Sustainably Destash Your Fabric

January 10, 2022 trishstitched1 Comment

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

I love going through my home after the holidays and cleaning up and clearing out. It’s a good time to go through areas of the house that feel overwhelming. It’s also a great time to go through your fabric stash and get rid of fabrics you won’t use! I mentioned previously that I did a fabric destash and was able to give away the fabric this past year. Getting rid of 15 years worth of fabrics that I knew I wouldn’t use was amazing, and my space (and mind) feels clearer knowing it’s out of my home and now with someone who can use and appreciate it all.

I was able to donate my fabric locally, and wanted to share some resources for sustainably destashing fabrics you may no longer want in your collection. While some of the options on this list may take a bit more time and effort, the goal with a sustainable destash is ensuring the fabric gets to a better home. While it can be convenient to drop fabrics off at any donation place, there may be a chance they don’t sell fabric, or they already have an excess amount. When I reached out locally, one shop told me they had plenty of fabric and it just wasn’t selling. I hope this list gives you some ideas, and helps you destash your fabric!

Sell Your Stash:

There are a few options if you are looking to sell your stash

Destash on Instagram: If you have an audience on Instagram, and want to sell through the app, setting up a destash account is a great option! Jordan (from Resliced by Jordan) has a great blog post of tips for setting up an Instagram destash.
Facebook Groups for Destashing: There are groups built around selling your fabric stash! I am part of a few, and have purchased a couple times through Facebook and the process has been successful. When selling through a Facebook group, there may be specific group rules you have to follow. Also keep in mind most groups require payment go through Paypal, so you will need an account to partake. A few of my favorite groups:
Other online sites:
- Etsy: If you have a lot to sell, and have some more time to sell it, etsy may be a great place to start. Fabrics are typically listed as supplies, making them ok to sell on etsy, and if your materials are vintage, they are very welcome on the site! Etsy is great if you want to set up more of an online shop, or if you will continually have a stash to sell through. This is the way I’ve been selling my extra fabric swatches.
- Poshmark, Mercari, and Depop: all similar sites for selling secondhand items.

Donate Your Stash

A few tips before donating:

If you have a lot of fabric to donate, separate fabric by type. Place cotton, denim, vinyl, apparel fabrics and upholstery fabrics in seperate bags and label properly. (This works well with large quantities, that may already require multiple bags.)
Do you know specific fabric content for your donation? Consider pinning a little note with each fabric cut with the content. This isn’t necessary, but it will be very helpful to the receiver. (I recommend doing this with apparel/specialty fabrics)
Is the fabric in good condition for donation? If it’s been stored for years, does it need to be washed? Again, not a necessary step, but donating items in the best condition will ensure they will be used and/or sold.

Check with local spots to donate. When reaching out to people, I found it helpful to mention the types of fabrics I had, how many bags I would donate, and that it came from a smoke and pet free home. If there was interest, I made sure to have some quick photos of the fabrics, and specified there were yardage pieces, and larger usable scraps.

Reach out to local thrift stores/resell shops. Some chain thrift stores will take fabric, but I love seeking out smaller shops to support.
Ask Church Thrift Shops. If your local church has a thrift store, email them to see if they sell fabric, or if they can use the material for projects. They may know church members who are sewers, or have a connection.
Ask local schools that may have home economic classes or theatre programs. Preschools may be looking for arts and crafts supplies. Have a local College or University? They may have a sewing, fashion or costume program where the students can benefit from working with free fabrics. It may take some clicking around websites to find the right contact, but it’s an option to keep the fabric local.
Ask local sewing guilds. Google sewing guilds in your area and see if anyone is interested – especially if you have quilting cottons, Quilting Guilds could benefit!
Local Facebook Swap Groups. Does your town have a local “curb alert” or swap group? That may be a great spot to see if anyone local can use your materials. You can do a porch pick up, or set up a local drop off location. Check out your local Freecycle as well!

