giving purpose to stored fabrics

last year

I have been downsizing and letting go of things that I know that I am too old to care about saving for future use.

I have gotten rid of fabrics that I no longer like or that I know I dont enjoy sewing on or wearing and I have gotten rid of patterns that I know I will never want again and all manner of stuff.

I am clearing the deck as old age sets in and I am giving priority and space to only those few things that still please me.

One genre of fabrics that I have kept are several pieces of beautiful woolens. These are wide fabrics and they are of such fine quality. They are from a time when nice fabrics were neither expensive nor scarce. Nice fabrics at an affordable price was the norm, not the exception.

They were purchased for garment construction but that is never going to happen.

Yesterday I took down two lengths of such and laid them out and realized that I could actually use these as nice blankets, even if they are both a bit smaller than you use normally for a blanket. But, since I sleep alone on a full sized bed, they are both going to be perfect for me.

One is a wool blend and is so soft and surprisingly lightweight. I took advantage of what is a very handsome selvedge edge and just did a nicely top stitched hem on the top and bottom. It turned out very nice and I am so glad to be using this lovely piece of stuff. I had sewed my daughter a robe of it when she was little. She is now middle aged.

The other piece is a beautiful off white piece of thick wool that is like a length of boiled wool, but not quite as thick and heavy. It already looks like a blanket. Again, it has a perfectly lovely selvedge on it and I am leaving that just as it is. It is, however just a tad shorter than I want so I am planning on adding extra length to the top of the piece using maybe some nice percale and doing a nice edge finish on the percale. I figure that I might look for a pretty sheet of good quality and a nice print and use it. I need about 8 inches or more to add as a border across one end . I am figuring that I can use the flat lock function on my serger to apply this border so avoiding a thick seam . I figure that I could use the rest of the nice sheet to make matching pillowcases.

I am so glad to have these two lovely pieces of fabric and put them to some use. I am never going to sew them up into garments at this age.

You would not find these two fabrics out in the wild today. I know that I paid no more than three bucks a yard for them. That was the way it was back in those days. Good quality fabrics were a given, not an exception.

I gave both pieces a good run through the wash and the dryer. There will be no surprises after hemming. They both came out great. A bit of shrinkage, but not significant.

After all these years, why did I not think about using them for something other than garments?

I was looking around for a nice light blanket and not finding anything that I liked. Now I have one and I have put to good use something that I have kept and stored for decades and it is a nice fabric, not fleece or micro fiber, ugh!

I just wanted to share and to encourage others to think outside the box, too.

I used my new blanket last night and it is going to do just what I wanted it to do. When it is time to wash, it will simply get washed and dried and no fuss.

Paring down to a more focused effort is so freeing! The older you get, the less time you have for "future". And, I know of not one soul who would want my sewing stuff except for little grand daughter who is now only 7. I am leaving her a few carefully curated things because this little girl is a a real maker.

Just wanted to share............

Comments (5)

Rho Dodendron
last year
Your happiness shines thru the post. Instead of a 8" sheet sewn to one end what about four inch added to each end?

Ironically I just cut up a 1960's twin sheet in great condition to construct a dress.
c t
last year
I've been doing the same thing. I gave to a friend several large boxes of patterns. I suspect he sold them on Ebay. Well, I guess good for him, I couldn't be bothered.

I had a lot of different craft stuff. Sadly, I didn't get the gene that imbues one with talent for watercolors, Fimo clay, basket weaving, beading, using dried flowers, or decorating dance costumes. I sold two boxes for 20 or 25 dollars apiece. To toot my own horn, when I saw a 'mystery box' of craft materials at the odd lots store, I did NOT restock the craft closet.

Earlier this year, I was making swags for a friend. I needed something for a sort of 'first draft' of the swag. I hauled out some wool I had stored away, knowing it was a similar width to the decorator fabric. As I draped it across the wood frame that would eventually hold the swag, I could see moth holes. Fine - now I could do more than drape; I could cut it and really get an idea of how it would go, and throw out the rest..

My sister gave me a boatload of fleece. I took a piece, and made a pillow sham. In order to divest the home of more excess stuff, I took the logos from the man-friend's old t-shirts and jackets that were stained, no long fit, logos from a half dozen caps he never wore, and stitched them to the pillow sham; now a memory pillow. He never looks at it, but it takes up waaaaay less room than all the clothes he no longer wears.

Because I sew, people at various times gifted me with fabric and thread. I had years' worth of Threads magazine - gave away some and simply threw out what no one wanted.

