New Year, New Uses: Sew that Stash
/It is a new year, and we are finding new uses for the things around us. Last week that meant upcycling - and we had some amazing posts. This week, we are looking at our stash of fabric, patterns and notions. Now I'm respectful of a good fabric stash and fabric collection - I'm probably bordering on hoarder status myself; but if those things are just sitting unused in your house, then they really have no purpose.
So this week, we are going to our stash and bringing it to life. We are turning it from clutter to couture. We are giving a new use and new purpose to things we bought on impulse and forgot about. Shae starts off the week with a gorgeous combination from Shwin&Shwin and Brownie Goose. Share your stash creations with us on social media #newyearnewusessys.
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Ok, show of hands; who else here has a computer full of unsewn patterns and shelves full of untouched fabric? Now that everyone has their hands in the air, keep them up if you have ever said, “I’m not buying any more patterns or fabric until I sew the ones I have.” Ok, you can put your hands down now. Like the rest of you, my hand was raised too. For me, it’s just not realistic to not buy anything until I sew through my stash, but I have been trying to look to my stash first if I want to start a new project. So far it has been a pretty great way of clearing out space and it saves money.
For this particular project, I wanted something my daughter could wear to school and play on the playground in, but also something that is trendy and not super frilly and girly. As my daughter gets older, she wants to wear stuff that is comfortable and that looks like what her friends would wear.
One of the first top patterns I ever bought was the Lucy top by Shwin Designs. It only goes to a size 6, so I figured that if I was going to ever make it, it better be now, before she outgrows the pattern. For the pants, I had to cheat a little. I used the Brownie Goose Henrietta pants. I have technically made them before, during the testing process, but I have not made them after the final pattern was released. I ended up having to alter them a little bit and take in some of the width of the flare because I just couldn’t get it to fit on the fabric I had. I also didn’t have enough to add the cuffs and anything else to them, but I just adore the way they turned out.
For as much fabric as I have, I actually had a hard time choosing something for this project. I knew I wanted a nice heavy bottom weight for the pants, and I don’t have much of that in my stash. I went with the nice velvety cord fabric that has been in my stash for 4 years. I originally bought it for a little Christmas bolero I made my daughter many years ago. Ok, so I guess it’s confession time now. I really, really, really don’t like the color red. Looking around my house, I don’t have a single red item! So, matching a red fabric is a little tricky when you avoid that color. Luckily I had this great Bari J. fabric in my stash and it has the perfect amount of red detail in it to match the pants perfectly. I got the fabric when it was first released and was never able to find a good use for it. The big red buttons that match the pants perfectly? Yup, also from my stash. I bought them to use on a custom crown in my Etsy shop, and the extras went into my button box.
Overall, I just adore this outfit on my daughter and I’m so glad I finally got around to Sewing up some of my stash. Now onto the next stash project!! Make sure you show us your stash project on the Project Revolution page!! Until next time.