Donate to Retail Fabric Stores

So many sustainable fabric shops run on destashed fabrics. Check below for a local spot! (These resources are US based)

Ragfinery (WA, USA) : Fabric greater than 1ft. x 1ft. – limit 3 bags/boxes per donation
A Thrifty Notion (KS, USA) : Accepts drop offs and shipped stashes. (Read more here.)
The Scrappy Elephant (VA, USA) : Only accepts fabric larger than a fat quarter – in store drop offs.
Scrap It Up (Ohio, USA) : Fabric donations: 40lbs or less, minimum size 1/4 yard, minimum 1 yard for upholstery & home dec fabric. Must make appointment.
Scraps KC (MO, USA) : Fabric donations: no small scraps, home dec samples or pieces under ½ yard.
Seattle Recreative (WA, USA) : Fabric Donations: fabric larger than 1/4 yard or fat quarter (no scraps, no clothing, no curtains / linens). Appointments required.
Swanson’s Fabrics (MA, USA): Fabric donations: “We cannot accept fabrics with strong odors, or clothing. Curtains are cool.”
Paper City Fabrics (MA, USA)
Our Fabric Stash (WA, USA): Takes fabrics on consignment. Appointments necessary.
Scrap Creative Reuse Locations (MI, MD, OR, VA, USA): Please check individual locations for donation policies!

Donate to a Non-Profit Organization

There are a few sewing related organizations that look for fabric to make their donations.

Project Linus: Providing handmade blankets to children in need. Donate fabrics, or donate handmade blankets. (Contact your local chapter to see what is needed.)
Quilts of Valor: Handmade quilts for Service Members and Veterans touched by war. Accepts fabric donations- red/white/blue fabrics are most requested.

Sew Through Your Stash for a Good Cause

Did you get the itch to sew while destashing? There are several organizations that rely on handmade donations to give back to their communities, and communities abroad. Below are some wonderful organizations you can sew for with the extra fabrics in your stash.

Enchanted Makeovers: Sew specific items part of shelter transformations. Enchanted Makeovers has several projects and programs to get involved in.
Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation: Sew items for families on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Navajo Nation, the Havasupai Reservation and the Yurok Reservation.
Sew Powerful: Sew crossbody purses to keep girls in school all month long.
Ryan’s Case for Smiles: Sew pillowcases for children experiencing time in hospitals.
Dress a Girl Around the World: Their message, “every girl deserves at least one dress”
Dolls of Hope: Sew a doll or teddy bear for children around the world.
Newborns in Need: Make booties, toys, blankets, etc for newborn babies. Also accepts crochet and knit pieces!

As always, if you know another resource to add to the list, let me know! I will do my best to keep this post updated.

Reclaimed, Deadstock & Vintage Fabric Resources

May 6, 2020December 15, 2021 trishstitched10 Comments

As you can tell from reading my blog – I love fabric. But over the years I’ve been very conscious about where my fabric is coming from, and what I’m bringing into my stash. Yes I love refashioning, but I also love buying a gorgeous piece of fabric I don’t have to think about fitting a pattern on. Fabric buying can be very easy, and overwhelming; there are so many options out there – from cheap to very expensive. But the more you question content and the process of making it, fabric buying can get difficult.

This list is focusing on reclaimed, deadstock and vintage textiles. There are many shops that offer sustainably made fabrics, but I know how difficult it can be to find reclaimed materials and these are the sources I get asked about the most!

Reclaimed, Deadstock and Vintage Fabric Resources- Trish Stitched

Here are some terms I look for and what they mean:

Reclaimed: The technical definition of “reclaim” is: “recover (waste material) for reuse; recycle.” (From Oxford Dictionary)

My definition in terms of fabric being reclaimed is: textiles that have been previously discarded and are being saved from landfill, burning or other forms of destruction. This can be leftover textiles from designers or fabric stores.

Recycled: There are a few definitions of Recycled Fabrics including: “textiles…sorted, graded and reused again to make fabrics for different end uses.” (Vivify Textiles) Such as, using plastic bottles to create new activewear textiles. (When fabric shopping, this term is more often used when describing newly made textiles)

For me, recycled fabrics can also refer to refashioning, or taking a pre-existing textile (clothing, sheet, curtain, etc) and transforming it into something new.

Deadstock: Technical definition: “an amount of a product that a company has bought or made but is unable to sell.” (Cambridge Dictionary.)

In textile terms, deadstock can also refer to leftover fabric that may have defects, and is typically sold off to smaller companies. (Deadstock can sometimes be destroyed through burning or be sent to landfill.) Deadstock is becoming a very popular term in fabric and clothing buying, and if you would to read more about Deadstock, check out this post from Virtue & Vice.

