The Hazards of an Ill-Conceived Fabric Stash

I’m in the midst of relocating and organizing my sewing space to a room with more light, but one that is also a wee bit smaller. That means that I really have had to rethink things as my previous basement sewing space doesn’t translate fully to my new room. Moving and setting up my space is certainly fun, but going through and getting rid things I don’t need, sure isn’t….

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I put off this project as I just didn’t want to go through my bins of fabric, but it was time to sort through the fabric and get rid of stuff I really do not need. I am a person that likes things organized and I don’t like a big cluttered mess. I also don’t like to keep a lot of things that I’m never going to use. I imagine that comes from growing up on a ranch where my grandpa hoarded all kinds of junk in the garages, barns, outbuildings, etc. and almost five years after he left us, we are still trying to get rid of the JUNK. I just hate junk and here I am with bins of it in fabric form.

I really love looking at photos of other sewists and their fabric collections and how lovingly they are displayed on racks in their sewing rooms for all to see. Me, I live in the country and there’s a lot of dust, so I prefer to keep my fabrics folded in plastic bins. I’ve also moved to a space that has DUST. I really didn’t have that in the basement.

I have a love/hate relationship with having a fabric stash. On one hand, I love how I can go into my stash and sew something as I have the fabric and patterns to do so. And yet, I feel that I shouldn’t be buying more fabric until I whittle down the stash. Earlier this year, I decided not to buy much (if any) fabric until my stash became smaller. I did buy a few pieces that I just had to have and quickly sewed them up.

At the end of my fabric purge, I culled a big pile of fabrics that I’m going to donate. I decided that I did not need anything that I was never going to sew. A big contributor to my stash was buying mystery fabric bundles from Fabric Mart. I stopped buying them a couple of years ago when I just kept getting a bunch of junk in the bundles. And where did that junk go? Into my bins of course! And then came “gifts” from family and friends who went through their stashes and gave me fabrics that I wouldn’t have purchased on my own. So all of these fabrics went into my donate pile, along with a few that I had purchased because they were cheap…. My bins were lighter and I felt better about having less in my hoard, plus perhaps someone else could find use in the fabrics that I didn’t need. I also tended to keep a lot of fabric remnants from garments that I’ve sewed. I suppose I thought that I might use them at some point, but if they’ve been sitting there for 5 years or more, I know I’m not going to use them. Into the donate pile they go!

I used to buy fabrics with no real plan for them. Almost two years ago I decided to only buy fabrics that had a use and I made a list of what I wanted and started sticking to that when I was fabric shopping. I also made a list of types/colors/styles of garments that I wanted in my wardrobe and I began choosing my fabrics and sewing with those guidelines. With these rules in mind, I stopped buying fabrics that I would never use and thus I stopped adding unnecessary bulk to my stash. I also began sticking to higher quality fabrics and buying more locally and regionally from independent fabric stores.

It’s been overcast and fall-like this week, which really makes me think about fall sewing. So after I went through my fabrics and removed those that I no longer wanted, I pulled some out that I wanted to sew up. I started cataloging them in my Curvy Sketchbook and pairing them with patterns, making a list of my fall/winter sewing plans. This really helped me plan my wardrobe as I ready myself for the approaching cold weather we are supposedly expecting. Some of these fabrics have been sitting in my stash for a while as it hasn’t been cold here, which hasn’t given me any inspiration to sew them. My cold weather clothing is also lacking due to this, as I generally just layer cardigans over my spring/summer dresses in the fall and winter. But I’ve been wanting some nice warm dresses and jackets and I’m finally making a plan to sew them up! By doing this, I also figured out what else I wanted to sew and made a plan for what I wanted to buy. So yes, a fabric shopping spree is in my future! Finally! And I won’t feel bad about it, either!

So what is on my fall sewing list?

• A Grainline Cascade Duffle coat with that purple/black Marc Jacobs wool coating on the bottom of my pile (that’s the inside of the weave showing)
• Two jackets (Rigel Bomber and Burda moto)
• At least two blazers
• At least two cardigans
• Long-sleeved shirt dresses
• Sheath dress and suit coat
• Wool gabardine dress
• Wool crepe vintage overblouse/skirt
• Border print retro dress
• Deer & Doe Bruyere shirt (I already have one cut out…..)
• Leggings
• Jeans! (Style Arc Misty and Closet Case Files Ginger)

I think I’ll be set with my list! Now let’s see how much of that I can accomplish!

I also took these fabrics out that I’d love to sew as well, but didn’t pair them up with patterns yet. On top is a Robert Kaufman green velveteen I just purchased the other day at Fabric Outlet in San Francisco. I remain undecided whether it should become a skirt or a blazer…. I wonder how long I’m going to ponder that? The other fabrics are a cashmere jersey, silk chiffon, silk charmeuse and viscose challis. That teal one is wool crepe which I found a pattern for shortly after taking this pic. Also, my Instagram peeps helped me figure out a plan for the challis on the bottom, so I just need to get the pattern for that and I’m set!

I don’t know about you, but I feel really good when I rid myself of stuff I don’t need. I’ve gone through both my fabrics and my patterns and removed a lot and organized it. I just need to finish documenting my fabrics and get more pattern boxes and I will feel really good about my new and organized sewing room. No clutter and nothing is there that I don’t want!

Happy Sewing!

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