A Bit of a Fabric Binge!

Train from London Blackfriars to Brighton
(I then grabbed a another to Portslade!)

Disclaimer... this is a pictures-heavy post ;-)!

I've been on a bit of a fabric binge this last week or so... and whilst my credit-card may have taken a bashing, the new pretties that I've added to my stash have added a smile to my face 😄 with their loveliness!

Does anyone else feel a wee bit guilty when you buy new fabric? Especially, if you are like me overspilling in every nook and cranny of your abode with fabric?

Honestly, I have so much fabric that when I have a tidy up I am always re-discovering fabric that I'd forgotten I owned 😂😂😂.

It started off two Tuesdays ago on 25th April - when I met up with my friend Dibs (her blog) who was in town for a little fabric shopping + she needed a sewist's hand to *measure her up accurately too. (*Dibs is planning to use the sloper pattern making classes on Craftsy.com by Suzy Furrer to draft her own custom basic blocks for Bodice, Skirt and Trousers/Pants. These core patterns tailored uniquely for her figure will allow her to create her own designs going forward, and are also a great tool to use when adjusting commercial patterns to get a great fit.)

Dibs and I met up in the Costa Coffee shop on Goldhawk Road (conveniently located opposite the tube station - yay!). After a quick caffeine hit to invigorate my nerves we hit the shops. I managed to buy only 2 pieces here - which seemed a little lightweight for me (hah!). I got 1.5m of a supersoft twill-weave 100% cotton striped fabric. It was a bargain £4/m from Classic Textiles. And, I got a 1m remnant of some heavyweight Denim from Al-Anaka for only £6.

My Goldhawk Road purchases

The striped fabric will be to make a shirt only version of the sleeveless Alder Shirtdress pattern by Grainline Studio. The denim will be to make a new version for my Hubby of 'The Organised Office Bag' from The Bag Making Bible book by Lisa Lam.

But, whilst I spent comparatively little, the lovely Dibs was more enthusiastic with her spending in her favourite spot - the new Misan West store. Upstairs, they have a big clearance section full of zips, unusual buttons, trims, notions, leather offcuts and of course fabric! I hope Dib's arms made it ok with her weighty bags on her trip home (hehe!). It probably didn't help that I finally got to give her 2 pieces of lovely jersey that I'd been meaning to gift her for ohh... about 2 years haha!

Fabric gift from me to Miss Dibs!

Then last Saturday (29th April)... I helped to organise a meet-up and shopping trip in Portslade (this was organised jointly with Stevie and Zoe).

We had special access to storage units for 2 fab fabric shops - Ditto Fabrics, and Fabric Godmother. And, I went a bit fabric-crazy, which considering that I'd left at home my (by now) infamous pink trolley was a bit daft! I had back ache carrying my purchase home (doh!).

Picture courtesy of  Emma @dressmakerssocial

Anyway, we had a lovely group of 8 for our fabric retail-therapy:
(Above is a pic that Emma from Ditto took.)

• Emma (who works at Ditto) @dressmakerssocial
• Zoe @sozoblog (fellow organiser)
• Stevie @bbhandmadedress (the third organiser)
• Jane @janemakes
• Vicki @vicki_mostly_sews
• Sal @sewingunlimited
• Rea (friend of Zoe, not on IG, that I can tell)
• Louise @seamsoddlouise (sorry that your face if cut off Louise!)

My Ditto buys

Here's the round-up of my buys...
From Ditto
1⃣ 1.1m, 144cm wide of Deep Teal Blue cotton sweatshirt (£9.99/m).
2⃣ 75cm x 156cm wide remnant of Dark Blue denim (£4.92).
3⃣ 135cm x 144cm wide remnant of Mushy Pea Green cotton sweatshirt (£8.09).
4⃣ 2m, 110cm wide of Window Pane Navy & Ivory Check cotton (£4.99/m).
5⃣ 2m, 140cm wide of Grey with white/red leaves cotton (£6.75/m - SALE item).
6⃣ 1.7m, 144cm wide of Gold Stretch Twill Weave (like a medium-heavyweight denim), 90% Cotton 8% Polyester 2% Elastane (£8.95/m).
7⃣ 4m, 160cm wide of raw/natural coloured heavyweight Denim (£4.75/m - SALE item).

    

 

 

From Fabric Godmother

L to R: Stevie, Vicki, Sal, Jane and
Josie (the Fabric Godmother!)

Me 'n' Josie

 

Josie, Vicki & Stevie

Louise with Zoe's son Frankie  

1⃣ Kelly Anorak pattern by Closet Case Patterns (£15.00).
2⃣ 1.5m, 140cm wide of Spot Viscose Challis - Black (£7.00/m).
3⃣ 1.5m, 150cm wide of Milano Viscose Jersey - Dark Grey 5% spandex (£10/m).
4⃣ 1.5m, 160cm wide of Lurex Stripe 100% Viscose Jersey - Black & Gold (£9.00/m).
5⃣ 2m, 144cm wide of Ice Blue Cotton Lawn (£6.00/m).

 

   

  

Bonus Time! Josie (the Fabric Godmother) also very kindly gifted us all with some gorgeous fabric and a lovely pattern too!
6⃣ 2m, 144cm wide of Cobra Corsage Cotton Lawn - Black (£15.00/m).
7⃣ 'Le 600' pattern - a Blouse with box pleats and elasticated waist (by https://dpstudio-fashion.com).

 

And... I've already made something from this haul! It's a Kimono which I'll share with you all in my next post 😄!