Vintage: Vintage is a generic term for fabric originating from a previous era.

Many people have their own definitions for how old something has to be, to be considered vintage. Usually it is fabric that is 20-30 years old and older. Materials usually become “antique” after 100 years. There is also fabric sold as Deadstock Vintage, another term to look out for when shopping.

Destash: “To remove yarn, fabric, equipment from one’s collection.” (Your Dictionary)

Destashing is very popular in the sewing world and there are many people who clean out their stashes online in hopes of re-homing their materials. Buying destashed fabric is a great way to get second-hand materials at a lower cost.

Thrifted: “Items bought at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale, or a shop of a charitable organization.” (Definitions.net)

This term can sometimes be used when shopping fabrics, but oftentimes it may fall under the reclaimed, deadstock or recycled label. This phrasing is typically up to the seller to use instead of those previously listed, but still a term to look out for.

And here’s the list!

Deadstock, Reclaimed, and Destashed Fabric:

Fab Scrap: (USA, NY) My #1 resource for reclaimed fabric. They work with designers to sell/recycle their excess or unusable materials to avoid textiles going to landfill. Located in New York, they have a warehouse where you can buy fabric by the pound and a shop in Manhattan which is a little more curated and fabric is bought by the yard. They also sell some stock and mixed boxes online and they have “insta-sales” on instagram. Fab Scrap also accepts remnants/scraps from sewers to recycle but it will cost $1.50/lb to recycle. (It then gets turned into shoddy, which is a product containing mixed recycled fibers, great for stuffing!)

Queen of Raw: (Global) A marketplace where vendors can sell their deadstock materials. A great place for purchasing large amounts of material for clothing lines, etc. They also offer fabrics in 3 yard minimums for smaller purchases. Located in New York but has sellers all over the world.

FabCycle: (Canada, Vancouver) FabCycle works with designers, factories and schools to collect unused textiles to avoid textile waste from entering landfills. This includes scraps, off cuts, deadstock and end of rolls. Shop online or visit their ReUse Center in Vancouver where they also take fabric donations! You can also shop FABCYCLE on Etsy!

A Thrifty Notion: (USA, KS) A shop that offers deadstock, vintage, and destashed fabrics! They take in a lot of donated materials that other sewers no longer want and sell online and in store. They also offer a “friday feature” of “new” materials in store. They also put together a fantastic Thrift Store Locator List featuring many “Re-use” shops, where you can donate materials and notions locally. A Thrifty Notion recently added ‘new stock’ eco friendly fabrics to their site. If you are looking specifically for vintage and destashed fabrics, be sure to read the fabric descriptions!

Stonemountain & Daughters Fabric: (USA, CA) Stonemountain is a fabric shop with an impressive collection of fabrics, and they have an online section exclusively for Deadstock Fabrics which are left over from garment factories and textile mills. While writing this, they even offer deadstock activewear fabric!

Measure: A Fabric Parlor: (USA, GA) Measure Fabrics offers mostly deadstock fabrics, which are available in limited quantities. I personally love Measure Fabrics and they often do fabric features on Instagram as well!

Swanson’s Fabrics: (USA, MA) Swanson’s Fabrics is a thrift store for fabric and crafting supplies. They offer upholstery, classes, and incredibly affordable fabrics. Everything is $4.00/yd, no matter what it is made of! (Thanks so much to Bridget for this resource!)

Scrap- Creative Reuse: (Portland OR, Arcata CA, Denton TX, Baltimore MD, Richmond VA, Ann Arbor MI) No online shop, but lucky locals can donate their items to Scrap who sells it to the public or donates to teachers or organizations that can use the items. Scrap can be a fantastic resource for fabrics and notions!

Who Gives a Scrap: (Colorado, USA) Who Gives a SCRAP is a donation based scrap store that carries a mix of arts and craft and hobbies supplies in addition to unique vintage finds. (Thanks so much to Bridget for this resource!)

Blackbird Fabrics: (Canada) Blackbird Fabrics is an online shop with a small collection of Designer Deadstock. Currently, the shop has some really beautiful deadstock printed fabric! Founder Caroline also co-hosts the Love To Sew Podcast!

