matheson

    This is my project for today. I make crumb blocks out of scraps I get from my quilting friends. Sew two pieces together then sew those into four pieces together and keep sewing them together till I can cut a square out of it. I then sash those together and make a quilt from them. Great for donation quilts.
    Dorothy

  • Our quilt guild gives little quilts to NICU patients (max size 20″x24″) — i have been trying to tame my random scraps by making modern/wonky/crazy-pieced items that i then practice free-motion-quilting on! the patterns tend to hide some of my “learning” issues…

  • I use them for applique, too, but frankly at the pace I do applique I would be buried under scraps in no time. I use Bonnie Hunter’s scrap saver system but when I see a box of scraps such as pictured above, I immediately think of Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s “15 Minutes of Play.” Made fabric. It’s genius and makes really cool quilts.

  • Janet Bevan

    Some great ideas here. I stuff mine into plastic bags in colour families. Every now and again I cut squares and rectangles like Bonnie Hunter suggests. I have another draw full of strips for log cabin style blocks. These get used for Charity quilts. Love the idea of stuffing pillows for pets, at least that gets rid of the tiny scraps. Thanks for all the ideas.

    • I have been doing the plastic bags by color for years, but this year I have vowed to get them in a more usable order and am going through those bags and cutting them into 1.5, 2.5, and 3″ strips and then when I can 5″ squares. In the process I couldn’t help but start a quilt after an inspiring picture I saw on Pinterest. I just wrote a blog post with pictures about it the other day.

      • I forgot to mention that JoAnn’s is having a 50% off sale on all bins and organizers now also Ott lights and more. This is both online and in the store so I loaded up on bins yesterday and had fun filling them last night.

  • Mary M

    I love scrappy quilts! I cut my scraps into strips — 2″, 2.5″, 3.5″ and 4.5″. These turn out to be the sizes I use the most. (I cut the scraps into the largest size strip possible based on the size of the scrap. — you can always trim something down later.) When the scrap bins get too full I’ll make a scrappy top, often one of Bonnie Hunter’s free patterns on her blog.
    I also keep strips that are less than 2″ but more than 1″, though I have never done anything with them. If I don’t do anything with them (like string blocks or tiny log cabins) by the end of this year they’re going into a dog pillow!
    Bonnie Hunter is right: If the fabric is still ugly, you haven’t cut it small enough!

    • A

      Thank you Mary for your ideas and the laugh–if it’s still ugly, you haven’t cut it small enough. Sometimes I’m left to wonder how/why I picked a few of my ugly fabrics?!

      • Nicole

        My friend jokes about giving her ugly fabrics to CNIB for the blind people to use in their quilts.

      • Oh I haven’t laughed so hard in a while…is there a way to donate ugly fabric anonomously…I’m kind of embarressed by some of mine…LOL!

      • Mary M

        I have started a “what was I thinking?” pile to donate. I don’t think I have enough time left in my life to cut up ALL of my ugly fabrics!

      • LOL..oh my that’s going to make me laugh over and over…I have a few I’m not sure I can cut them small enough…they were in the bargain bin for a reason…duh..what was I thinkin’! Now I can at least laugh at them…:)

  • Pat McFerrin

    I recently read about Bonnie Hunter’s “leaders & enders” type of quilting. I decided to try it. Can’t believe how fast those start stacking up while doing another quilt. I cut my scraps into 2.5 inch squares and started sewing little 9 patch blocks, using the leaders and enders system. It does take a little time away from your main project that you’re working on, but you save SO MUCH thread, and I love that my project does not ever ‘bury/bog down’ into my sewing machine. This is, of course, because my little 2.5 in sq leader or ender is left in my machine for the next stitching.

  • Bonnie K. Hunter to the rescue!! I finally jumped on the bandwagon in 2010 by learning what Leaders & Enders are (think of building a quilt in between the one you are currently piecing). Then I implemented her Scrap User’s System in 2012. I’m am A.L.W.A.Y.S. ready to piece a quilt at a moments notice. I had 15 years worth of scraps and tamed them a little at a time in the evenings after work during 2012 – 2013. Wish I’d known this when I was first getting into quilting. You can check it out at her blog http://www.Quiltville.blogspot.com under the Tips and Techniques tab. Once you go scrappy, there is no going back! It has re-energized my projects and made piecing exciting again.

    • A

      Thanks for the link. What a great idea! I love scrap quilts, too–but managing the scraps can be a nightmare. This gives me a lot of ideas!

  • SunshineTas

    Great discussions!
    I store my scraps in plastic labelled boxes. My favourites are 2 1/2″ squares and 1 1/2″ strips. I do keep a box of small scraps for applique. Usually anything over 1″ in that box – great for leaves, petals etc…. Wish I could show photos of my last 3 quilts which are off being quilted… They were all scrappy.
    Btw, in Tasmania we are just on the tail end of a heatwave – a bit cooler than the 40+ that some mainland places have experienced. Although we did have 37 at our holiday cottage a few days ago. Our highest in the state was 40 that day. 40C is approx 104F. But it will be low 20s for the next week. 20 C is approx 68F.
    Any weather is good sewing weather!

