Another thought on why I build up a stash

I am using some stash fabric in making a new quilt, that is the patchwork for its top. I don't intend to get this done any time soon, I just wanted to see what the blocks look like.

I saw this intriguing tutorial about sewing four strips together and cutting four triangles from each square. It does make a lovely pattern:

The busy looking navy is a cheap fabric I got from a Shephard's Bush shop several years ago for the purpose of mixing it with other navy fabrics for quilts. The assembly of this pattern was intriguing, I wanted to see for myself how this would turn out. I literally started without a plan. Can always make a baby quilt, right?

So of course I like this so much that I would love to make this into a big quilt and of course I am running out of these fabrics! That was kind of obvious, wasn'n it?  I like this patterned blue fabric so much that I want to run back to Shephard's Bush to check if there's more and then buy loads!

I think I may have had another insight on why I build up a stash and then have huge trouble to dip into it and use stuff up: when I sew with a fabric like this one, that I had been looking forward to using, only I had no idea on what yet...

...it means that I need to let go of something that seemed to have a lot of promise. I could maybe even make a top with it if the mood strikes! I'll make lovely quilts! I'll do this, I'll do that!

I am finding it so hard to use stash material because I might 'waste' it on something that won't look great (like it does in my head when I think about the potential) - it's like some fabrics are my favourites and it feels painful to see them graduate (to become part of a project), grow up (move from 'possibility' to 'actually being used') and then leave home (i.e. leave my stash).

I bought a great FQ once at Alexandra Palace (I used some of it for my Steampunk vibe skirt) - the seller said something like she was letting one of her kids go: because it was the last one of this pattern, and that she knows all her fat quarters so well that it feels like a loss when she sells some of them.

I finally know what she meant because I am experiencing it, just by putting the darn thing to the use it is intended for. I had some fabrics so long, they feel like part of the family now! Ach...

I really need to get over this. If I want to keep admiring fabrics then I should hang them on the wall like it's artwork. But I can't just keep them around in case I want to pull something out and sigh over it! I mean, come on!? That's beyond silly.

The issue with this specific fabric is also that it felt like a very versatile fabric: the pattern can be mixed with anything: similar navy shades or contrast colours. I feel a bit desolate that I narrowed it down to this one choice, and therefore it is 'versatile' no longer.

So looking at the whole thing from another angle: does that mean that most of my fabrics are not versatile enough to be easily applied to a pattern? Did I buy a lot of fabrics only because I liked them but they may be too difficult to use?  Is that another reason why I have so much stash?

I do find that it can be really difficult to try and find a suitable fabric when I want to start a project. I often wish I could go and buy new so I get to pick weight, colour, pattern and fibre in special dedication to the particular item. But when I did try and buy new for e.g. my waterfall collar jacket [I'll insert a link once I do post about it] I couldn't find a single thing I really liked - "making do" with something from my stash did then let me go ahead and start.

I may have to let some of my old fabrics go. To lighten the load. Or start with a fabric and decide on a project, that might work better. Oh crikey...

Sneak peak of the waterfall jacket (it needs a lot of fitting and adjustment work):

Summary of my stash coping ideas

View image | gettyimages.com

 

Where my blog posts are concerned, I often apply a lot of voluble outpouring in the verbal department.  I just can't seem to shut up.  Can't be a bit more concise. Not happy with that.

The very length of my posts threatens to bury the points I wrote about.  I am even less happy with that.  It took quite a bit of rereading of my previous blog post about stash busting (this one) to figure out just what my conclusions were that I had come to about how to manage my stash.

So I want to do a summary.  What did I learn, what ideas did I come up with?