Matchpoint Fabrics: (Canada) Matchpoint Fabrics is an online shop that offers mostly sustainable fabric options, but they also have a section of Deadstock Fabric. Most of the deadstock fabrics come directly from mills, TV/film sets & designers. (UPDATE: Matchpoint Fabric is currently closed, but you can sign up for their email list when they open again!)

Haines Collection: (UK)If you are looking for a place to buy upholstery fabrics, Haines Collection is the place! Fabrics in this online shop are leftover from designers and manufacturers in the interior industry. Most of these fabrics are high quality, and come with a higher price tag, but Haines Collection sells them at a much lower cost.

The New Craft House: (UK, East London) An online shop & studio filled with designer deadstock fabric. They are located in East London where you can also take a class, set up a private workshop or attend an event!

(Offset Warehouse: (UK) This shop is mainly focused on sustainable textiles, but says they also offer deadstock. There isn’t currently a specific section for deadstock, so you will have to look at each item, but I thought this would still be a good source to add. )

Vintage:

(Shops that have a passion for reducing waste in the textile industry with a love for vintage textiles)

Revival Fabrics: (USA, OR) An online shop featuring vintage fabrics from the 1920’s- 1970’s! This is a great spot for movie costume designers, commercial set stylists, and period re-enactors. They also have vintage pillowcases and sheets still in their packaging!

Olive Road London: (UK, London) A beautiful collection of vintage textiles, including dress fabrics and barkcloths. I love how this online shop allows you to browse by decades! (Olive Road London’s website doesn’t have US shipping but you can contact them directly for purchasing in US!)

Pink Peacock: (Australia) A beautifully curated online shop featuring vintage textiles. Beware, you may purchase more than just fabric here! (Seriously their vintage home wares are amazing!)

Retro Age Vintage Fabrics: (Australia) In business for 15 years, this is a huge resource for vintage fabrics and their online shop allows you to shop by era, content, design, color, or quantity.

Russian Retro Shop: (Latvia) Shop on Etsy featuring vintage fabrics! This shop has some really gorgeous prints!

Etsy Shops

Craft And Thrift Shop: (UK, Scotland) Amy runs an etsy shop filled with deadstock, thrifted and vintage fabrics. Fabrics are sold by the meter, but she also offers scrap packs and notions. (Amy has become a friend over on Instagram and I personally had a great experience sewing with fabric from her shop!)

Lyrical Fabrics: (USA, California) Lyrical Fabrics (previously named Sew Modern) is a sustainability-focused shop that specializes in deadstock fabrics. There is a mix of vintage, deadstock and natural fibers, so be sure to read the item description to find what you are looking for!

Etsy shops that offer mostly vintage fabrics but also sell destash fabrics, vintage sheets and/or sewing notions:

The Estate Stash: (USA, TN) (shop also sells fabric swatch books)

Ella Osix: (The Netherlands) (Incredible collection of vintage printed fabric)

Shop at the Little House: (USA, CA)

Found Fabrics Shop: (USA, OR)

Life in the Sass Lane: (USA, NY)

Lingon Berries and Moss: (USA, CO)

Dragonfly Cottage Shop: (USA, MN)

Lizi Rose: (USA, CA) (Destash denim scraps)

Bout Flowers: (UK, Durham)

Jaipur Design Shop: (India) (Shop sells beautiful vintage sari’s and recycled fabrics)

Instagram

@shopwellfibre (USA): Sells secondhand fabrics through instagram. (sewing account here! )

@suziesvintageshop (UK Only): Vintage textiles in her ebay shop – and see more behind the scenes on her other instagram account: Suzie Sharp Vintage!

@farmandtablefabrics: Sells through instagram! Posts sales of vintage and reclaimed textiles.

@shopmakethislook: Sells Vintage fabrics, often shown with inspiration garments! Auctions on Instagram. Follow her other account to see her beautiful makes: Make This Look

@vintagefabricsandsheets (Australia): Sells vintage fabrics and sheets on instagram!

If there’s a shop you don’t see listed that I should add, let me know! I will do my best to update this list.

