For good or ill, I shop at Wal-Mart on occasion. I used to work for JoAnn Fabrics, and I love to sew, but lately their fabric selection has been a bit strange. I found a ton of patterns I want to make, but finding appropriate affordable fabric is problematic. So one day I’m browsing the $1/$2 a yard table at Wal-Mart, and I find a ton of great fabrics! A black stretch woven perfect for dress pants. A drapy red knit very similar to one used in the Maggy London dress I’m trying to copy. A soft, drapey grey knit, perfect for a top or jammies. A bronzey stretch woven that will make a nice dress. A sheer white woven with black flocking, perfect for a holiday top. A nice navy textured woven that would make a great dress for work.
So I buy fabric. For $20 I get enough fabric for 7 outfits. And the best part is, since I’ve changed sizes and need to fiddle with these patterns, if they don’t work out, I’m only out a few bucks. If they do, I’ve perfected the fit for only a few bucks.
So I have a party to go to tonight, and I decided to make up the one top from the sheer white with the black flocking. It’s finished, but it’s way too lowcut and sheer for the event I’m going to, and too summery. But I’m ready for a future date! And I only spent $2.00 for the pattern and $3.00 for the fabric and the ribbon was essentially free since I used a JoAnn’s gift card I got as a present, so for $5 and four hours of my time, I have a cute new top.
Now I just need a date, and a place to wear it.
So who else is sewing this weekend? Oh, and the other added benefit was that I got to use my newly repaired serger…for a piece of crap machine, it’s working just great right now!
I attempted a top out of a not-stretchy-enough fabric. It had an empire waist, bell sleeves, and a low square neck. I found the fabric in a closet at my parents’ house. I liked the design, so I’ll remake it in some nice black stretch cotton/lycra I have. I was just playing around.
You may have just done the impossible- persuaded me to set foot in Wal-Mart. I love sewing with cheap knits. I generally try to support my nice local fabric stores, but I really like long knit swirly floofy dresses, and I especially like making them cheaply.
I am, but it’s a stretch to call it sewing. I’ve started using scrap fabric for the back side of quilts – scraps left over from the front side and coordinates from the stash pile. Strips of different widths and lengths, without paying much attention to design. Let the fabric do the work is my new motto.
They’ve turned out pretty good, and it satisfies the urge to sew. And I don’t have to pay $40 for fabric that nobody’s going to see.
I am wishing I was sewing. Sort of. I don’t have much of a fabric stash just yet as it’s been years since I sewed, but I bought a cheapy machine recently to whip up a lining in linen for a hand-knit satchel that had taken months and was worth a really nice interior. Then to get use from the machine I’ve run up a few quick skirts. But this weekend I really wanted to get my hands on some retro-esque print cottons and make girly aprons. I guess it can wait until the next visit to our local fabric store. Something with strawberries to match the kitchen wall-paper would be awesome!
I’m not sewing but I’m assisting my mother who is. We are making a t-shirt quilt. So far, we have taken 30-40 t-shirt chunks and turned them into one more or less queen-sized top for a quilt. We just have to add the border and sew it onto the backing before I leave later this week.
I have a half finished puppet that I was making for Hallboy that’s calling my name. I started on it about a month ago, but halfway through, I broke my machine! It’s made from (thick) fake fur, and the fur got jammed in the foot and when I tried to extract the fur, it caused the needle thing to jam up into the machine. Luckily, my handy-dandy sewing machine repair guy unjammed it (and for free!), but now I’m afraid to finish the stupid puppet.
Since I got it back, I’ve made a pillow and a tube thing that goes at the bottom mof the outside door to keep air from coming in (not sure what they’re called, but it’s basically a sleeve, filled with unused kitty litter for weight, then sewn up). Maybe I’ll drag out some of my fabric and “think spring”.
lolatoo, welcome. Check out this thread in the IMHO forum for opinions on sewing machines. I think the consensus is to stay away from the Singer brand.
Yep. Singer is the beast. My serger is a Singer, and the repairman really, really did not want to work on it. Took him two weeks longer than it should have, and he called me repeatedly to tell me (in kinder words than this) that it was a piece of crap.
Tomorrow I am attempting a knit wrap top from a Vogue Sandra Betzina pattern. The red knit I bought had flaws (which the salesgirl showed me before I bought it…I bought a small amount to see if it would wash out, but I won’t be using it for the Maggy London pattern) but I will try to cut around them…or maybe cover them up with beading afters, if the pattern works out well enough to wear in public.