Monday 23 March 2015

ALL THE FABRICS!

I have bashed on a bit about fabric recently: guilt over my stash; wanting to buy it all; attempting to buy it all. I'm sorry. This is probably getting pretty monotonous. One last point about fabric, and then I promise I'll shut up about it. ****Warning - this is not an earth-shattering discovery. Be prepared to be underwhelmed. Lets just call it closure.*** A couple of months ago I became obsessed with this fabric:

Cotton and Steel Bespoke Double Gauze - Ephemera

Utterly obsessed. Initially I wanted to make a blouse like Rae, but then I saw this blanket on Instagram, posted by Rashida Coleman-Hale:


And I became even more fixated. I dreamed about it. I  kept the page open permanently on the iPad so I could go in and gaze lovingly at it on The Village Haberdashery website every day. I have been wanting to make a throw/blanket for our living room for a while, and this seemed ideal. Apart from the fact that the fabric just didn't go with anything in else in the room. I even ordered a sample to check. That took me on a different fabric/blanket journey which is for another post, but I consoled myself by going back to the blouse inspiration and thinking I could make that. I should probably mention at this point that I hadn't actually bought the fabric. 

I got a TVH gift card for Christmas, and I was kind of holding off until I figured out what I was going to spend the rest on, to save on postage. I hopped onto the TVH website earlier this week to have a look again, thinking I'd  just place the order. You can probably guess where this is going. It's sold out. "Never mind" I thought, "I can buy it from Miss Matatabi". Nope - she only had half a metre left. And do you know what? I wasn't that bothered. I'm looking at the pictures above now, and I still think it's a beautiful fabric, and I would have loved to have made the blouse (I was going to do a Scout with a raised neckline and possibly different sleeves). The fabric is deliciously soft. I probably would have worn it lots in the summer. But, well... if sewing has taught me anything, it's that there will be other fabrics. It does actually come in other colourways, and there are other double gauzes still available in the range. I may well buy one of them - I still like the idea of a double gauze blouse. But then again I might not. 

Moral of the tale? I don't need to buy all the fabrics. Time won't end, no natural disasters will occur, I won't even be that upset about it, if I don't. As I said, it's not an earth shattering discovery, but it did give me pause for thought. Alison wrote something recently that chimed with this:

Same goes for fabric, why do I need to make everything I like, I wouldn't buy everything I like and all that will happen is I will have a wardrobe full of 'stuff' that doesn't get worn. 
I wouldn't buy everything I like either, so why do I think I need all the fabric? Answer: I don't.

Thank you for bearing with me on this. Lets all hope I have finally got it into my thick skull, and that normal service will resume shortly.

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11 comments

  1. Hi Helen! Just catching up on all my blog posts & had to chip in on this as I used to have to remind myself of this all the time. Now I seem to find it easier to just look at all the lovely fabrics without wanting to buy them - though I admit to also wanting some double gauze as I love my double gauze scout tee. It started off it was just no available cash that stoppd me buying but then, like you, I realised that after the initial obsession was over I didn't miss the fabric I didn't have. Thanks for the reminder!

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    1. Hi! I forgot you'd made a double gauze Scout already. I do still definitely want to make one. Just need to find another gorgeous fabric. Maybe Nani Iro?!

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  2. I couldn't agree more! It's amazing how little you miss that "must have" fabric after you let the urgent buying impulse fade... It may not be an earth-shaking discovery, realising you don't have to buy - and make! - all the things, but it's a really liberating one :) I've been planning out my cool/cold weather sewing lately, and this has helped me narrow down the choices to a much more manageable level. It's nice to feel inspired, rather than pressured!

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    1. Good for you. In my head I can still make all the things, but to be honest, like with the fabric, I make the things that I really really want and I rarely miss the things I didn't end up making.

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  3. It's a good reminder, I feel the same way about patterns.

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    1. Yes, that too. I have made a promise with myself that I won't buy a pattern unless I have definite plans to make it immediately/soon.

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  4. Agreed. Unless it's second hand...then it's coming home with me :))

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    1. Ha ha! I've never been lucky enough to find second hand fabric, but I have to say I have picked stuff up at swaps/won stuff from blogs, that I've ended up cullling, so I think for me that rule has to apply for any fabric or pattern, new or second hand.

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  5. i been telling me this all the time.

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    1. I'm so glad so many others think the same, Rachel! :)

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    2. I'm so glad so many others think the same, Rachel! :)

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