(Please keep in mind, these are shops focused on selling reclaimed, deadstock, and vintage fabrics. Sustainable textile shops are also wonderful to purchase from but not included in this list. If you are looking for Sustainable shops, please read Halfmoon Atelier’s list!)

handmade wardrobe · Make Nine · sewing

Measure Fabric Lounge Wear Set

March 20, 2019 trishstitchedLeave a comment

Hello, hello! I feel like I haven’t blogged in so long! I have an exciting project to share that I finished a few weeks ago. I feel like I have so much to share that I’ve been sharing over on Instagram but not here.

The first thing: I’m a Measure Maker! For the next few months, I will be sharing a project made with fabric from Measure: A Fabric Parlor. My first project with them is something on my Make Nine! I chose to work with this amazing White and Grey Abstract Double Knit Ponte. It has this beautiful feel, the white part is slightly risen and super soft. It’s very stretchy, but thick, as ponte typically is. What I really love, besides the unique print of this fabric, is that the wrong side is the perfect contrast and it helped me in making the details on my new lounge wear.

Lounge Wear Set with Measure Fabric - Trish Stitched

I’ve been seeing these lounge wear sets just about everywhere I look lately. First I thought they were a trend with teens, but when Anthropologie came out with their sets, I knew I had to try it out. It felt like this project magically came together. I got the perfect fabric from Measure, and I had a lounge wear pattern on my Make Nine: the Hudson Pants. For this look, I made my first pair of Hudson Pants, and a hacked version of Seamwork Skipper.

Lounge Wear Set with Measure Fabric - Trish Stitched

I can’t believe it took me this long to make Hudson. When they first came out, I was seeing them everywhere, and I thought they were cute, but not my style. After seeing the different variations over the years, they really grew on me and I needed to try them out.

I made all the pant details out of the “wrong side” of the fabric, the pant cuffs, the waistband and pocket edges. I really love how the look of it came out. These pants are so comfortable and they are perfect for an after workout look, or just a great pair to lounge around in.

Lounge Wear Set with Measure Fabric - Trish Stitched

The matching top is made from a very cropped Seamwork Skipper! I was actually hoping to make the hood, which is why I chose Skipper, but wound up not having enough fabric for it. I wanted to follow through and use the wrong side of the fabric for the details on the sweatshirt as well, so the cuffs, bottom band and neck band are all made from the wrong side.

Lounge Wear Set with Measure Fabric - Trish Stitched

I loooove the set together. It is so comfortable and fun. I can wear the pieces separately or together, but I probably wouldn’t wear the sweatshirt without the pants unless I get some high waisted pants (which is another item on my make list!)

Details on my makes:

Hudson Pants: Size 0, View A, no changes

Seamwork Skipper: Size XS, Cropped.

Fabric: Abstract Grain Double Knit Ponte from Measure.

I will definitely be making another pair of Hudson’s, I already have the fabric. I want to make another Skipper, hopefully one with a hood!

Second piece of news, that I totally forgot to post about last week: I did a Simplicity Instagram Takeover! Simplicity reached out to me a few months back about working together, and I took over their Instagram for the week talking about Refashioning!

I do have all the videos saved and I’m hoping to put them together so anyone can watch it whenever. I talked about my tips for refashioning. Where I get inspiration from, how I find pieces in thrift stores to refashion, etc. I also shared a new refashion! I’ll be doing a whole blog post about this hopefully soon, but here’s the final look!

Trish Stitched

I’ve already received my second round of fabric from Measure, and have a project in mind so I’m excited to start working on that! Happy Spring!

sewing · Tutorials

Handmade Outdoor Cushions! {+ Tips to Make Your Own!}

July 12, 2018 trishstitched5 Comments

When Drew and I first got our bid accepted on our house, we were fortunate enough to negotiate on some of the furniture already with the home. Some of those items were the outdoor chair set and fire pit.

After living in Hoboken for five years, we were SO excited to have a backyard of our own – and having furniture already there was a huge deal (especially when we had a whole house to furnish!). The only problem was the cushions that came with the chairs. They had been left outside in snow and rain, and gotten gross, to be completely honest.

We started looking up new cushions, but quickly discovered the selection is slim pickings and expensive! The original set was from Target, and the only cushions that we could find to fit were so boring. If you haven’t noticed based on this blog yet, I hate boring!

So I planned on making a new set. This was my only option right? I was extremely nervous to make a set because with every new project, there’s a chance it won’t work out and the investment in this was pretty big. We also had our Housewarming Party coming up and we NEEDED these cushions done!