• I don't fear cutting into fabric but cutting out feels like it needs lots of effort
• I don't have enough tried and tested patterns I can whip up
• My stash is badly organised. As in not organised at all (gah)
• I don't know my fabric fibres well enough to know what fabric is good for what kinds of garments
• I bought several versions of the same thing because I forget what I have
• I don't have enough colours or patterned fabrics in my stash

This leads me to the conclusions I came to:

• I want to organise my stash lots better: put similar fabrics together
• Use my stash app Clothio for lots more fabrics than so far
• Measure the lengths of my fabrics properly
• Put remnants and odd pieces aside
• Examine each fabric thoroughly to get rid of tat
• Put aside fabrics I can use for toiles/muslins
• Look over my project ideas list to check my earmarked fabrics
• Keep going on developing TnT patterns
• Keep my self-drafted patterns in better order
• Go through the fabric fibre bible I bought at the V&A
• Chuck non-viable UFOs to lighten the load
• Resign myself that I won't use most of my fabrics (sneef)
• Use a specific fabric as starting point for the project
• Get on with it: I can only learn from doing, even if badly. More sewing is the answer to so many different problems!

Ooh, I've had more ideas on practical ways of doing something with and about my stash. That feels very helpful. I want to really take hold of that last point: just get on with it!

I shall report back about how it's going.

PS: There is perhaps one more insight that just occurred to me: I don't want to use up a very special fabric on a pattern that I'm not sure of. I would rather sew that pattern with a less special fabric (it also reduces a bit of my stash) and perhaps make it a second time, than 'waste' the special length. I would be too heart-broken to find the pattern/fabric combo was awful. And you get more of a feeling of achievement out of a successful project even if the material used wasn't the most loved one.

There's a deadline to my plan

 

Ah, I only just realised: there is a deadline I can aim for - if I want to achieve a certain planned project.  People, this could be good news!

I made a toile of Simplicity 1462 out of an old bed sheet that fit pretty well. It just needs a thin sliver taking out at the top of the front princess seam, then it should be good.

 

It actually fit so well that I almost wish I had used a dressmaking fabric. But it would have heart-breaking if I had messed up, again.  I just can't cope with yet another project that doesn't quite pan out. I've had enough of those, can't deal with it already again. So it's a good thing I found a great pattern, never mind that it won't be a wearable toile, that's just too bad. Phew.  Glad that's off my chest.


I want to make two of these blouses at pretty much the same time.  A bit like a conveyor belt process: just get both fabrics cut out, transfer markings and then sew 'em up.  One of those urges of: 'let's just go for it, churn it out, no double guessing: just do it'.

Imagine my horror when I found only one (plain blue) fabric in my stash that seemed suitable. And no second. Oh God. This is really bad.

Since then I located another one that will do, at a pinch. I don't have the photo to hand, but its very similar to this black and white cotton, just the other way round of the dominant colour:

Just like 'that dress': this is black and white, not blue. I swear.

I'm not sure how princess seams and raglan sleeves will look in this.  Whether the checks will be a complete pain in the butt to try and match or if I'll go for an obvious mismatch?  I haven't decided yet.  I might just change my mind and try to find a third fabric to use instead.

Why is this so hard?  I have hundreds of fabrics and surely there have to be several that I can use to make blouses with?  I thought I had everything and that all the fabrics I own had so much potential.  I am finding the uselessness of my stash quite upsetting to tell the truth.  How can I not have the fabrics that I want to use?  Why did I buy all of these and what for?

-

Anyway, back to my headline: I do have a deadline.

I just realised that there is a fabric shopping trip organised for 13 June.  If I haven't made these two blouses by then with whatever fabrics I can find in my stash, then I know what I'll be unable to resist: more fabric shopping.  Obviously.  For a fabric that I want for this blouse.

I must make both blouses before that day comes round. Once I've got them done, then I'll know if I still want to make a third blouse.  If I don't get them done, then I will add yet another fabric to my stash because I think that it'll be the solution to my "can't find a suitable fabric for this pattern" issue.  Which isn't even true - I should just use whatever is big enough as long as it's half way the right kind of weight. I really shouldn't um and err about this!  But I do want to be able to visualise the blouse and I can only do that when I find the fabric appealing {sticks lower lip out}

This stash-eroding business is stupidly tough. Grumble.


