Our Fabric Stash - Fabric Consignment Store

 

What a great idea. Our Fabric Stash is a fabric consignment store. Right in my city. I had to go check it out.

 

They are having their semi-annual sale this weekend. When I visited the shop, I was told that the deep discount happens on the second day. 50% off marked price.

 

 

If you live in or near Seattle, or if you are visiting anywhere near Seattle, you may want to stop by.  It's on the north edge of Seattle's International District (which means, yum! to me). You can check out the shop, and you can go get yummy lunch or dinner at one of many Asian restaurants in the International District. You can also stop by one or more of many Asian grocery stores. It's a lot of fun.

It is fairly well organized.

Suiting. I saw many nice wool fabrics.

Colorful. Knits on the bottom two shelves.

Swimsuit fabric!

Bolts, too.  The young woman at the shop told me that many local designers consign with them.

Look at that fabric! lol!

They have patterns, too.

Oh, so beautiful. Vintage patterns!

 

They had bagged collection of knit ribbing fabric pieces . Handy to have around.....

Thread cones.

Here is the nice young woman who helped me. (I bought some patterns!) She told me that the store is her God mother's brain child.

I was originally going to organize a meet-up for Seattle area sewists and fabric lovers this weekend for the sale.  But there is so much going on this weekend for me, and I'm just not sure which day and what time I can make it there.  So, if you are in the Seattle area, and go to the sale, I *may* see you~!  Have a great weekend!

Staycation Tees

It has been a heck of a month.  Things finally calmed down a bit, and I really needed to recharge. I decided to take a 3-day staycation. Though I had to do a little bit of work from home yesterday, I managed to stay focused on sewing! I've been craving for some sewing time!

Yes, a red t-shirt! It's Butterick 5354 pattern that I purchased back in March. With the RTW fasting, I am in need of making the basics. With the summer approaching, I need some new t-shirts!

View C is what I made. The fabric is a cotton/poly light/medium weight knit. It was a remnant someone gave me a while back. There was just enough for one t-shirt. Hey, it's virtually a free t-shirt.

I love the neckline. I love the walking foot. (Have I said that before?!)  It's like night and day. No more struggling with any type of fabric. You just had to have the right kind of tools, I learned.

The back neckline. This was a happy accident.  The neckline seam is supposed to be folded toward the inside of the shirt. When I had the front and the back of the t-shirt put together, I made a mistake! I had the wrong side of the back on the outside!  But I rather like the effect. On this fabric, you can hardly tell the right side from the wrong side. So, I decided to leave it as is. I'm happy with the result.

The sleeve set in nicely.

I just don't have any photos of me wearing it yet.

Here is the t-shirt #2.

It's Maria Denmark's 101 Kirsten Kimono Tee. This fantastic free pattern is downloadable from her site. A fellow RTW faster told me about it when we had a meet-up at the Puyallup Sewing Expo.  I cut the small, but used the extra small neckline for the front since I like a little more scoop on the neckline.

This fabric was also a gift/donation. A neighbor was moving and downsizing. She gave me a whole bunch of fabrics from her stash. (I mean a WHOLE BUNCH, like 5 large trash bagful!! Mostly high quality wool! Well, that's another blog post.) In it, there was this light weight, very stretchy and good quality knit remnant. I love this blue-gray color. There wasn't even a yard of it left, so I couldn't cut both front and back in one piece. I had to cut the front in two separate pieces. I meant to do some embellishment along the front line where I sewed the two front pieces together.

However, I ended up deciding to do the embellishment around the neckline instead.  I pinned the black lace around the neckline to see how it would look. I liked it. It reminded me of one of my favorite t-shirts I have. It's an Ann Taylor t-shirt which has a little lace embellishment along the neckline with the raw edge left exposed.  I decided that I'd like to do something similar.

Here is the finished neckline. I just sewed the lace along the neckline, leaving the inside raw edge alone which flips up and does a little peed-a-boo.

I love it.

The front middle where I had to sew the two pieces together is almost invisible.

