Category: fabric

Fall Fabric Splurge

Erin13 Comments

Couldn't help myself — Sawyer Brook had Milly fabric:

Abid-Road

Such a perfect fabric for autumn, don't you think? Once the months start ending with "-ber," I start thinking about olive. For some reason olive just feels right for fall. I'm not sure what dress this will turn into, but it will probably be accessorized with tights, a scarf, a slice of pumpkin bread, and a cup of hot chocolate. (Or possibly a pocketful of leftover Halloween candy. Those orange-wrapped peanut butter chews, amirite?)

Of course, I haven't completely let go of summer yet … this was on sale, and it would take a much, much stronger woman than me to pass this up:

Cuidad_1

This might be another Simplicity 1577 …

What's your fall fabric splurge?

 

 

Squirrelly!

Erin8 Comments

So thanks to Robin, I now know about Etsy seller Sew What's New Fabric's MOST FRIGHTENING FABRICS section. In short: it is the best selection of terrifying textiles extant.

This is the one that got me:

Squirrel Kicking Dog in Face Vintage Cotton Fabric

Yep, that's "Squirrel Kicking Dog In Face Vintage Cotton Fabric". (It does what it says on the tin!)

I'm assuming this was originally intended for pediatric scrubs to be worn at the Our Lady of Inappropriate Cartoons Children's Hospital, but I'm open to other theories. 

Can't Resist

Erin24 Comments

Of the small number of things I truly can't resist (apply at the address below for full list), dotted swiss is possibly the most inexplicable:

Dottedswiss_June2011

Especially baby-doll pink dotted swiss. What gives? Am I a Madame Alexander doll? Did growing up in the 1970s, with a plaid first communion dress (trufax!) warp me for life, and set up an unslakeable craving for little-girl clothes? Should I just say the heck with it and go full-on Sweet Lolita? (Um, no. As much as I admire their dedication …) I don't know, but this is the fourth piece of dotted swiss I've bought in the past year. (Purchased: 4. Sewn: 0)

Any explanations considered. Or … suggestions for patterns to use up all this dotted swiss? Ones that won't make me look like a renegade milkmaid, please.

Liberty Report: First Prize

Erin5 Comments

I did promise some posts about the fabric I bought in the UK, and here's the first, about a pattern called "First Prize" that I love:

Liberty_firstprize_navy_June2011

I bought some a couple of years back (probably on eBay) and made this Duro with it. I waffled a bit about buying it in the navy colorway, since I hate navy shoes, but it's a very dark navy, and besides, I recently bought some kiltie-style heels that are the exact tan of the tan in this print. So there's that settled.

That said, I have no idea what this will be. Not another Duro. Possibly a shirtdress, if I bought enough. Whatever it becomes, I think of it as an early-October dress, with a light blue cardigan and a pocket full of those terrible-wonderful peanut-butter taffy candies that you only see around Halloween, wrapped in orange and black waxed paper. 

You don't have to go all the way to Liberty to get this fabric — it's online at Shaukat (where I bought it in-person), here.

Okay, Now What?

Erin29 Comments

Cotton_lace

So I bought some of this cotton lace (58 inches wide, $6/yard!) and now I'm at a loss as to what to do with it. It seems summery … in a Sophia Loren kind of way. I've never been much good at Sophia-Lorening, so any alternate suggestions of What To Do With Black Cotton Lace would be much appreciated.

Other things I'm not good at, sartorially, in case you need a list:

  • the long boho dress with flat sandals and flat hair
  • any look that requires a David-Bowie/Grace-Jones slash of colored makeup across the face (it gets all over my glasses)
  • shiny satin cocktail dresses with diamante clips
  • and, of course, pants

I can see a kind of kicky 60s-shift swimsuit coverup (with patch pockets!), but considering I'd probably get more use out of a hazmat suit, I'm looking for other ideas … 

I just picked up

Erin20 Comments

… this fabric, at the Oakland White Elephant sale (Suzette! Sorry I missed you! Leah! Nice running into you!): 

Pinkpolkadot1

Yep, polished cotton, with polka-dots the way the good Lord intended them to be: fist-sized.

What should I make? Did I mention that there was SEVEN and SEVEN-EIGHTHS yards of it? Which I bought for $23? (Some days I'm so darn lucky that it's a wonder I'm not killed by angry bystanders on the spot.)

I got some other stuff too, including as much vintage bias tape as I could carry. Pics to come. 

Triple Fabric Score!

Erin11 Comments

Picture 3

So there's now Scrabble fabric available at eQuilter, who knew? (Well, Monique and Mary Teri did, thanks for the link!)

I'm notoriously bad at Scrabble, but maybe a shirtdress made of Scrabble fabric will give me magical powers? Worth a shot. With wooden Scrabble tiles as buttons, of course. (I couldn't find those on Etsy, which completely surprised me. You'd think someone was doing that, wouldn't you?)

By The Numbers

Erin12 Comments

Vintagenumbers

I love this (admittedly blinding) vintage cotton numbers fabric from Etsy seller thoroughbredthreads, but there's only a yard of it. What to do?

There is no excuse to ever be bored, by the way, if you have internet access and can type "novelty fabric" into Etsy's search window. You are sure to find stuff like this:

Scarykitty

and this: 

Donotenter

My favorite thing about Etsy is that it seems to run to quilting-lengths, which I'm hardly ever tempted to buy (my fabric-buying philosophy being "go big or go home"). So it's pure window-shopping. Even when confronted with stuff like this. 

Cutest Fabric Ever

Erin31 Comments

Books_fabric2

Yes, those are little orange and green books on a black background! Isn't that adorable? I bought it on eBay yonks ago — I bought it actually while sitting on a plane (thanks, GoGo Wireless!) and yesterday I was ALSO sitting on a plane, which reminded me that I'd never posted about this fabric.

I don't have a ton of it — four yards, maybe, but it's vintage fabric so it's very narrow, under 42 inches wide. What would you do with this fabric? 

 

Can't Hardly Wait

Erin17 Comments

I have some of this fabric coming my way:

Echino_glasses_green 

I'm sure you can see (ha!) why I'm really looking (ha!) forward to it. 

If you want some, too, it's all over Etsy. I grabbed this image from Kallistiquilts. 

I haven't sewn with Echino before — anything I should watch out for? Not quite sure what this will be yet, either.