Economies of Scale

I fell in love with today's fabric as soon as I saw it on the sale upholstery rack at Mill End. It had so many colors that I like: green, yellow, and dark pink. But what I think really attracted me to it was its size contrasts: it was basically a bunch of huge polka dots surrounded by tiny dots. As you can see from the measuring tape, the "sunbursty" circles are about 3.5 inches in diameter! This is a much larger scale than I usually get in fabric. I find myself drawn to upholstery fabrics often for their fibers and feel but just as often for the sheer scale of their patterns. Big! Bold! Prints! AND upholstery fabric tends to be 60 inches wide, which is becoming increasingly important to me as I want to make very full skirts and dresses without lots of piecing.

Since this fabric was already on the sale rack, I was tempted to buy it (at Mill End, if you buy everything left on the bolt in the upholstery sale section, you get it at 50% off). When I saw the sign saying that they were taking an additional 20% off of all upholstery fabrics, I was sunk. I just HAD to get this fabric. I believe there was approximately 4 yards left on the bolt, and it ended up being around $6 a yard. The fabric is a medium heavy cotton twill. I intend to make a full-skirted halter-style-with-waist-yolk dress out of it, as soon as I am allowed to start new projects. Since I can't actually stand the way halters pull at my neck, I will probably convert the pattern to a cross-cross back. Here's hoping I can get to this project before the weather turns rainy and cold again around here.

Yipes! Stripes! Part 1

I enjoy stripes. Not nearly as much as I enjoy Polka-dots, but that's ok. I especially love when stripes are used creatively, going different ways in one pattern or garment. However, I have not done too much sewing with stripes, so I can't moan and complain about how difficult they are to match. Yet!

The top fabric is one that I only have about a foot of. It was an interior design sample that was given to me when the fabric was discontinued. What you can't really see from the picture is that the blue stripes are actually chenille, which adds a great texture and draws me to the fabric. I also like the width of the stripes. The rest of the fabric is just a medium-weight cotton. I could see making a fun summer suit out of this material, especially one with tails.

The second fabric is a very light cotton, and is far more subtle than my usual taste. However, this fabric has proved to be a great complement fabric for me. I have used it in a couple of patterns where the main fabric is so crazy that the edging or bands should really be solid-colored. However, just plain solid is so boring, and !volia! the color-on-color stripes are the perfect solution! One layer of this fabric is very see-through, so I tend to double it. I believe I still have about 5 or 6 yards of this left. I started out with at least 10 yards that I inherited from a friend about 10 years ago.

Stash Part 1: Green

Every time I start a new colorway series for my purses, I get the immense pleasure of hunting through my stash for a few dozen minutes to compile fabric that goes well together and compliments each other. Usually a stop when I have about a grocery bag full, as I can usually get 6-10 purses out of that much fabric.

This time, however, I believe I ended up with 3 very full grocery bags worth. I just couldn't resist all the beautiful different shades of green. I used the different frog fabrics in the last picture as my inspiration for what fabrics to pull. The first two pictures show all of the fabrics piled high on my drafting table in my workspace. Most of the fabrics are scraps that range between 2x2 inches to an uncut half yard. However, there are a couple of larger pieces in there as well.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, Please Shine Down on Me

This fabric....makes me smile. Look at those suns! I mean, just look at them. They are so bright and cheery and smiley and, well, sunny! Maybe if I concentrate really hard I can channel the power of those smiles into convincing the real sun to come out and stay out for more than 30 minutes at a time. I purchased this fabric about 6 months ago at a smaller fabric store that specialized in quilting cottons called Fibers in Motion. I believe I paid $2.50 for a fat quarter (for explanation of what a fat quarter is, go here). This fabric is so cheery and makes me smile so much that I kinda wish I had purchase more now. It's a great spring fabric, and would be great for children (or anyone who likes cute suns). If the weather outside continues to insist on being unpredictable and grey, at least my current fabric makes me feel warmer. If I had more of this, I think I would make pajama pants out of it. It is a very lightweight flannel. Even though I despise wearing flannel, this is soft enough and so happy that I think I could forgive its flannel-ness and wear it with aplomb.

Shopping Ladies

First things first: I don't want to forget to mention that Bolt is having a big sale this weekend, so if you live in the Portland area and haven't had a chance to check it out yet, this would be a great time to do so. There aren't many smaller fabric stores that can sustain themselves in the midst of Joann's myriad coupons and Big Names like Fabric Depot, but Bolt has some really fun prints that you don't find at either of those places, so I like to support them when I can. Prices aren't amazing, but they aren't outrageous either. I am going to try to go there first thing tomorrow morning, as most of the rest of my weekend is booked solid.

Speaking of Bolt, the last time that I went there I purchased two yards of the fabric at the left. I think it was the color combinations that attracted me to it at first. The yellow and teal/blue are really very bold against the brown-maroon background. The background color is just great in itself, as it is a nice neutral color that isn't used all that often. the scale of the women makes this fabric prefect for me to base some purse series around. I bought this fabric specifically with purses in mind. It's especially great since so many of the women are carrying purses in the print. I also love the great variety of dresses/outfits when you look closely at the fabric, and the fact that there is some skin tone diversity! I could see this as a cute simple skirt as well, just a plain A-line. Erin would probably make a dress out of it, but then again, that's what she does best!

Anyways, I don't know where my receipt is that would show me how much I paid for this per yard, but i'm sure it was about $7 or $8. I believe it is a 100% cotton, 45in wide heavy quilting cotton.

Polka Dots, Part 2

This fabric is one the I saw at Joann's for the first time last week. It was on sale for 40% off (I think it was originally about $9 a yard). The dots on it are variegated in color and regularity, which I really like. The size of the bigger polka dots is about the size of a dime (sorry, it's hard to take a proper scale picture when you are taking the photos in the store). It's a fun lightweight silky fabric that would probably make a nice airy dress for the summer. It two big downfalls/reasons I didn't purchase it (besides being on a tight budget): 1. the white background. White backgrounds are hard for dresses for me, and the hand/feel of material wanted to be a dress, but the coloring on it wanted to be a skirt or a lining. It would make a great lining for a jacket. 2. It's 100%polyester. While that actually isn't really a deterrent for me personally, it would be for quite a few sewers I know. Mostly I can sit and admire this fabric for it lovely colors and uneven spacing, but don't feel the need to Make Anything out of it.