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<strong>5 ways to think about your fabric stash </strong>
#makeyourstashBuying behaviourSewingSustainability thoughts

5 ways to think about your fabric stash 

written by Kate

How do you like to think about your fabric stash? Do you love having a stash or does it stress you out? If you’re a keen sewist, chances are you have some fabric stash. If you’ve been keen for a while, it is very possible that you’ve amassed quite some fabric over time! 

Does the size of your fabric stash give you stress?

Mine has given me stress on and off over the years. In stressed times I’ve written about shopping culture, run sewing challenges on Instagram on and off since 2018 in the name of sustainability and stashbusting – #MakeYourStash / #SewWhatIHave . They do what they say on the tin, and hinge upon the (almost the only sustainability idea that isn’t up for debate) that we should all consume a little less and use what we have.

A stash of colourful cotton lawn fabrics
A collection of cotton lawns from Liberty London and Storrs London. The red and blue one in the middle still isn’t sewn after about 2 years! I bought it because it was called Columbia Road, which is where I used to live in East London.

Sustainability and buy nothing vs sewing 

Over time I’ve been nudged towards changing my views on the issue of fabric stash. If the output of my hobby and job is sewing, I really have to stop sewing and producing any clothes. But besides some income practicalities, that is really not a joyful idea so I had to come up with some mindset shifts. That’s not to say I’m not on board with consuming less, but I think having an awareness of it means it takes me much longer to decide to buy anything and I ditched some of the guilt associated with buying. As for the existing fabric stash, well, it is already there ….

By the way, where I haven’t changed my view: a garment is not sustainable simply because I sewed (or knit) it. Honestly, I don’t feel connected to or value every single thing I make, do you? I’ve had plenty of things that have not turned out as expected or as I wanted, and haven’t managed to salvage or refashion. Anyway, moving onto the ways of thinking that really help me grapple with fabric stash stress and/or guilt and maybe you too.

1. Sewing should be fun, fabric should be fun

If you are a hobbyist, then the fabric (and pattern) stash is the core of your hobby. Feeling guilty for hobby-related purchases that you really love because you don’t “need” it doesn’t do you any favours. My technique for guilt relief: the fabric isn’t immediately talking to me, I spent a few days thinking about it (no scarcity problem – there will always be more lovely fabric!) Quite often I just forget about it!

2. Your fabric stash is a collection of beautiful things

This pointer is from my mister … who thinks fabric collections are no different from collecting shot glasses, vintage china, stamps, whatever. If you gain enjoyment from having it, then let that be that! Why should it be that fabric is not allowed but fridge magnets and toys cars are? Also – floral Liberty prints – I stopped buying them because I came to the realisation that I prefer to look at them as surface prints rather than see them on my body! So now they are beautiful pieces in my stash and I might sew one up occasionally, or not. But I know now not to buy them unless I have something very specific in mind

I told myself I’d sew all these fabrics this year, it is now May and I’ve only sewn the middle green one….

3. You don’t have to sew your stash just because you have it. 

Linked to the one above, why self impose any pressure to sew everything you have? Because you already bought it so you should do something with it? Fabric does not go moldy like food, it will be there when you feel like it. Or perhaps you don’t feel like you have room for all the stuff? In which case …

4. It is ok to outgrow fabric and let it go 

I’m a hoarder and I hate to throw anything out. You? There are fabrics in my stash that have been there for years and I have a hard time accepting I have outgrown them. But, sometimes it can feel pretty nice to give it away to people who say they really like it! There have also been many times where I’ve royally messed up on buying fabric online and it turned out to be unlike what I expected. Usually I think let me just keep it for awhile. Then sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. 

5. Looking at your fabric stash (or buying it) is a way to engage in sewing when you don’t have time or energy to sew

What if you really don’t feel like making a quick project or you really don’t have time to sew anything involved? Then having a fabric stash is really handy for some future planning … because dreaming about future projects is also part of the creative hobby. As you’d expect, I would recommend looking at your stash first before buying new things in case you find some hidden gems.

So that’s my two cents on the matter. Over to you – how do you like to think about your fabric stash? Join the discussion on IG or leave a comment here! 