    • A

      I can’t even remember hot right now! I hate both extremes of weather… Do you cut your squares as the scraps become available or do you cut them when you need them?

      • SunshineTas

        Hi Lori and all you lovely quilters, I usually cut them when they become smaller pieces. I try to do this as I am working, however, depending on time I put them in a basket. Then have a scrap cutting session. I just cut the largest size I can. These might be those strange bits off an L shaped a fat quarter. You know those fiddly bits! If I am planning to make a particular block, eg. Log cabin, I will madly cut 1 1/2″ strips. If I go anywhere I can just pick up a box and make 9 patches, or log cabins. When I go to retreats I can’t concentrate so its easy going making simple blocks (less chance of making mistakes!). We also spend 3 out of 4 weekends at our little holiday cottage and when all else fails I can just grab a box!
        I have the following boxes: 1 1/2″ strips (and a blue one for one day!), 2 1/2″, 3″, 3 1/2″, 4″, 4 1/2″, 5″, over 5″, and strips. Also a binding box. I piece all different bindings for scrappy quilts.
        If the fabric is a fave I don’t cut it, but it’s not usually a small piece! In each box I usually put them in colours.
        It sounds like a lot of work, but once started it is easy to maintain. I started doing this about 5 years ago. I remember being so overwhelmed the very first time. I think each person needs to work out what’s best for them. I have a friend who just throws all her scraps in a basket or box. Then spends sooooo much time looking for pieces!
        We have had scrap swaps. Once we had a 2 1/2″ strip swap (I think minimum length was 10″). We bagged up 100gm bags. You just took out the same number of bags as you put in. Was a lot of fun. For this I did have to cut some from fat quarters. Is a great way of getting rid of some ‘ugly’ fabrics! A few friends also give me their scraps. What joy it is to receive a gift like this!
        I have created so many wonderful quilts from scraps and love having that confidence I thought I would never have of putting completely different fabrics together – and surpisingly it works!
        Would love to share some photos… I have just completed another 2 tops using 9 1/2″ 9 patches.
        I am a Library Manager, so maybe I just like cataloguing everything into shapes and sizes! It’s all about retrieval – knowing where you can get your hands on relevant info – just like finding a scrap or colour…
        Have a happy day everyone! From Tasmania x

        • A

          Thank you for all your wonderful ideas. I need a Library Manager! I need your organizational skills in my sewing room!

    • I wish I could see your three quilts. Shirley

      • SunshineTas

        I wish too! I am just a basic everyday quilter, well, topper really! I have someone quilt them!

  • Beauford

    Lot of great ideas. I have a couple of small baskets where I stick my my scraps all sizes and colors after every clean up . Then I have 6 granddaughters they come over and sort by color ( that’s the learning part) put in baggies then they can have for their own use some they have me take to the preschool for the other kids for projects. They are always creating some kind of doll clothing or cat toy

  • Gerry Casper

    I have 7 large plastic containers that I put my scraps in…. red, pink; yellow, orange; black, brown; blue; green; white, and a separate one for batiks. Almost all of my quilts are scrap quilts! 🙂 I’ve also collected over a hundred pairs of jeans to make quilts for charities. I like the idea of using even the tiniest pieces for stuffing in pillows for animals.

  • Kay L Ford-Sollimo

    One thing is to “prevent” scraps when you can, e.g. get in the habit of always taking the few seconds required to sew that extra seam a half-inch (or so) away when you are “snowballing” a corner. That way when you trim away the extra you’ve already made a HST. My Scottish blood (it’s in the Ford part of my name) is appalled at what so many toss in the trash. Just stop and think about what you’ve paid for that cotton – especially nowadays!!! The modern wonky blocks (stars, log cabins, strings, spider webs, etc.) don’t even required that you square up your scraps before using them. Just sit at your machine and grab out another piece. Even 15 minutes a day can add up to something wonderful.

  • Scrap quilts are my favorite to make. Using whatever size scraps it takes to make string blocks or crumbs or half square triangles or just plain squares are mostly what I use (along with hexies and applique ) since I started out being a fabric hoarder many years ago my fabrics do vary in colors and designs but have yet to find a scrap quilt that didn’t look just wonderful combining all those different fabrics. The important thing is to balance the not so beautiful fabric scraps with the most lively wonderful fabrics that make them shine.
    For me the hard part of scraps is how to handle them and while I store like colors in bins to keep them separate I don’t have too many cut into any shape whatsoever. They are just scraps and can go up to a yard in size. Anything over a yard gets rolled on a cardboard piece (8×10 I believe) and sit on a shelf so I can see them better.
    I have a small bedroom that is my stash place and often think I should have someone come in and tell me how to organize it better.

  • I’m afraid I don’t DO anything with them at all! They just pile up and up and up. I did recently buy hundreds of 3/4 inch hexie papers. With all the mindless TV I watch in the evenings, I imagine I could sew several every night using my leftovers. Though at 3/4 inch, they are not likely to make much of a dent in my scrap heap!

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