This t-shirt was put together so fast. I love the design, I love the simple elegance.  I will definitely make it again. This t-shirt is so clean and simple that it's perfect for playing with little embellishment. The shirt just tickles your creativity.  I think I will also check out other patterns by Maria Denmark.

The actual color of the fabric is a little darker than it appears in the photos.

Tomorrow is my day three and the last day of Staycation.  I'd like to make at least one more something. Ok, so far, two free t-shirts made from someone's unwanted remnants. That's the spirit of Urban Recyclist, right?!

My Trusty Top Stitch Machine

It's Tami, my Singer 15-91.  My very first vintage sewing machine I acquired last year.

Every time I take her out to sew, she takes my breath away. It's the most beautiful straight stitch I've ever seen. I usually set the stitch length a bit longer for top stitching. It's prettier that way.

I decided to give this project a pink top stitch. It's a black stretch denim. I take Tami out whenever I have some top stitching need. She just is the best. I use my main machine for pretty much everything else, but for top stitching, I rely on Tami 

You just can't go wrong with her. Her motor sound is so quiet and soothing.  

It was truly 'love at first stitch' when I first found her.  She is not cosmetically in perfect condition.  Her lamp shade is missing, there are small chips here and there, though her decals are totally intact.  Bobbin winder does not work - it's probably an easy fix, but I can always wind bobbins on another machine. She was without the bentwood case she probably originally had. But she is so beautiful that I wouldn't want to hide her under the case top cover anyway! She makes the perfect stitch, and I am very much attached to her.  If you missed my "how I met her"story and "How It All Began", please go read the original post here.

I have not tried a buttonhole attachment on her. But I understand she makes beautiful buttonholes, too. I look forward to trying buttonholes with her sometime soon. 

I will soon reveal what exactly I'm making. Wish me luck!

Iconic Patterns Sammy Cami - Camisole That Fits Well, Done.

I had some leftover fabric from my Butterick 5961 Katherine Tilton tunic.

I absolutely love this fabric, and I was glad to find that I had just enough left to make this camisole. 

I went to download this fabulous looking (and FREE) camisole pattern when I saw a RTW Faster sister making one.  It's Sammy Cami from Iconic Patterns.

It's simple, it fits well, it's free. What more can I ask for?!?!

You need a very stretch knit for this pattern. The design is very fitted.  My fabric was just perfect for this.

I cut the size 8 of the pattern, and gave it a 1/2" seam allowance. That worked out perfect for me.  (I normally wear RTW size 4~6 for tops)  I'm afraid my straps are just a tad too long. Well, next time, I'll know to shorten them.

The sewing instructions are minimal, but if you have made a few things, know what to do about neck band, etc., I think you can handle just fine.  The only hard thing was making the straps from this light weight knit fabric. Boy, that took some patience! Otherwise, I could have completed the entire project under 1 hour!  I must have spent a couple of hours just making the straps.  I'm wondering if one of those bias tape makers will work well for knit fabric, and if it will make narrow straps like this.  Does anyone know?

Anyway, lovely design, great simple pattern.  I'm currently trying to rebuild my basic wardrobe, so this pattern will definitely be used again.  Very soon, that is. Well, in fact, every light weight stretchy knit fabric project I have from now on, will probably end up having a sister camisole.

I feel guilty when I find a nice free pattern and I enjoy using it but if I don't buy anything from the source.  I'll look to see what else Iconic Patterns have.... : )

"Our Fabric Stash" Spring Purge Consignment Sale -- Seattle May 31 & June 1

Attention, my fellow Seattlites, Sleepless and Sewing in Seattle.  I received an email announcement from a quilter friend. (<-- You may have met her on my blog.)  When I opened it up and read it, I said, uh oh. 

Apparently, you can consign and/or shop. They have a huge spring sale event coming up on May 31 & June 1. No way I can avoid going to this. I won't be consigning, but I will be shopping, well, at least window shopping.