Thankfully everything worked out- and I love them! We did a lot of research to complete these and I wanted to share some tips and supplies if you want to make your own!

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Making Cushions

I read a few blogs and some makers recommend 1 yard per cushion, and since I had 5 bottoms and 5 tops, I bought 12 yards of fabric. After cutting out the bottoms I thought I way overbought. I was actually freaking out because I was going to have so much material left over. But after cutting out all the fabric, I didn’t have that much fabric left after all! So I do think the 1 yard per cushion is a good rough estimate. (I always tend to buy a few extra yards if I mess up, or want to make additional pieces.)

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We still don’t have couches so I was able to spread out my fabric!

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{Scroll to the bottom of the page for all my links!}

The hardest thing to find was foam for the bottom seats. I checked out the foam at JoAnns but it was not in the budget for me, as they wanted $50 per foam cushion! So we went the difficult route and “diy’d it”.

Drew and I found thick foam on Amazon that we would be able to cut down to the size we needed. Originally I wanted 4″ foam, but he ordered 5″ foam, so our cushions are really thick! To cut the foam, we used a hand saw.

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Amazon was also the go-to place for zippers. Since we wanted to be able to re-use the foam if we ever got bored of the fabric, I wanted each cushion to have an invisible zipper to change things up. I found a 20 pack and they were perfect.

Bottom Cushions:

Couch: 70″ long x 26″ wide. Foam: 5″ x 24″ x 72″

Using these measurements, we cut the foam down to 5″ x 24″ x 23″.

We determined that each cushion seat would be 24″ x 23″ (as that was keeping in line with the size of the foam). With a 1/2″ seam allowance for each cushion, I cut out the following:

(2 x) 25″ x 24″ (top and bottom)

(2 x) 25″ x 6″ (long sides)

(1x) 24″ x 6″ (one short side)

(1x) 24″ x 7″ (short side with zipper)

I cut out 5 sets of the above, and did an assembly line style to make them. I started by inserting all the zippers. I cut each 24″ x 7″ piece in half (lengthwise) and sewed in the zipper. This band needs to be a little wider because the zipper alters the size. Sew your four side pieces together (with 1/2″ seam allowance), alternating long side and short side to form a rectangle. Then you attach the tops and bottoms. I wrote out a mini tutorial to show this method, as I’ve used it in handbag making too!

Sewing Boxed Corners

With each seam, leave 1/2″ from end of stitch line. (If your seam allowance is 5/8″, you will leave 5/8″ free.) Backstitch at end.

2. Line up sewn corner to the corner of piece you are attaching.

3. Pin one corner together, pull the other corner away from seam. (do not catch other end in stitching)

4. Sew seam until you reach the end of your initial stitching line made in step 1. Backstitch.

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5. Adjust the other side of your corner. You will now be able to line this corner properly, and start stitching where the other stitching line stopped. Continue stitching.

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6. Turn corner to right side out, and you are finished!

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I’m sure there are many other ways to do this, but I wanted something quick and easy!

If you are using this method, be sure to leave your zipper open halfway to be able to turn the cushions right side out!

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(Finished cushion showing the invisible zipper side.)

Top Cushions:

The old cushion set had a basic pillow on top, and we decided to mimic the look. I made each pillow with poly-fil and a broadcloth case. It is not weather proof – but this was the fabric I had on hand and I wanted to be as economical as possible. We also don’t plan on leaving these cushions out, but I still wanted a inner shell before the pillow case, so it will be easy to make new ones.

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I bought a 10 lb box of poly-fil, and after stuffing the first pillow, again I thought I way overbought, but it turned out to be the perfect amount!

I made a test pillow first in the size of our previous cushions and they came out way too small! I increased the size of the pillow and it was perfect!

The finished pillow was 23″ x 27″. (This made the fabric 24″ x 28″)

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(Invisible zipper on top cushion, inner pillow and finished set!)

I am so happy with the way they turned out, and now that I have my measurements down pat (and recorded on this blog!) I can make new cushions whenever we want a change! The only thing I would change for next time is adding a small handle to the back or side of the bottom cushions so they are easier to take in and out! (Leaving this tip here for myself! =p) Here are all the links!

