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Fabric Visionary

Thursday 23 January 2014

 
I spent a glorious hour or so at The Fabric Store in Sydney yesterday. Sigh... swoon.

This is the third visit I've made and I love that store more and more every time. I always find what I'm after, even when I didn't know I wanted it.

Yesterday's purchase was the gorgeous silk twill above. You can see the beautiful twill weave better in the shot below.
Oh, the colours, the drape, the price, the generosity.

I cannot say enough about the staff at The Fabric Store. They are incredibly helpful and approachable without crowding you. And generous! I won't describe or name the assistant that was helping me with my purchase as I wouldn't want to get her in trouble, but let me just tell you a little story. I was chatting with said assistant about the potential washability of the silk she was about to cut for me. She suggested, as is their policy, that the fabric be drycleaned only, but that I could always try washing a small swatch to see how it goes. She says to me as she's about to cut, "I'll just throw in a little extra so you can have a play". Dudes! When I got home and pulled out the fabric it seemed an awful lot. She gave me a whole extra metre! Whaaaaaaat! That's a serious swatch to play with. Me thinks I'll get two garments out of this rather than one.

This silk is destined to become Victory Pattern's Roxanne, Version 2.

I'm ashamed to say I still haven't cut into the fabrics I purchased at my past two visits. Oh the shame, oh the stashing. It's weird too as I purchased all three of the following for specific projects.

This glorious swimsuit lycra is planned for that Bombshell on my Spring/Summer Sewing List. Can I admit to being terrified of sewing with lycra and making a ham of this project? I really wanna Bombshell but I fear my sewing with stretch skills are not up to it. Oh how I loooooove this fabric. It is exactly what I had in mind.

At a Sydney Sewists Social in early 2013 I purchased this most awesome shirting with another Negroni in mind for P, this time short-sleeved. I'll admit to being slightly battle-scarred from my last attempt. Plaid matching, ughhhhh. This fabric is the most ridiculously soft and light shirting. Perfect for a casual summer shirt.

This one was also purchased at that same event. In fact, I saw Gabrielle whacking down this stunning cotton sateen (with a little elastine) on the counter and I thought "now, I need me some of that". It turned out Gabrielle was also earmarking this one for shorts and we actually had a little wager on who'd get theirs done first.

Ummmmmm. Well I say Gabrielle welched, as she made this amazing dress out of hers. Me, I messed up how much I needed and think I may be a bit short. I was so deflated I never even layed it all out to see if it would fit anyway. I need a kick up the ass.

I'm energised to revisit all these projects now. Let's see how I go...

And finally, yesterday was the fabric shopping trip that just kept on giving. As I was having my silk cut, I spied a roll of wool coating the likes of which I only dreamed of finding for my New York Cape. It turned out that the whole roll had been purchased, but they went ahead and found me a few metres at the Brisbane store. It's winging its way towards me as I write, ready for stitching this winter.

The Fabric Store... that is all

17 comments:

  1. I got "a little extra" from there too once, of a gorgeous stretch silk. The girl serving me said they have a policy to be generous with their cuts but wow a whole extra metre is just lovely. (a nice change from Spotlight, if I ask for 1m I get 1m exactly on one side and up to 5cm less on the other selvedge due to off grain cutting, grrrr, which is incredibly annoying if I need EXACTLY 1m with is why I asked for 1m!!! I resent having to pay for 20cm extra just so I can be sure I get what I need) Sorry, going off topic there. Your fabric is just gorgeous. That silk twill is just lovely. I agree with you about The Fabric Store. When they have their 40% off sale they are completely unbeatable on everything - quality, service and price. I wish I had one on "my" side of Sydney though, I don't get into the city often enough.

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  2. I am so excited about heading there on Saturday!!!! wish we could have lined up our shopping. That silk twill is just to die for.

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  3. Oh my, those are some special fabric choices! Can't wait to see them made up. I miss the Fabric Store...haven't been fabric shopping in too long! But I am hoping to get back to all my favourites at least once before we go.

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  4. Gabrielle Corbett23 January 2014 at 20:34

    Thanks for the mentions, I'll see if I have any leftovers from my stripey dress and if so I'll let you know - it'd be a shame not to be able to make those shorts after all, and these colors are always lovely on you.

    I went to the fabric store the other day - and would you believe I bought some of that silk twill too?? It's so gorgeous isn't it! I think I only have enough for a little top but I'm sure it'll make a wonderful dress! I love your swimsuit fabric too... I had to avoid those sorts of lovelies as I seem to have a swimwear Lycra stash at the moment!

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  5. Love that silk twill. I've been trying hard to stay away from the Fabric Store since they are having a sale and my stash is already out of control, but now you are seriously tempting me.....

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  6. They look beyoooootiful! You gotta chop into the nice stuff! I love the vintage shorts pattern - surely something like that would take less than a metre? I must go and check out the Melbourne store while they still have a sale on!

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  7. Sale on now Janelle! I'm not on "that" side of Sydney either, but found myself with a rare morning to myself and at 30 mins on the train a 2 minute walk from Central it can't be beat. I agree with you about cuts at Spotlight. I've come home with a requested 1m only realising that it's only 1m on one side and, I kid you not, about 80cm on the other. Grrrrr.

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  8. Yay! With the sale on now (30-50% off) you are gonna go cray-cray! Enjoy and hopefully next time you are in Sydney we'll be able to match up our shopping times.

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  9. Stock up before you go Debbie! The quality is unbeatable at full price, but with the sale it's just plain crazy.

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  10. Gabrielle, what are the chances!? Are we some weird cosmic fabric twins? This could get embarrassing! Or on a brighter note, it's clear we have impeccable taste! I checked my stripey fabric again and realised The Fabric Store had done it again. I am sure I got about an extra half metre, so I think I'm good to go. And oh, I haven't meant to be some weird groupie lately, just an admirer of your work :)

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  11. The twill is just beautiful isn't it? Don't resist The Fabric Store, it's futile! Oh, but I have heard your stash stories, so don't let me sway you :)

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  12. I know you gotta cut into the good stuff, but it's always a little daunting, especially when your fabrics are usually a little more "budget". But I am getting onto those shorts ASAP, it's about time I tackled my first "pants". Go check out Melbourne's store!

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  13. Planning or dreaming? I'll go with dreaming, you know my thoughts on planning :)

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  14. What gorgeous fabrics! I'm a little jealous . . .
    I bought a piece of silk last month too for a VP Roxanne. I've been a little scared to start it as it's been so long since I've sewn with silk!

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  15. I've never sewn with silk before at all Gail! I found a piece of poly satin in my stash that I had completely forgotten about, so for the first time ever there will be a muslin (wearable I hope). This always feels like it dilutes the excitement about the final piece though as I'll already have a Roxanne just not in the special fabric. Have fun with yours!

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  16. Ooh you've got some gorgeous fabrics! I love the silk and the lycra will make an awesome bombshell! I would love to visit The Fabric Store someday..

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  17. I'm clearly biased, but yes, Kim, you do need to visit The Fabric Store one day :)

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