Till next time 

Kate x

May 12, 2022 3 comments
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A sustainable wardrobe in 2022 vs sewing all the things
#makeyourstashBuying behaviourDressmakingOpinion piecesSewingSustainability thoughts

A sustainable wardrobe in 2022 vs sewing all the things

written by Kate

In 2021 I did a lot of sewing for work, and you can hardly call that contributing to a sustainable wardrobe (depending on your definitions). So what is going to happen in 2022? After chewing on it for some time I think I’ve sorted out my thoughts on this.

Sewing work in 2022

There will be less work-related sewing when it comes to garment output. I have a full-time job so there is less time to make for examples as many tutorials as I did for Minerva in 2021. Also there are fewer sewalongs for Fibre Mood (affiliate link) … don’t know the number but definitely less than the end of 2020/beginning of 2021 where it felt like we were doing a sewalong once a week! 

I still do technical editing work and occasional sample making as part of that so there will still be garments. If I can give them away, so much the better as these are not necessarily pieces I adore having in my closet. Which brings me to …

Here’s a stack of fabric I have – mix of new and existing from the stash. There were a lot of hits and misses when I went digging in my stash! I guess tastes and preferences change over time.

Sustainable wardrobe? 

The word sustainable has lost so much meaning for me, in the years I’ve been reading and writing about it. Guess it is a symptom of overuse and how it has been abused for greenwashing purposes which annoys me no end. 

For clothing, I still enjoy the Fashion Revolution 30 wears idea of sustainability. Some sustainable fashionistas I know that don’t sew often think of sewing as naturally being sustainable. But they are also not aware that you can run up a t-shirt or basic jumper in an hour if you really wanted. I was thinking that knitting is probably a good way to slow down, but my knitting addiction is really speeding up so maybe not! Anyway, I digress.

For my own closet I’d rather think of my ideal sustainable wardrobe in 2022 as being filled with things I like to wear, things I keep for sentimental reasons, or that might be nice again one day. Call me a borderline hoarder but I’ve regretted letting go of things on too many occasions! To be honest, my wardrobe needs nothing for the next 5-10 years so anything I do is either a job, a gift, or something I really fancy making for the heck of it. Like this knitting bag I made for a friend earlier this year. Have seen it in action multiple times so I’m very happy about it!

Knitting bag - great scrapbuster
A knitting bag I made for a friend. Fabric I bought from another friend’s stash! Great scrapbusters too

Sewing for leisure to align with a sustainable wardrobe 

For sewing with leisure, I’m putting my mindset into trying to reduce capitalist tendencies / excess consumption, and also not spend my limited free time sewing things I don’t want to sew. That’s a slight shift from thinking about sustainability in terms of sustainable production, or trying to use up scraps and leftovers for the sake of it, or sew my stash because I bought something once upon a time. This year there really has to be a bit of fun in sewing, otherwise for me there’s not much point. So what that means ….

Stash sewing vs new fabric

Even though I’ve run stash sewing challenges (#MakeMyStash a few years back and #SewWhatIHave last year), looking into my stash I have felt some pieces I bought a few years ago don’t feel like me anymore. Or that I have so many orange garments in my wardrobe I really don’t feel like having anything more in the same colour family for awhile. On the other hand, I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the things I have found and liked!

The lesson here: I’m going to stop beating myself up about not exclusively sewing my stash. But, I also don’t want to be buying tons of fabric “for later” because it is nice. Better to leave it behind and buy only when I want to make it immediately so that the fabric doesn’t have time to enter my stash!

Colour 

Neutrals look good and go with everything, but sometimes I feel a bit beige and bland when I wear them. Therefore: fruit and food prints for fun – and matching outfits with my kids also good – and then carry on with the brighter and bolder colours in solids. In the last few years I found prints a bit challenging. They are super fun to sew but trying to put outfits together effortlessly hasn’t worked out particularly well for me.

Different and unexpected styles

One nice thing about working for pattern companies is that I often have to try things out that I would not normally wear, including trend styles. This keeps a bit of the sewing fun, even if I don’t necessarily want it in my wardrobe (often I’ll give it away to a friend if I’m filming a tutorial). Maybe I’ll even try the shirred or smocked trend this year?! Fibre Mood always has a lot of options with 60 patterns a year and by now I’m well versed in them, having sewed 23 of their patterns last year.

Bottoms and outerwear 

I don’t foresee a huge increase in trousers / skirts / outer wear in the near future. It is winter here in The Netherlands + full work from home. So my uniform is 4x pairs of RTW jeans in rotation, paired with tops and jumpers. So what am I making? Tops and jumpers! And knitting sweaters and cardigans.