Supplies

Amazon:

Foam : Get here

Zippers: Get here

JoAnn Fabric:

Fabric: Get Here

(The fabric is originally $21.99/ yd, I bought mine for $10.99/yd and used a 20% off my total purchase coupon!)

Poly-Fil: Get here

(I used a 50% off coupon for my fil, but it’s currently on sale now!)

Broadcloth: Get here

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This post turned out a lot longer than expected, but I do hope it encourages you to make your own cushions if you’ve been thinking about it! Or using this fabric for another project because it is so beautiful!

etsy · handmade wardrobe · sewing

Trish Stitched Turns 2! Floral Tamarack, Ginger Jeans & Etsy Sale!

February 20, 2017February 20, 2017 trishstitched7 Comments

It’s my little blog’s second birthday! For two years, I’ve been sewing & selling under the name Trish Stitched, and it’s been really great. In the years before Trish Stitched, sewing was incredibly important to me but it didn’t feel like I was going anywhere with it. But when I changed my name, I started focusing a lot more on the business aspect of sewing: my etsy shop got a facelift, my fabric choices started to mature (a little) and I really started to focus every free moment on where I wanted my sewing to go. To celebrate, I wanted to treat myself to a full handmade outfit.

Floral Tamarack Jacket and Petite Ginger Jeans - Trish Stitched

For my jacket I turned to Tamarack by Grainline Studio. Have you ever been stalked by a pattern? Not stalking, but stalked…like everywhere you turn is another photo and it feels like it’s screaming at you to make it? That was the Tamarack Jacket for me. A couple months ago I started seeing it everywhere and I couldn’t ignore it. I wanted to make a version and was actually going to make it in a solid until I saw this fabric on fabric.com (link below ). I wanted a nice transition jacket, and I think this is it. It’s a little heavier than a piece like my Kelly Anorak, and I’m able to wear thicker pieces underneath. This will be a great jacket coming into spring and again when going into winter.

The Tamarack was a pretty quick make, I made version 2 which allows space to add snaps. I forgot to buy snaps but still wanted to wear the jacket so I will have to add them later. I ran into a little frustration with the welt pocket but luckily Jen has a tutorial on her blog about the welt pocket. I looooove the quilting options on this jacket, but I kept my quilting pretty simple this time around.

Floral Tamarack Jacket and Petite Ginger Jeans - Trish Stitched

My tee was also from Grainline Studio, the Lark Tee. I’ve made a few version’s of Lark so far and I really like it. My next versions will be a little tighter, but thankfully, that is an easy fix. I used Telio Organic Cotton from Fabric.com (link below) for the tee- I totally recommend this material. It has a nice weight, and isn’t see through. It also comes in some pretty colors.

For the bottom half of this outfit, I’ve been working hard on my second pair of Ginger Jeans, and am SO happy with the result!

Floral Tamarack Jacket and Petite Ginger Jeans - Trish Stitched

My first pair of Ginger Jeans were great. I was really happy with how they turned out but there were definitely parts of the fit I wanted to change for pairs going forward. I found this image on pinterest from Skinny Bitch, Curvy Chick on making Ginger’s petite, and I thought I would give it a go. The biggest problem my first pair had was having too high a rise, making the “low rise” version come up past my belly button. Not a really bad thing, but not where I usually wear my jeans.

The second problem with my first pair was the fit in the waist. I made the waist too large, and took them in but something wonky happened with the back and I wasn’t thrilled with the butt. I had a similar issue with my second pair. The waist was still too large, even with adjusting the pattern before sewing, but I did NOT want the same issue so I didn’t make the back adjustments. I have to wear a belt, but I really don’t mind since this pair is still much more wearable than my first.

Floral Tamarack Jacket and Petite Ginger Jeans - Trish Stitched

For this version, I made View A with View B skinny legs of Ginger Jeans by Closet Case Patterns. I also used Heather’s E-book and purchased a hardware kit. I still have to install my rivets but I think my neighbors were getting mad at all the hammering I was doing on my practice pieces so I’ll save them for another time. The fabric for the jeans also came from fabric.com (noticing a theme here?) but is no longer available! It is so beautiful, so I’m pretty upset I can’t get anymore. I think I have just enough to make another pair of jeans.

I also used a little bit of Rifle Paper Co. Fabric for my pockets!

