Comments on: Sewing and Stashing: A Tale of Two Hobbies

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 04:40:48 +0000

Sometimes it’s as though we’re adopting fabric, isn’t it? We can’t bear to leave a particularly nice piece behind, especially not when we can see what a lovely piece of clothing it would make. I think each piece of fabric has a bit of a personality, too, which makes even harder to think of parting with it.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Aliza. 🙂

By: Aliza

Aliza — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 20:40:25 +0000

I have a variant of your problem – while almost all of the fabrics I buy are ones I truly want to wear (I only buy fabric if I know what it wants to be when it grows up – the specific garment), I buy far more fabric than I can possibly ever sew. And if it’s a particularly lovely fabric or a project that scares me, then I never seem to see it but can’t dream of getting rid of it. Which i am fully aware is quite silly!!
PS we have very similar taste

By: Katie

Katie — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 01:59:15 +0000

Yes, that happened to me so many times! I keep going through my stash and thinking, “Oh yeah, I was going to make that thing out of this fabric!”

By: Sheryll

Sheryll — Sat, 18 Aug 2018 18:56:14 +0000

I usually buy fabric with something in mind for it, but change my mind half the time! Or before I know it the season is over and it languishes in stash for a year or more. But at least fabric keeps, and if you hold onto it long enough it comes back into fashion again!

By: Katie

Katie — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 01:53:42 +0000

You’re absolutely right! When you start sewing, everything is new and fun and you want to try all of the things – and buying fabric can be one of the most enjoyable parts of that. Walking into a fabric store is like stumbling across a treasure trove! It’s exciting and shiny and just a little bit overwhelming. The comparison to buying clothes is a good one; I know I bought clothes that I didn’t exactly love until I hit on my style. In a way, it’s been good to re-visit that approach to style because it’s easy to remember what I liked back then and translate that to sewing.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Sonja. 🙂

By: Sonja

Sonja — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 05:41:06 +0000

When I started sewing my own clothes almost five years ago I found out there weren’t many fabric shops. So when I saw fabrics I liked I striated buying them. After sewing for a year or two some of the stash fabrics seemed not to be my taste (fabric type or colours). I think it’s a bit finding your way and learning juts like you did when you started building a wardrobe when you buy RTW. Many buyers of RTW do buy clothes they barely wear because when they come home it doesn’t have that appeal anymore that it had in the shop. I’ve found my colours (blue and black-white as basics), fabric types (denims, jersey and cottons) and style (no vintage but asymmetrical and unusual designs) after sewing three years all kind of clothes and styles.

By: Katie

Katie — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 01:54:25 +0000

Hehe, I’m glad to hear I’m not alone! Sustainability is a big part of my life, too, so I didn’t want to be buying fabric I wasn’t going to use (once I’d realised that’s what I was doing, of course). It’s so good to have that plan or those guidelines in place, isn’t it? I’m much happier with how my wardrobe is looking now and it’s helped me avoid an empty bank account at any number of fabric sales!

Thanks for sharing your story. 🙂

By: Carol

Carol — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 15:49:22 +0000

In the words of MJ – You are not alone, I am here with you. Lol. I found myself doing the same thing when it comes to fabric shopping. The train of thought was I like the fabric which means it will look good on me and thus fit in my wardrobe – not true. I had to do take it back a few steps though and redefine what I think my style, colors, prints and inspiration come from and plan collections in my wardrobe based on those markers, (for different moods in my life), that also work together. Along with all the style introspecting I also think about the other side of sewing, the waste that comes with DIY sewing – landfills covered in unused remnants, waders and ufos – and I think a focused sewing stash goes a long way in helping curb my personal waste.

By: Katie

Katie — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 01:11:55 +0000

Yes, I have a few like that – fabrics I could never use but couldn’t possibly give away.

It’s a surprise to me that this hasn’t affected my wool stash. Mine is mostly made of leftovers since I am rubbish at anticipating what sort of things I’d like to make. There are exceptions to this, of course; exceptions that prove exactly how bad I am when it comes to choosing additions for my wool stash…

By: Nef

Nef — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 12:08:59 +0000

I know this well – I have fabrics, mainly from my grandmother’s stash, that I
A) can’t figure out whether I would wear it; and
B) am too scared to sew with anyway, for fear of making a mistake (particularly with vintage fabrics)

And don’t ask about my wool stash …