Fabric Therapy

Well as I mentioned in my last post I've been up to my eyeballs in trying to play catch up. I took on the task of downsizing my fabric stash and it turned into a 3 day event. I didn't get to sew a dress this weekend because I was consumed with this task. But oh, was it a  productive undertaking!!!! I managed to go through my entire fabric stash and clear out soooooooo much fabric. Don't believe me.........here's all the fabric I pulled out.

  This "mountain of fabric" is taller than my daughter.....we're talking over 4 feet tall!!!! It's hard to tell from the pic but there's ALOTof fabric there and it as a whole looks really HEAVY!!! My strategy was to pull out all of the fabric I was no longer interested in or I knew I probably wouldn't use to make clothes with. Instead, I plan to use some of this fabric as muslin for future projects and donate some to the costume department at my church. Either way, I've unloaded my sewing closet of at least 500lbs of fabric---ok, maybe an overestimation, but at least180lbs!

After pulling out all of the unwanted fabric I reorganized my sewing closet and neatly consolidated my fabric. With all of the unwanted fabric cleared out I was able to almost get all of the fabric I own into one space. And that was a GREAT feeling!!! My knits (hands down my favorite) have mostly been consolidated and everything grouped and organized by fabric types.

(The inside of my sewing closet. Bottom shelf:  knits, middle shelf :printed polyester & silky fabrics, top shelf: woven fabrics)

 I even went through all of my silky type fabric and folded and put a rubberband on them to keep them from sliding all over the place.  So I have "bundles" of silky fabrics neatly stacked. Why didn't I think of this idea sooner?

(Silky fabric with rubberband) 

As much as I would like to admit that downsizing was the most fun part I have to say that it was re-discovering my fabric style that wa most gratifying. I ran across fabrics I hadn't seen in quite some time and it was love all over again. Believe it or not, it was quite therapeutic! Such beautiful textiles reminded me of why I desire to sew. I think I have a pretty cool eye for fabrics. I love my style! With all of the beautiful fabric organized I'm really motivated to make some beautiful clothes. Isn't it amazing what you re- discover about yourself when you clear out the excess!

I found this little gem that I hadn't seen in a while....

...a cool black and gray denim with various designs. It would make a cute vest to wear with a white t-shirt and black capris. It's definitely on the to-do list for the Spring.

I picked up a few new pieces too.....

....a green, gray, white, & black charemeuse satin.

And a awesome black, gray, & teal plaid wool for a coat later this year. It got this at Hancock Fabrics last week for $7/yd (originally $15/yd). I'd been wanting this fabric all year.....

So clearing out the excess fabric and unwanted pieces REALLY helped to reinvigorate me. Like Really. Not only did I downsize my fabric stash and get organized, but I rediscovered some amazing pieces I have and made them more accessible for future projects. Again, it seems funny, but this whole experience was really therapeutic. I stand, arms folded and looking at my sewing closet----feeling really satisfied with myself! I've got to do the same thing with my patterns. But first, I've got a little girl's formal dress to sew. The Masquerade banquet is next week & I've got to get hustling. More info on the way......