Sewing Basics #2: Finding Fabric and Thrift Flips
Finding Fabric
Fabric is obviously an important part of learning how to sew. Besides going to the craft store, I will tell you how you can find fabric cheaper and more sustainably.
Honestly, I've never bought fabric at a craft store. Praise the Lord, I've never needed to. When I was younger, one of my mom's friends gave us some fabric that she didn't use. She gave us 2 trash bags full of random fabrics along with 2 rolls of leather(for some reason).We also used T-shirts and old clothes to make clothes for our dolls. Amazingly, we still have some of the original fabric left. My next fabric haul was from my cousin's grandmother who heard that I liked sewing. She and her quilting friends supplied me with so, so much fabric. Now, I never need to buy fabric. Occasionally, I'll see some fabric that I like(mostly sheets) at a thrift store, but I've only gotten some twice or so.
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| My stash |
Thrift Stores
Going to thrift stores can be like a treasure hunt.
Sheets and stuff
There are a lot of ways you can get fabric. Most times at thrift stores, there is a sheets and/or curtains section. While sometimes the sheets there are old and/or damaged, they can be good fabrics for practice. Curtains and sheets are a very common commodity you can find at thrift stores. They are great for sewing because they are cheap, sustainable, and often very nice. You can also make clothes out of them because they are oftentimes less stiff than cotton and cheaper than other fabrics.
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| (from left: floral curtains, soft bedsheets, and black and white bedsheets) |
Thrift Flips
Along with reading or watching videos on how to sew, you can examine clothes there(or at your house) to learn certain techniques. Especially if you can't find good fabric you like at your local thrift store. Getting clothes at a thrift store can also prove useful when learning how to sew. If there is a certain pattern you like on a article of clothing, but you don't like the style and/or it doesn't fit right, sometimes, you can flip it.
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| (left: making the v-neck less deep) (bottom right: making the shirt shorter and hemming it) Floral shirt |
Thrift flips are most easy when it is just a minor change. For example: If you wanted to make a skirt or some pants shorter, you can just mark, cut(please add seam allowance), and sew to finish the look. Another quick fix you can do is if you wanted to make the underarm seam on a sleeveless shirt narrower. See picture for details.
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| Making underarm seams narrower |
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