I also threw out several unfinished objects - fabric that I no longer found attractive, or projects that were going poorly and were not going to be salvaged. They were just mocking me from the sewing room!
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deco...I don't want to call grandma...I want to sew with her (or drink fluffy coffee as my grandma used to call it). Sue all that silk belongs in a crazy quilt missie...and have you ever made a quilt with a serger? SOOOO much easier, especially with silk. If you sew with silk at all woman you need to figure out the serger...can you say "no more fringed and frazzled edges?" Pecan...I didn't sew until ohhh five or so years ago when I made my DH (not DH then) a bunch of silk pillows for his couch (he couldn't find any that worked with it). I had a bunch of scraps and thought I'd "whip" out a crazy quilt for nothing...about a grand later...he had a beautiful quilt, and I was hooked. The great thing I now know is that I can buy silk on sale and save the scraps and make ooddles of quilts for so much less that that first quilt cost me! Those scraps of yours would be a gorgeous quilt I'd bet :oP When our house is all said and done I'm going to make a crazy quilt for our bed out of all the silks, satins and linen I'm using on drapes and for bedding. I will do that for every house we do as a memory of that home to take with us to the next. DS will have the nicest bed in the dorm room in college LOL
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I try to keep mine (mostly 1/4 & 1/2yrs) in 16x11/6" boxes by color, holidays, type(gold/slver,strips,plaids,dots, etc), hand dyed, period, solids, flannel,etc,etc. I store most of it stacked 3 high on industral shelves. I fold and file like index cards. On the bottom shelf I keep a laundry basket with my batts and covered shoeboxes with scraps cut to useable size sqs. Unfortunately I also have too many, some folded and others just in baskets on my cutting table. I am ashamed of my stash but like the boxes to store as they are easy to see and access. I lable with index cards facing out. Jayne
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There are many problems. Retail stores have long hired relied on part-time help. Thirty years ago, that worked better. Our local mall hired a lot of high school kids and Airmen's wives. Gas was under a buck a gallon. A Filet-O-Fish and a shake came in under a dollar, too. Many women didn't *have* to work, and worked because they wanted to, and if the job didn't work out, it wasn't a huge deal. Now, if someone is working, it's likely she needs the money. Many retail jobs are seasonal, so people quit when something better comes up. Or they find something in the off-season that isn't seasonal. Or they find that a seasonal job plus collecting unemployment in the off-season is more lucrative than looking for (and traveling to) another job. Gas is near four dollars a gallon, so if you're not scheduled for a full shift, you may feel as if some money is wasted. All this makes it hard to find good help these days. The managers are under the gun to make plan and come in under payroll- so the minimum number of people are scheduled. The problem isn't the the size of the cutting area, it's that there aren't enough people scheduled. Additionally, the number of people who still sew is rather small. Few people will apply for a job in a fabric store knowing nothing about sewing and crafts - and if they get hired, aren't going to be knowledgeable for a while. And to be honest, the work ethic isn't what it used to be, either. The managers are hiring the best people who walk through the door. Who did you contact in the head office? And does McCalls know of Joann's policy? Last time I felt strongly about something, I looked up the name of the president of the corporation, and sent the letter to him, by name. Personnel changes were made in five weeks.
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The plants are all real. Forgot to mention, each one has a little chair I made out of florist wire with a tiny upholstered seat - which also used up a few more fabric scraps. Also sprayed those with urethane so they don't rot too quickly or grow mildew. The hardest part about the whole thing for me was patience - waiting for stuff to dry thoroughly, and finding the plants to use. Due to the burst in popularity suddenly of mini gardening, WM & L's have had tiny succulents available. Possibly HD too, none close enough to visit. DH nailed the boxes together from scrap wood at his work. Sprayed everything, not just the quilted part, with urethane inside/outside so it will should last for a few years. I've got a thread about it in the house plant forum, if anyone would like way too many more details, more pics of these and other people's minis. OTOH, my Mom made one for my Son's teacher with all faux plants since we didn't know if she would appreciate the responsibility of live plants. She used much more mature-size stuff compared to the scene since they obviously won't grow to fill it in. It's daggone cute too but there's nothing quilted about it. It's in a little glass terrarium thing. This post was edited by purpleinopp on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 11:54
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claudia valentine
Original Author
last year
How freeing it is to not have those things calling out to you about your sewing missteps and crazy ideas. How much fabric has been wasted over the decades!

One difference between sewing a garment and buying a garment is that you can try on the ready made garment and reject it if it doesnt fit right . We make so many trial garments often before we get the right fit and sometimes it just never happens. But that is still good fabric and you think that maybe you can put it aside and morph it in to something desirable someday in the future. Most often that doesnt happen.

I have gotten down to just a few patterns that I use anymore. I have perfected the fit of these few garments and the success rate of good fit is much higher.

I wont even buy any new patterns and have eliminated most of what I had.

I made tshirt quilts for both of my now grown kids and also for hubs. I am really liking how all three of them turned out. The kids ones I did maybe 15 or 20 years ago and they are still going strong. Hubs I just got finished sometime since covid. I dont have one as I never did like tshirts and wont wear them.

I am still working on paring down and it is amazing how it seems to be never ending. I can see the differences now in my house. Some things I do regret getting rid of, but the regret may be more a result of the fact that I am getting older and that may be what am regretting, rather than the stuff. I just regret the fact that I no longer have life left to use it.

But the pleasure of having a nice cleaned space is great.
Lars
last year
last modified: last year
I have several bolts of velvet in the closet in what used to be my sewing room in L.A. that I am not willing to get rid of yet. I gave one bolt of red velvet to a cousin who said she would use it to make a dress for a Renaissance Faire, and that is why I was willing to let it go, although reluctantly. However, I realized that I was never going to make anything huge (like drapes or a bedspread) out of red velvet. In the past, I have made items for Hollywood set designs, but I am not doing that anymore. I do, however, have bolts of damask, velvet, and brocades that I plan to use for bedspreads and possibly drapes, and since I have adequate space to store them, I am holding onto them for now.

What I need to get rid of is remnants or smaller pieces of fabrics, as I have accumulated massive amounts of those. Very frequently I find uses for them, and so I am not very motivated at this time.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
last year
Lars, you can donate your fabric pieces to thrift stores. The ones here sell all kinds of things like that. I've gotten some very nice remnants that way.

And a couple of other simple ways to use up lengths of fabric are scarves, tablecloths and wraps. I've done that a number of times.

giving purpose to stored fabrics

Comments (5)

Rho Dodendron

c t

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giving purpose to stored fabrics

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Rho Dodendron

c t

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claudia valentineOriginal Author

Lars

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claudia valentine
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