Update 1: I did cut out the sleeves in the plain blue fabric. That's how far I got. I'll post a photo of this soon.
I want to add some more on this point, but it's a bit involved. Enough for half a blog post! Oh well...

One blind hem coming up!

I did it! 

I sat down and re-did the hem of this stash-busting skirt.  As a hand-stitched blind hem.

How do you like them apples?

It didn't take me very long at all - just a little time at a crafts meeting on Sunday afternoon.  You sit and chat while you stitch away at something like this... and almost without realising: you're getting it done.

To be completely honest: I can't quite believe that I was able to do this within a day of completing the rest of the skirt. And blogging about it.

The thing was that I still had this skirt (and its ugly hem) on my mind after getting so far with it, finally, but not in a way that I was particularly happy with.

I forgot that I basted the top edge by machine (for guidance) and didn't realise why this area was looking so ugly.  But once I had taken this stitching out - the whole skirt started to look quite good to me all of a sudden.  A nice surprise.

But I didn't like the machine stitched hem that I did in a sudden flurry of annoyed thinking: 'oh I'll just get this fardling stupid hem done quickly' - and it showed.

It looked out of place: the stitch length was too long and the colour a bit off.  It made the skirt look cheaper.  This is much better.  Not perfect by any means, but lots better.

And overall I am now much happier with the general standard of sewing on this project.  I feel like I am improving in technical skills and generally getting better at this sewing business.  It feels really good.

I was going to use my blind hem foot on my machine but knew that the hem was uneven on the inside.  I just didn't fancy trying to sew this with the foot and failing.  I do believe that doing this by hem was quicker and much less frustrating than the other way would have been.

I am not sure if I will do the tab at the top of the zip - I think it looks alright as it is: the opening makes a bit of a V-shape and I like the look of it.  I can change my mind later if I reconsider.

Overall I am much more happy with this skirt now than I was for quite a while.  I didn't make much progress for a long time and I am guessing that it was because I started to dislike the skirt.  Things don't half drag out if you don't feel like them.

But now it's done and I am pretty happy with it.

I (almost) completed a sewing WIP!

Hey, look at that:

I finished a sewing project!

I am very happy - this will count as my second project completed this year, meaning that I am ahead of myself in terms of the four items a year goal. Which in turn means that I might be able to up this to six projects a year!  Completing a garment every two months ought to be do-able - particularly as this one is finished in April and not in June.

I did say it was almost completed. There are two issues with this:  I should add a tab at the top of the zip.  I thought I put the zip in at the right height but there is too big a gap to the edge - it is still wearable though.

Don't ask me why the next photo is upside down, it doesn't matter much for the purpose.

Look how neatly the ribbon aligns "across" the lapped zip!  I am really chuffed with that - all it took was a bit of handsewing at the end because it hadn't gone on straight with the machine.  I am very pleased with that.

The second issue that I am not happy with is the hem.  I might re-do it with my blind hem foot.  Just as soon as I identify which one that is (my sewing machine manual is very helpful, - as long as I consult it that is...)

This is my stashbuster skirt.  I had about 20 odd centimetre of the grey pin stripe and half a meter of the dark red (yes, it is much more of a red than a pink in real life. I wish my camera could turn the colour to this shade through some kind of magic, but alas...)

I couldn't do anything with either fabric but once I realised that they are the same weight and type (superfine 100% wool), then that gave me the idea to just sew the two widths together.  Did I mention that both fabrics were the same width?  That's what swung it.

I started by sewing the two fabrics together and then treated it as if it was one piece.  I just cut all three pieces and carefully aligned the seam.  But it took me a long time to get to today's result.

Here is what it looked like for the longest time:

I need to take a photo of me wearing it.

Once I do that you can see that the seam between the two fabrics hits me at a really odd point on the hips, which is too high up. It looks really odd, trust me.