The likelihood of adding more trousers/jeans to the rotation isn’t super high, since I’m really happy with the 4x things in rotation. But I do have a couple of pieces of bottom weight canvas so I guess I’ll make trousers at some point, maybe the Modern Sewer Worker Trousers which was gifted to me last year. 

Having mentioned that a classic wool coat wasn’t on the cards, I did make a coat/shacket from boiled wool because I wanted to have a camel coat … pics of that to come. Normally I’m wearing a puffer 90% of the time! Sadly I don’t wear my other wool coats with lining that I’ve made previously because I get too cold, so we’ll see how the camel coat will fare.

For the last 2-3 springs I’ve been mulling over the idea of a wrap coatigan thing (the Tessuti Sydney jacket to be specific) in charcoal grey boiled wool with a giant decorative safety pin. Depends if I can find the ideal shade of grey. Black feels a bit black and I’m because I’m ever so inventive I do semi-regularly copy what is in sample pictures!

Picture taken from the Tessuti website

Spontaneous sewing vs planning

I always admire the people who do the Make 9 challenge. This is where you decide at the start of the year the 9 things you want to make this year. I have no idea what I want to make next week let alone for the whole year! In my loose planning, apart from the jacket and trousers I mentioned before, I’m thinking about:

  • Semi fitted plain ish white button down shirt, perhaps Modern Sewer Classic shirt I bought last year.
  • Trend patterns shirtdress – I have a blue shirting with embroidered fluro pink pineapples on it. Absolutely loved the colour blocking on this scrappy one by the way, see below.
  • There’ll be more t shirts and maybe I’ll get cracking with a bralette kit I bought 2 years ago.
Picture from the Trend Patterns website

So that’s it, another time I’ll talk about my plans for diversifying my craft time and things that are inspiring me! Plenty more quilting, knitting, maybe embroidery, sewing for the home etc. to come.

Till next time

Kate

January 25, 2022 4 comments
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REFASHIONED: Fibre Mood Holly
#makeyourstashDressmakingRefashionSewing

REFASHIONED: Fibre Mood Holly

written by Kate

I refashioned an unloved dress into a Fibre Mood Holly! (affiliate link) Sometimes things just don’t work out and earlier this summer I made a dress as part of a sewalong. Sadly, my figure + choice of print made it look more nightie than amazing summer dress (scroll to the bottom to see), so I put it away in a box. But cotton lawn is ideal for blouses, and I thought this luscious print would look pretty nice.

Disclaimer: I host sewalongs (free to watch) as part of my work with Fibre Mood. If the pattern is not a quick make, sometimes I make test versions (like this one) beforehand to see what parts I should concentrate on and what tips I can best give! I am not paid to make the test versions and I provide my own fabric for these.

Fibre Mood Holly by Time to Sew in Storrs cotton lawn, front view

Fibre Mood Holly pattern details 

Official description: The ultra demure ankle-length dress trend is far from over, and the Holly dress pays homage to this trend with perfection! This pattern just had to have a standing collar. In keeping with the style it features subtle gathers at the neckline and has been finished with an invisible zip. Not convinced about the length? Altering this pattern to your taste is easy!

Line drawing taken from Fibre Mood instructions
Most of the pics I’ve seen of the Holly have a tie belt. Instructions tell you what dimensions to cut for the optional belt.

The Holly dress is from issue 6 and is a Fibre Mood favourite. I think it is when Fibre Mood actually came to my attention!

What I did 

  • Pattern modifications: sliced it off near the hip and turned it into a top. lengthened by 7cm, because I like to be able to tuck my blouses in. The V neck I made shallower by 1cm. It made all the difference to me and is at the perfect point now.
  • Size: 36 (my bust measurement is 82cm).
  • Needle: microtex 60/9
  • Zip: 20cm invisible zip harvested from another refashioned make (yet to be blogged!)
  • Buttons: 6x 10mm grey mother of pearl from my stash. The buttons call for 11mm, but you can choose what you want as long as it looks proportional to the cuff. Put them on the cuff and see how it looks! I’m really happy with the grey. Initially I thought red or black, but they looked a little too contrasting.
Fibre Mood Holly by Time to Sew in Storrs London cotton lawn: cuff
The cuff with mother of pearl buttons. There’s also a sleeve split although that’s not really visible in this pic!

