Thursday Thriftday – Vintage Fabric

I found this gorgeous piece of vintage fabric at a local thrift store for only 50 cents! The color palette is to die for, don't you think? I think I have enough to make a little shell blouse out of this fabric. The orange and brown colors make it perfect for fall. But then the pink and blue will make it easily carry into spring. This is the kind of find I really can't get enough of.

Vintage Black and White Scrap Fabric

Just a little sharing today. These are fabric scraps that my great-aunt collected over her many years of sewing. She organized them by color in shallow boxes.

 I love the grey fabric. Love it. 

Last but not least some scrap muslin. Any ideas on what I should do with the fabric?

DIY Tutorial and Pattern – Fold-over Zippered Pouch with Wrist Strap

This fun little pouch is the perfect size to carry just the bare essentials. Or unfold it and you have a pencil pouch. Don't want to carry a purse? Just slip the wrist strap on and you're ready to run about town. The removable wrist strap allows you to move the pouch from your bag to wrist with ease. 

This pouch is the perfect size for using a single swatch of fabric. The fabric I used here is a swatch from a fabric I designed and had printed by Spoonflower. Visit my shop on Spoonflower to see the whole collection. This little pouch is really surprisingly quick to stitch. Within an hour a two, you'll be ready to go!

Read the tutorial and download the pattern after the jump.

Refashion – Sporty Tank Top

This sporty little tank top started out as a loose, knit peasant top that fell off my shoulders on the rare occasion that I actually wore it. The yellow contrast fabric is the swatch from a fabric I have on Spoonflower. (If you'd like to get some of your own, you can actually purchase it here.) I used the basic tank pattern that I used for my Dip Hem Dress. 

See more pics after the jump.

DIY Fabric Bow Tutorial

So after Saturday's bow-spiration moodboard, I'm sure you're itching to make yourself one or two or a thousand. Well, no need to fear, here is a quick and easy tutorial for making your own fabric bow. It might look like a lot of steps but it's really fast and easy. And, it only takes a little bit of fabric. I used scraps leftover from this refashion. Let's get started!

Step 1: Cut one piece of fabric 4 x 8 inches and one piece 4 x 1.5 inches. The small piece will be the center band that holds it all together and the big piece the bow itself. This size makes a bow about 3.5 x 1.75 inches.

Step 2: Fold the fabric pieces right sides together so that the long edges meet. Stitch the long edges using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Step 3: Turn the pieces right side out. For the band (small tube), attach a safety pin to one end, push the pin inside the tube and pull out the other end.

Step 4: Press the band flat with the seam along one edge. Press the bow flat centering the seam in the middle. The side with the seam is the wrong side. Fold the bow in half, right sides together so that the short ends meet. Stitch the short ends together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

 Step 5: Turn the seam to the inside and center it in the fabric circle. The side with the seam is the back of the bow.

Step 6: Pinch and fold the bow in the center with the edges angled down. The shape of the folds is kind of like a double humped camel or an "M".

Step 7: While holding the bow in position, put one end of the band inside the fold of the bow on the back side. Wrap the band tightly around the bow and trim away excess.

Step 8: Fold raw edge under and pin. Slip stitch the band in place.

You now have a lovely little bow! Use the bow to embellish a headband, purse, dress, pocket or even your shoes! Experiment with different fabrics and sizes to fit your needs. Obviously, if you want a bigger bow, cut bigger fabric. I cut the fabric on the bias because it looks cool with the plaid. But it's not necessary. A medium weight cotton is probably the easiest to work with but you could you anything you wish. Remember, the weight of the fabric will also determine how stiff your bow is. If you want an extra stiff bow you could apply interfacing to the fabric. I hope you enjoy this little tutorial!

Weekend Shopping - Fabric Remnants

Two weekends in row now, I've run to JoAnn's to pick up one little thing (thread, elastic) and found myself unable to resist the call of the remnant bin. (In case you aren't familiar, remnants are the leftover end of a bolt of fabric that's not worth putting back on the shelf, so it's bundled up and sold at a discount, usually 50% off.) I found myself sifting through the bundles searching for a little gem with enough yardage to make a little something, adding to my "to-do" list with every find. These little gems are destined to be simple blouses, a skirt and perhaps something ombre dyed (one can never have enough beige linen anyway, right?). Do you buy remnants? What do you look for?

Friday Faves – Gingham and Seersucker

1. Gingham Bows
2. Altuzarra for Jcrew Sabrina Dress
3. Green Check Blouse
4. Seersucker Wide Leg Pants
5. Gingham Swimsuit
6. Steven Alan Dress Spring 2011
7. Seersucker Keds
8. Checkered Tea Spoons

I am thrilled that my ombre clutch pattern has been featured in the Frankie Magazine newsletter this week. Thanks Frankie!

Ombre Clutch

A little preview of what I've been working on – a couple of ombre dyed fabric clutches.