That made me think that a ribbon would draw the eye down a bit.  I think I achieved the desired effect.

I can now wear this (on Monday perhaps?) and will consider it finished for just now.  I need to get through too much material to get stuck on one project that was never meant to be the best thing I've ever done - I just wanted to use up two fabrics.

Which I did.  So there.

More stash-busting ideas

Oooooooh, I just came across another fantastic stash busting idea in this blog post:

How to find and follow an idea - by Myrna Giesbrecht.

Have quite a bit in remnants left over from previous projects?

Answer: make a child's garment out of it!

Now if that's not another stash busting genius idea then I don't know what is.  How utterly fabulous!

The little girl's dress that Myrna is designing here is looking very gorgeous.  I will look out for her next post on the same project: I can't wait to see how it pans out!

I love her use of the thin ribbon like pieces (are they selvedges?)

Beautiful.  Now I just need to find time or make myself sit down to sew whether I feel I have time or not.  Let's get to it!

I wanna stash-bust!

I just had THE BEST idea yet!  As long as we're talking sewing, lovely fabrics and great projects of course (I would hope I've had other good ideas in the course of my life that might not be about sewing. You know what I mean...)

I've got this huge problem of a huge fabric stash, loads of ideas for sewing projects that I would quite like to get to at some point and the harrowing realisation that in addition to all the dressmaking fabrics I've amassed (it really is an unmanageable 'mass' at this point, sneef!) I have even more quilting cottons.  Absolutely LOADS of them!

So much fabric everywhere that I have no idea what to do with.  It makes me feel like I won't be able to get through it in the next 20 years or so.

And the worst thing is that every time I think I've got a dressmaking project I really want to make and wear: I don't seem to have quite the right fabric to hand.  It feels utterly sob-inducing to be honest.

So here's my fabulous idea: I've wanted a skirt in a nice big pattern for a while. I already sewed an A-line skirt in a patterned bright pink fabric which came out okay.  I did a mini skirt in a nicely patterned tartan, I like that one too - but I still haven't made a skirt in a really BIG pattern as I wanted.

I know: I'll use patchwork to MAKE that big pattern that I am yearning for!

How's that for a brilliant idea? I know: just genius, right?



Something a bit like this.

I can use mainly solid fabrics, I can mix in a print or two, I can pick out just those kinds of colours that I want - and then make a repeating motif of something like a big square with some kind of frame in different colours around it.  Dot those in regular intervals over the expanse of the skirt, and I'm sure I'll love wearing it!

Yay!

A small dent in my stash

This really was a great project to do - not just in terms of how quickly I was able to put it together but also with regards to how much of the fabric I could use up.

Just look at how very little there is left over!

I might be able to get a very small unit (block) of a scrappy quilt out of this.  I like the fabric so much that I will keep these bits for that purpose.  What can I say, I am a terrible hoarder.  Hopefully only of things that are still beautiful and useful.  Thankfully I am able to chuck stuff away that has seen its best or was never that great to begin with. You need to know when to cut your losses: there is nothing worse than keeping something around with the vague hope of a future use - only to find that when you eventually try to use it (as the only item out of goodness only knows how many) - that finally shows up that it is no longer fit for purpose.  Some of the time I just kept stuff because I own in, for no other reason.  Fed up with that.

My main reason for posting this photo is actually not so much the blog post itself.  I want to post this photo on the website My Sewing Circle but it won't allow posts in comments by uploading directly from your computer, you need a URL.  Well, I can give it a URL, no problem.

I like My Sewing Circle: it is an online sewing community.  Like Ravelry (the online community for people who knit or crochet) but obviously for people who sew instead.

They just added new functionality to allow users to put up or download free digital patterns on the pattern pages. Cool.

So here goes: a successful project in how much fabric I could use, how quickly I made it and that I was able to complete it in the first place!

Where the completion of sewing projects is concerned, I wonder if I'm over the mental block... (let's not jinx it)