Fabric

Storrs London is a brand that has really picked up in the home sewing market in the last year. As far as I know they only do cotton lawns, but the prints are great. I came across this particular red chelsea garden print and colourway when I saw my friend Brooke made a dress from it, and so it was always on my mind to get some! You can see what she made here. FYI the hand feel is similar to a Liberty London tana lawn. You can buy it from the Storrs London website, and Minerva also stocks it.

Fibre Mood Holly by Time to Sew in Storrs London cotton lawn: side view
Side view, because I’m not 2D (apparently that’s an IG thing)

Before the refashion

In case you’re interested in seeing what the dress looked like before. As I mentioned before, sometimes things just don’t turn out as I want! I’m on a mission to do more #makeyourstash and refashion where I can. The dress was kind of OK with jeans, but I wore it a grand total of zero times.

Before it became the Holly

Fibre Mood Holly verdict

I’m much happier with a blouse, and IMO cotton lawn + blouses are a dream made in heaven. My friend suggested that I could wear a long sleeve thermal under it to keep warm. These kinds of sleeves with the button cuffs aren’t ever going to travel up the arm and the high neck means no risk of the thermal peeking out, so I think it’s a wonderful solution to what is typically a summer fabric.

Fibre Mood Holly by Time to Sew in Storrs London cotton lawn: front and cuffs



I have another refashion coming up soon so stay tuned!

Till next time 

Kate xx

December 8, 2020 2 comments
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A little life and wardrobe update
#makeyourstashDressmakingSewing

A little life and wardrobe update

written by Kate

It’s been quiet around here in these parts, no? Besides us moving house fairly recently, like many parents we find ourselves suddenly more busy and more tired than before. Having the kids at home 24/7 has taken some adjustment and mental capacity to adapt. So beyond #makeyourstash and the “use what you have and what is necessary” type attitude, my normal brain whirring around sustainability has definitely taken a back seat.

Does being isolated at home mean more sewing time? Well, yes and no. No, because there isn’t much kid-free time. But yes, because my life update … wait for it … is that I have a job which involves sewing! My title is Conversation Manager and proofreader and I work for Fibre Mood sewing magazine! I’m just a bit excited to see my name printed, feels official.

What is Fibre Mood all about?

Fibre Mood magazine is a fashion forward bi-monthly pattern magazine based in Belgium. For a review, you can check out what my sewing bestie Alex (@sewrendipity) wrote here on her blog.

And if you’re interested in trying any of the patterns or looking for inspiration from the books, you can purchase them here (affiliate link). This is the first time I’ve ever done any advertising but I can honestly say that Fibre Mood is excellent value for what you get. Each issue has designs that are fashionable, classic, and range from simple to involved. In fact, I actually purchased a number of back issues for myself and as gifts for my sewing friends (with my own money).

Fibre Mood Afra top issue 9
Fibre Mood Afra top from issue 8

A breastfeeding friendly wardrobe?

I had been looking forward to getting out of my jeans as the weather warms up. But after a rifle in my warm-weather clothes box I found many of my favourite dresses aren’t really suitable at the moment, and won’t be this spring/summer since I’m breastfeeding (baby T is nearly 5 months!) So it’s back to separates, wrap dresses and shirt dresses. Here’s my favourite dress, an old make and old pic:

Lady McElroy cotton lawn dress
Pattern is a hacked version of one found in a Japanese sewing book. Fabric is a hugely popular Lady McElroy cotton lawn

Last time I had ready to wear clothes with poppers, hidden panels etc. but honestly I find it all a faff so I ditched most of them. I’d rather just wear a regular top and be a little cold/exposed if needed. When it comes to a hungry baby, my priority is not about how I look at that moment in time.

Things I made recently

The timing has been fortuitous for me to start hosting weekly sewalongs on Instagram Live on behalf of Fibre Mood, as it means I’m feeling a great deal of sewing inspiration. And also it’s forcing me to dig deep into my stash, and I’m quite pleased with that actually. Peppered through this post is selection of my recent makes (all #makeyourstash), including the Ivory shirtdress that I made for the launch of the new Fibre Mood issue.

