Sunday 19 January 2014

Snooping around in my stash.

I don't know about you, but I love to snoop around in other peoples stash! It's like snooping in their wardrobes, which I like (of course) as well. You get to know people better because of their choice of clothing. The same might be true about stash fabric, but I just love to see the fabrics and colors other seamstresses use to get inspired :)

You might remember my last post (at the end) about participating in the stash diet organised by Gail from today's agenda and Andrea from stitch parade. I haven't written down my dieting rules yet (but soon to come) and I also didn't show my stash. I mean, I am telling you I am dieting, but actually you don't know if I pretend and really use what there is in my stash ;) That's why I am showing you my stash today and then I can count down the fabrics that I have used so far, hua.

My lovely stash:



Cotton poplins and voiles:



Most of my stash fabrics are cotton poplins or cotton voile and as you might notice most of them ended up to be blue! Speak about color preference. Most of them have a pattern. I love patterns, but the problem is, you just can't combine them. I need more plain ones! Also, most of the fabrics are only 1 m long (they came from the blogger meet-up in August 2013) and you can't make a dress out of them.

More cotton poplins and lawns.


Do you have any ideas what I can make with as little as 1 m of fabric? Have you used a specific pattern that you would recommend?


Linen, denim, wool and brushed cottons



I also have some linen, denim, wool and brushed cottons in my stash. The grey and red denim (on the far right) are actually from 4 years ago when I started to sew. I tried to make trousers from the grey denim and they just looked hilarious big. I still have the trousers and plan to cut them apart so that I can use the fabric for a skirt. I bought the red denim for a canvas bag I made. Also a fail, because with an jersey lining (!) it was just not stable and lives hidden away in a box now. The white-black checked fabric is made from wool and I bought it in Kiev (Ukraine) four years ago, when visiting Leschas family. (Leschas mum has finally stopped asking me, when I am going to use it. Embarrassing) I planned to make a dress out of it, which I think might still be lovely because it is a thin wool.


Jersey:



My jersey stash is really meager, that's why I am so keen on buying new ones. And as these are all purple, I should definitively get my hands on another color. Some blue maybe? The berry one on the right is actually only half a meter left over from my Burda top. So, there is not enough left to make a whole jumper. But I could combine it with the pale purple one in the middle.

How about you? Is your stash bursting as well? How do you keep your stash organised? I though it might be a good idea to measure every piece to have an idea what resources I have available!

12 comments:

  1. You have some beautiful pieces, Ela! I'm the same: most of my stash is cotton voiles - I just love that stuff!

    I haven't made the patterns yet, but I'm wondering if one meter might be enough for a Grainline Scout or Tiny Pocket Tank? And by shortening and narrowing the sleeves, I was able to make Burda 12/2012 #119 with one yard. http://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/simple-blouse-122012 With that three extra inches, you might even be able to lengthen the sleeves to 3/4 length.

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    1. Thanks a lot Gail! I just checked out the Grainline patterns and I am sure, I would be able to squeeze them out from my 1 meter :) I haven't tried Grainline patterns yet, so it would be a great opportunity.

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  2. very lovely stash. The colors are my favorites too. Good luck with the "diet" :D

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    1. Thank you Kristin! I have seen you are participating as well. I am looking forward to your stash makes :)

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  3. Oooh, lovely stash! You can make a nice skirt with a metre of cotton... Not sure if the voile is too light (I don't sew much with cotton) but perhaps if you underline it...

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    1. I just found a free skirt pattern at Burda. They are using two layers of fabric there, so I might give that a try :)

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  4. You've got some lovely material there! How about using some of the smaller pieces of print fabric that you've got with some plain pieces in a matching colour? That might help get around the problem of not being able to make dresses with only a metre of fabric. I've got quite a big stash of random bits of fabric but they're all either too small or not the right weight for dressmaking really so they'll gradually get used up in other projects, and I still get to buy new material for clothes!

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    1. That's a great idea Ruth, thank you! I just have to find a nice pattern that I can use. And yeah for buying new fabrics :)

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  5. Ela, this is a great stash. So much potential and there are some pretty prints in there. I'm particularly taken with the blue cotton with butterflies. For the 1m of fabric, you could always make bias from it if you can't find a pattern.

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    1. Thanks, Claire! I bought the butterfly fabric when I went to Canterbury last year. I just couldn't resist. Anything with "wings", I just have to buy it :) I really like your idea to make some bias tape. I actually could use it for binding my quilts, especially the more stiffer fabrics!

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  6. so many lovely fabrics! I love that plaid wool fabric. This would make an awesome dress or blazer! From 1m of fabric you can make some cute summer blouses or a bodice for a dress and use some other fabric for the skirt part!

    Sometimes, combining unusual patterns can look really great, e.g. the blue dots & the blue stripes. Pin them onto your dressform to get a feeling for what would work together. It's often hard to imagine to totally different fabrics together when you have them layingout flat on the floor.

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  7. Ooo! You have some gorgeous fabrics. The black and white check would be lovely as a dress. I keep all my fabric in a big bag under a bed, but I also have a notebook where I write where I bought the fabric, it's price, and the amount I have. I also cut a small square (just a couple of cms) and staple it onto the page. I find this really useful, because then I can make a note of what I want to make too. I can't take credit for this idea though, I got it from someone else!

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