I did resist the patterns this time. And I stuck to a...relatively limited fabric color and fiber range (at least for the stuff not from the Free Bins.)
Beyond the fabric I grabbed two partly used, small pieces of glitter encrusted vinyl, because I have been eying glitter encrusted vinyl wistfully on the Fabric Empire site for years now, and this seemed like a good way to assuage my curiosity about it
I poked through the jewelry bins with more intent than usual, and ended up with a hand full of 50¢ pieces, most of which need some work
I don't think the brooch on the left is genuine vintage, but it has definite Vintage Brooch Vibes, and I have been watching The Closet Historian's jewelry find videos, yes. Top center flower brooch needs some replacement rhinestones--again, maybe not actually that old, but has the spirit. The bows brooch needs a rhinestone replaced (I think I may actually have the right kind, too), and the filigree metal beads on the drops are kinda crushed--I may have replacements for those, but I'll probably attach something completely different instead. This pin may be from the 1990s. (I had so many brooches in the 1990s...yes, often worn with all my vests.) I already removed something that someone had attached to the rhinestone stretch bracelet. The pairs of earrings are both clip-ons, and the shapes of the settings tell me they are vintage.
The Free Bins yielded a few books, in addition to the fabric I chose.
Heirloom Sewing, from 1981, was signed by the author
Simply Beautiful Knitting is a binder of fold outs that have either 1986 or 1987 copyrights
Some of the projects are timeless; some of the projects are extremely 1980s. I don't knit. But I think I would like a knitting machine, someday.
And now the fabric, starting with the Free Bin finds.
I tried to resist small pieces that would still be useful for doll clothes--I donated so many small pieces that would be useful for doll clothes, so I am keenly aware of how much of that I still have. But I can only resist so much.
These could easily have other uses, of course--it's entirely possible the black velveteen floral print could be just enough for an upper collar, for example.
These are all roughly a half yard each. Some more roughly than others.
Also from the free box, but not exactly fabric
but not exactly not--I initially thought it was a table runner or small table cloth, and found the MADE IN FRANCE right in the center hilarious. But, I looked at it more and realized it's asymmetrical, with more detail on one half, and the center oval is off center, in a way that echoes how a neckline is lower in front and higher in back. Is this panel meant to be used for something like a tunic, with that central MADE IN FRANCE cut out? Eh, well...it was free.
And then the fabric I paid for, at $4 per pound (minus the store rewards bonus from previous purchases.)
The previous weekend at the store had been one of their big sales on non-quilting fabric, so there was considerably less selection than other times I'd been there. But there was still a lot!
The very first thing I picked up was this double knit, which is, yes, more synthetic than I usually go for, but I've been looking for years for something to use for a trial run of Vogue 9340, which is a very voluminous coat. This fabric's colors and weight caught my eye, so I unfolded it to get an estimate of if there would be the three yards I'd need for the shortest view of the coat. There seemed to be, so into the basket it went. Measuring at home, it's 3 7/8 yards of 65", which may even be enough for the longest version of the coat. (Although...going by the finished lengths given on the pattern envelope, the longest version--which is illustrated as hitting mid-calf--would be floor length on me...)
7/8 yard of 60", woolen, will probably become a skirt.
2 1/3 yards of 45" corduroy, and in purple! I've probably mentioned before how relatively rare second-hand purple fabric is
which is why I ended up with several pieces of second-hand purple fabric
Pale purple swiss dot, 1 2/3 yards of 42". It was wrinkly when I bought it and I just laundered it and it's wrinkly after drying, so I'm leaning toward 100% cotton.
Even paler purple rib knit, 1 yard of 70". I noticed that this one has a flaw, visible in the photo, and the knit tube was not cut at the area where the knitting machine switched rows, so that's another thing to cut around. And the amount of static when I took it out of the dryer...this may be used for ribbing only, and not as regular yardage. I should do a burn test to help decide.
Pale pink rib knit! It is pink. Really. A bit over 2 yards at 60" wide. I should do a burn test on this, too, to see if the static it exhibited was from the purple rib knit alone or if this also involves synthetics. Neither of these rib knits feel particularly oily, so the static surprised me. I might not have gotten them if I suspected they were synthetic.
SPEAKING OF a knit I might not have gotten...I saw this, was happy to see such a big piece of bright pink possibly cotton jersey knit, and stuffed it into my basket without unfolding it to see how much was there--by weight, I could tell it was more than enough to make a shirt or two
When I unfolded it at home to measure, I found BETRAYAL: it was not one piece of fabric, but four five two yard strips that were roughly 10" wide each. (one is a little wider on one end, but not wide enough to use as-is.) Which indicates whoever processed it hadn't unfolded it, either, because that's the kind of thing that would go into the free bins.
I've put a little thought into it and have ideas for how to use it to make a shirt anyway, and the piecing might add Interest, but it would be nice if I didn't have to put that much thought into it to begin with.
This is a very lightweight twill, 3 yards of 60" wide. There could be polyester in this, but I'm most likely to use it for a skirt or jacket, so it's fine.
This is probably the biggest deviation from Me Style. It's 1½ yards of 54" wide rayon, and it is very much something I might have worn as a teen. Will that nostalgia help me figure out something to make now? I'll post it on this blog if it does.
Could not resist the big chunk of not-quite-Stewart tartan flannel. Turned out to be 3 1/3 yards of it! 45" wide.
And possibly the oddest, this sketchy black and white New York City themed...silk. If it hadn't been silk, I might not have given it a second look--but, once I touched it... The selvedge reads ©2002 JB Silks. There's 3 yards of 42" wide. Even if I end up using it only for lining, it will be fun.
I definitely donated more fabric than I brought home (and I also gave a lot of fabric to the friend who drove), so this will be easy to incorporate onto the cloth storage spaces. And I might get around to sewing some of them before the next trip to the craft re-use thrift store.
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