I went to check on their website. It is called Our Fabric Stash. 
It says;

FINALLY... A Place for STASH-aHOLics!
Be sure to visit our flagship location today

Our Fabric Stash, an innovative, eco-friendly fabric consignment shop, designed for TODAY's STASH-aHOLic. Stir your creative juices, organize, share, and grow your fabric stash. Experience the "art of consigning fabrics, notions, and textile-related supplies "turning your accumulated stash into cash".  

That flagship location is in Seattle's International District. (A Fab place to get lunch/dinner. I mean, really.)  They also have a facebook page.  I don't know much about it, but here is their "how it works" page.  Sounds like a fabulous idea. Putting your 'sleeping' stash to work by offering to others who may find it a precious bargain, and turning your stash to cash. 

I wonder if there are other chapters of this OurFabricStash in other cities/states.  Perhaps you may start something like this in your city.............  I totally support it! This is true Urban Recycling!

Happy Tax Day, everyone.  If you are receiving a refund, treat yourself to, well, a fabric shopping trip.  If you are working hard to finish yours, reward yourself with a fabric shopping when you are done! Either that or a new vintage sewing machine. yup.

*Seattle area bloggers -- feel free to link to my blog and spread the word.  Maybe we will somewhat organize a meet-up? I'll work on that! ; )  

Elna Supermatic

This machine came to me last summer. I cleaned her right away when I got her and test sewed a little, then I put her away and didn't take her out until this month!

Elna machines weren't part of my growing up.  I didn't know this brand until I began collecting vintage sewing machines. There is the popular Elna Grasshopper, but I was never attracted to its shape. This one, Elna Supermatic, on the other hand, has a bit more round shape and has just as good a reputation. This one is green all over. I believe there is also a cream colored version, and a lighter green two-tone version.

It takes cams. They are called Elnagraph. Single discs and double discs. You need them to make decorative stitches. Here is the little lid which flaps open to insert a disc.

This machine came with all these accessories!

The original manual.

It belonged to the seller's sister. The seller, Judy, herself is a quilter/sewer and it sounded like the entire family was into sewing.  This Elna Supermatic was a well-loved machine. I LOVE it when I encounter a machine like this. Someone really loved and used and maintained the machine well. Now I get to take it over and take care of it, enjoy it, and make things with.

Judy also showed me her creations, these fantastic colorful original handmade wallets. You can find them on Etsy, JDKWallets!  When I went to pick up the machine, she was having a garage sale. I ended up buying some fun fabrics (fat quarters) she had out.  Some of which I've already used to make stuff with. Aloha bag I made for Pineapple Sam was one of them.

Look at all these feet. There are some I don't know what they are really for. I wonder I would ever use all these feet.

Lots of cams, too! I had so much fun making all kinds of different stitches. The machine makes wonderful stitch.  The motor sound is both smooth and strong.

Now, these little metal plates with a hole in the middle. What are they?  Also, just above them, white and blue plastic things. I don't know what they are either. Does anyone know?

The smart thing about this generation of Elna is that the case turns into the sewing extension table!  This is actually not the only Elna machine I have.  I will someday introduce my other Elna(s)......

It gives you quite a bit of sewing space.

See~?  Oh, and it is knee lever operated. You can see the knee lever on the lower right of the machine.  Not my favorite way of operating a sewing machine - mostly because I'm used to using the knee lifter for lifting presser foot, but it works fine. 

The knee lever folds up like this.  By the way, do you see a couple of black strips attached on the machine? One right above the knee lever is attached, and one above the ELNA logo.  These are magnetic strips Judy's sister put on the machine for pins!  I'm not going to strip them. I'll just keep them there.

The whole machine and the accessory box goes neatly into the box. The box is metal. The whole thing weighs a ton.

I used the Elna Supermatic to sew this test run of the top I recently made.  She is a fine sewing machine, quite a workhorse.  But I probably won't take her out to use for my garment making, mainly because I like to have a foot pedal and a knee lifter (for presser foot).  I think I'll use her mostly for decorative stitches, because there are just so many fun discs for that!