Thursday Thriftday - April 19

Why buy new fabric when you can purchase cool vintage fabrics at the thrift store? Not only is it earth friendly, you'll also have some unique fabric in your stash.

Organizing Fabric Scraps

Using up all those bits of leftover fabric for small projects is a great way to save them from the landfill but figuring out how to store all those pieces can be a challenge. My favorite way to store fabric is in drawers, folded to the width of the drawer and then filed as one does folders. For smaller pieces, use smaller drawers and wrap fabric around pieces of cardstock or chipboard to provide stability.


Check out these fabric storage and organization tips from around the web:
Undercover Crafter
Everything Etsy – Part One and Part Two
Sew We Quilt
Patchwork Duck
Operation: Sewing Room Organization Flickr Group
Cut to Pieces
Apartment Therapy

How do you store your fabric?

Thursday Thriftday - August 11

Red Velvet Fabric
Purchased Assistance League of Glendale, $1

Fabric Organizing

Frustrated with the bins in which I stored my fabric, I bought a six-drawer Antonius organizer at IKEA. The model was on a close out sale, perfect for my budget.
After a lot of serious hammering, I was able to jam the frame together and slide in the baskets.

My fabric was already folded so transferring went quickly, although the bundles are a little too tall.
I'm very pleased with the drawers and was able to clean up the closet rather well.

Thursday Thriftday - Oct 14

Rose & Grey Floral Patterned Fabric

Thrifted in Eugene, OR
I think this fabric would be beautiful as a fitted blouse with a rounded collar.

Adventures in Fabric Dyeing

A few weeks ago, I impulsively bought a couple of yards of knit fabric from Michael Levine's bulk fabric store. It was a fun tie-dye combo of magenta purple, yellow, orange and green. I hand washed it in the sink and all of the purple dye washed out! Vinegar and salt did nothing to stop the bleed. I was left with the yellow and green fabric above – not something I would buy or wear.

So, I decided it was time to try some dyeing. I bought some blue and navy Jaquard Acid Dyes and combined the two for a dark blue color. I wanted to maintain some of the original tie dye quality of the fabric so I twisted the fabric and bound it with rubber bands. I used the instructions provided online for the dye process.

Again, during rinsing a lot of the dye washed out, despite using Synthrapol as a pre-wash and after-wash. I don't believe the dye was the problem, rather the fabric is very troublesome. As a comparison, I also dyed some other fabric (originally brown) which turned a solid dark blue.

Still, I like the dyed fabric much more than the washed out yellow. Next step is some sewing. I'm planning to make a dress.

Some design inspiration:
Splendid Modal Zipper Back Dress


BDG Pleated Frock from Urban Outfitters


Or more likely, drape drape no.6

Thrifted Fabric

On my trip to Oregon at the end of July I picked up some fabric from my favorite thrift store. The two above are vintage double knits. Below is a cotton and two dressier fabrics. On this same shopping trip, I picked up the rainbow stripes.Any ideas on what I should make with these fabrics? The blue cotton is already a dress to be shared soon. I think the blue double knit would make a nice skirt. I'm not sure about the yellow stripes.

Rainbow Stripes

I've loved rainbow stripes for years and years. I found the fabric above at a thrift store and snatched it up immediately. It's exactly like the fabric of a rainbow striped romper I had when I was about 6 years old. That romper was one of my favorite outfits. I don't remember the details of the garment but I do remember the fabric. I believe it was rather like the romper below. (I found these photos somewhere on the world wide web a while back; I think via The Coveted Vintage Pick of the Day.)

There's about 2 yards of fabric, 45 inches wide and it only cost 99 cents. It might be enough to recreate the romper of my childhood. But... at 5'11" I might look more overgrown than cute. So, I'm thinking probably a top would be more appropriate.

Or maybe a cute little dress like the one above from Thread Social's Spring 2009 collection. Besides the rainbow stripe, I especially like the scoop neckline and fluttery sleeves. Maybe there would be enough fabric for a tank top and shorts, to be worn separately or together if I start to get daring. hmm...

Thrifting Weekend Finds

I found some great fabric and vintage patterns while thrift shopping this weekend. I even used some of it to whip up a new summer dress, to be posted when I get some decent photos taken.

Fabric Swatches

Inspired by the fabric swatches on the PurlBee, among others, I started putting this decorating project together months ago. This weekend I decided to finally wrap it up. I already had a few vintage embroidery hoops but thought I needed more. I went to JoAnns but they only had brightly colored plastic ones. So, I headed over to Michaels and picked up a variety of wooded hoops. They were all priced for one dollar plus some change. They were cheaper than I had expected meaning I bought more than planned. However, I probably wouldn't use them for actual embroidery because I would be a concerned that the hoop would break with frequent use.
To put these together, I just hooped the fabric and cut it close to the edge. Then hung the hoops on thumbtacks. I may need to do some more rearranging or add some more hoops to get the balance of the composition just right.