I have a yellow sticky on my MacBook dashboard and it says “Stop unnecessary spending!”. I needed it to be there so that every time I felt the need for more fabric while browsing through etsy or other online fabric stores, it would hopefully play the part of a deterrent. It has been effective on a several occasions but one this month, which is pretty good for a person who finds beautiful fabric irresistible! This morning I’ve committed myself to more restraint. I’m participating in The Train To Crazy’s The Great Destash Challenge!
There are three main things I have to do for this challenge:
1. Organize the stash. You’ll keep buying fabric if you don’t really know what you already have… how true!
2. Use only fabrics from your stash.
3. Decide the length of time or the amount of pile you’d like to reduce.
When I first started sewing, I bought many quilting cotton in one yard each as I was only making clothes for my prince and princess.
These are stacked away in three small shelves, like the one above. When my princess started school last month, I decided to stop buying fabric until these are used up. She wears a uniform now so it does not make sense to accumulate the stash.
Now, let’s move on to my stash. Off course, every one of the projects I sew contribute to stash busting but I think I have been accumulating stash a lot faster than I can sew. And, I am already sewing quite a lot. Anyhow, I spent my entire morning re-acquainting myself with them.
My knit/jersey (top) and pants fabric (below) stashes are looking very decent.
And so is my semi sheer fabric (chiffon, tana lawn, cotton voile) stash.
Now, comes the not so decent stashes of cotton or cotton blend. You are seeing 95% of all my cotton fabrics, these are two to three and a half yards each and pretty suitable for my made-me projects.
Japanese prints
Quilting cottons
More quilting cottons
Light weight ikea fabrics
Phew! So, after categorizing them, I took out my sewing patterns and started matching fabrics and patterns. These are what I ended up with.
One full box of dresses and half a box of tops and others to be made.
I also picked the fabrics I needed for the next theme I would be focusing on from mid August to mid September. I hope to start working on the boxes of projects after mid September. At the end of the morning, I still have a few unmatched fabrics and patterns but that’s all right. This stash busting exercised has already lined up many challenging (and I can’t wait to do) projects. Till I finish each and everyone of them, I will not be buying any more fabric in Singapore or online.
Off course, having said that, I would like to put down a few exceptions to the rule. My fabric fast does not apply to:
1. Fabric buying during my vacations overseas. The opportunity cost would be just too great!
2. Lining fabrics as I do not keep any lining stash.
Oh Gosh! What a huge commitment I am making and I am actually happy with this plan. My Stash Busting Sewing Plan!
Good luck with your plan. I’m on a craft stash busting challenge all around. There are a few vacations I would like to do next year and I must find a way to save money. I’m a habitual collector and I need to stop. I have way too much stuff! I’m not doing enough crafting to continue purchasing. So this month I started to keep track of my spending. It’s working out so far though.
Be Encouraged!
Good luck busting your stash! You have quite the impressive stash of fabric including some very covetable lawns and voiles…
You have some gorgeous fabrics in your stash! I need to do this as well! matching up fabric from your stash with patterns is a great idea and provides lots of motivation to actually use them, I think! I just cut down my pattern collection, but I can’t seem to do the same with my fabric stash…
Thanks Miss Dandy! Why not join the challenge as well so we can keep each other motivated?
Thanks Tasia, most of the lawns are under my untouchable category…I just can’t bear to use them!
Thank you for the encouraging words. Stopping fabric buying and saving for a vacation sounds like a pretty good motivator to me! Hope it works out for the both of us 🙂
Super cute blouse!!! I’ve started to really examine my fabric stash as well. I found myself buying fabric all the time and not making a lot. I too matched up my patterns with coordinating fabrics. good luck and again cute top. 😀
Thank you and looks like you will be sewing more soon 🙂 Hope the pattern and fabric matching motivates you as it is motivating me!
Whoa.. that’s some stash allright 😀
Such beautiful fabrics!
Goodluck Adey, I think I should do the same thing with mine.. but would I ? 😛