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I treated myself to this awesome outfit, but I also wanted to treat you guys! I’m having a sale in my etsy shop! Use code YEARTWO to get 15% off any bag in my shop! I have a ton of new styles for sale, and within the next few days, my latest product will be available – key fobs – so keep an eye out for them! The sale will go on for the week and end Sunday night 2/26.

Floral Tamarack Jacket and Petite Ginger Jeans - Trish Stitched

I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads this little blog. Every comment, follow & like brings a smile to my face, and I hope my sewing inspires you! One of my goals is to have fun with my wardrobe and encourage others to not settle for what you see in stores. Sewing brings me more than joy; it gives me confidence. I love stepping out of my apartment in a “me made” and knowing that no one else in the world is wearing what I am. I love knowing that my wardrobe is fit to my body, my style and my life.

Have a wonderful week!

off to see the world...

Bahamas Fabric Shopping

January 21, 2016 trishstitched6 Comments

Oh how I wish I was still on the warm beaches of the Bahamas…but no. I’m prepping for over a foot of snow coming in the next few days. It’s alright, I’ll just be staring longingly at the beautiful fabrics I bought on the trip dreaming of wearing bathing suits and shorts instead of sweatshirts and alpaca socks.

When on vacation, or anywhere other than New Jersey, I love fabric shopping. There is something exciting about discovering fabrics you haven’t seen before- or being able to see a line in person rather than on the internet. I mostly see quilt shops whenever searching for stores, which is great because I can find fabric for my bags, but the Bahamas was all about the apparel fabric.

We stayed in Atlantis, the beautiful resort on Paradise Island. It was an amazing experience, and the first time I’ve stayed at a resort. The location was stunning, the staff was wonderful and the food was amazing!

I did a quick search of fabric stores in the Bahamas and came up with this post from Sew Can She. It recommended Home Fabrics in Nassau and I really wanted to check that place out. Commonwealth Fabrics also kept coming up in my searches and after a quick look at a map, I discovered they were within a 5 minute walk of each other! SCORE!

We got a cab to Home Fabrics from our resort and 10 minutes later, we were there. I was so busy pulling bolts off the shelves that I forgot to take pictures! The first floor was apparel fabrics, cottons and craft supplies. Upstairs was all home décor fabrics…so much fabric. I was amazed with how much fabric they were able to pack in! There was also an entire section of Androsia Batik, fabric made on the island of Andros in the Bahamas! I had looked the company up before going to the Bahamas and had my sights set on some fun prints. I had a hard time picking a print and color, there were so many options but I went with a really fun pineapple print. I joked to Drew that I would make my own souvenirs with the fabric I bought. A lot of the bolts didn’t have fabric content, just prices so I don’t know exactly what they are, I just loved the print too much to pass them up.

The blue and purple/green ones are heavier, the colorful center piece is a knit, the hot pink batik cotton and the black/floral piece is a silky dream!

I didn’t go shopping with any specific project in mind so I was literally choosing anything that spoke to me. Here are some of my favorites from Home Fabrics:

This piece is my favorite and I already have a project in mind for it:

Next we took the short walk to Commonwealth Fabrics. Again the amount of fabric was amazing! Since I already splurged a bit before, my mind was more focused in this shop. I also had to think about fitting everything in my suitcase! Nothing caught my eye until we went upstairs and I saw these two floral prints that I really loved. The one is such a soft knit it feels like it’s been washed 100 times! I thought I was done until the sales woman told me the shop goes around the other side of the cutting counter as well. I only saw special occasion fabrics but there was more apparel fabrics hidden behind a wall and Androsia Fabrics all the way in back! I had to get another print. Here are my finds from Commonwealth:

Again, hot pink Batik cotton, brown floral is linen, pastel floral is knit and navy/orange print might be crepe de chine

It was such a good shopping trip, and I was happy to find Androsia Batik without needing to go to Andros. The top print is little fishes and the bottom are the pineapples.

What was really cool about this fabric trip was how “local” I felt. There were no tourists, since we weren’t in the tourist area, but I felt very welcomed. In Commonwealth, one of the women asked if I was going home now to sew. She thought we were snow birds down for a few months! Both stores were so wonderful and I’m happy we were able to take a little detour from the resort and seek out these shops.