Issue 9 Fibre Mood Ivory Shirtdress
Fibre Mood Ivory shirtdress from issue 9

Fibre Mood Ivory Shirtdress

Just a couple of notes about this dress, because it took me a lot of hours due to the number of features. Set-in sleeves with 3 buttons on the cuffs, front yoke, back yoke, collar, 8 panel skirt … add in the shiftiness of being a lightweight linen and you have a recipe for a long, long baking time. So, obviously it’s my new favourite!!!

Sustainable sewing dilemma

i.e. The amount of fabric vs the amount of clothes. Currently I have 6 large storage boxes of fabric. But even if I have bought minimal fabric in the past 2yrs I find that I still have the same number of boxes. In theory, if I made everything in the boxes, I would have 6 boxes more of clothes in my wardrobe. Somehow I think that the fabric is ok because it’s a hobby, but to have 6 more boxes of clothes definitely does not feel ok.

What to do? Lucky fabric doesn’t go off, and no one ever said I had to sew through it all at once. So as long as I still like the fabric and make stuff that I either wear myself or for someone else, I think it’s ok. Shame that I typically only wear 1-2 outfits in a day!

Kate wears a Fibre Mood Frances - white linen eyelet blouse - and Fibre Mood Benita - mulberry coloured linen pants
This is how I dress most days – completely casual. This is a Fibre Mood Frances paired with Fibre Mood Benita pants.

I’ve also found I’ve been hoarding cuts of fabric (mostly linen). They are usually around 30cm long and in a weird shape, because I always buy either 1.5 or 2m and there is excess after cutting. I’m planning to sew them together at some point and use as quilt backing. Basically my approach is the buy nothing one!

On that note, I’m signing off until next time. I hope you are staying safe, keeping well, and being positive!

Till next time,
Kate

April 14, 2020 8 comments
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#makeyourstash take 3
#makeyourstashSewing

#makeyourstash take 3

written by Kate
#Makeyourstash sustainable sewing graphic

As I write this, the Instagram hashtag #makeyourstash started by myself and Pilar 2 years ago has reached >8000 posts. Whilst it’s not all sewing challenge related – wow!

What is #makeyourstash?

A sustainable sewing hashtag to use on Instagram when you’ve sewn something from unloved fabric in your stash.

#makeyourstash in 2020

For the next couple of months we will be putting out some prompts and inspiration on our Instagram accounts (me @timetosew and Pilar @pilar_bear) under the #makeyourstash theme. Of course, you are invited to sew something from your stash. But unlike previous years there is no giveaway and therefore no deadlines. Why we think it’s still worthwhile:

  • You will end up with a garment that you will love to wear (or a quilt you want to use if you’re one of my quilty friends!)
  • It costs you nothing except time, and it doesn’t cost the planet anything.
  • It’s fun to be a part of the Instagram sewing community.
  • #makeyourstash does not put a spanner in your sewing plans!

For something a little different, we are also thinking about an online fabric swap via Instagram. If you are interested in this let me know in the comments or tell me on IG and we’ll see what we can do.

Why the change?

We have run  #makeyourstash as a sustainable sewing challenge twice now, complete with pattern and book giveaways.  This was all to try and put the idea of “mindful making” out into the sewing community. The most sustainable fabric is the one you already own, so why not dust off the fabric sitting in your stash and show it some love. 

As for the giveaway – in a recent poll I did on Instagram stories, around 85% of people said that a giveaway didn’t affect whether they would join a sewing challenge. This says to me that we’re more interested in the social part of it and being inspired by others. You can also read my friend Alex’s (@sewrendipity) thoughts on sewing challenges on her blog. Also check out the comments to see how her readers are feeling about them – some positive, some ambivalent.

After 2 years…

The idea of sustainable sewing has come a long way.  The original reason for the challenge was because we were noticing that we were sewing and shopping a lot and being overwhelmed with too much stuff. The comments we were getting that we were not alone!

But over time this has changed. This year we’ve noticed that there are a lot more people posting about curating their closet, limiting their fabric shopping, sewing from their stash. No doubt the idea of sustainability is “in trend” (and in my opinion, it should be the norm) when it comes to general lifestyle. So I’m super happy to be seeing this filter into the sewing mindset as well. 

So that’s it.
We’re really happy that the #makeyourstash hashtag has been picked up on Instagram as a “regular” hashtag to use for sewing. There is so much inspiration out there and we’re looking forward to encouraging each other to sew with what we have, and thinking more about sustainability. See you online!

PS – all my previous #makeyourstash blog posts are here.

March 1, 2020 0 comment
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